Way2online, which operates person-to-person (P2P) messaging portal Way2SMS.com has acquired 160by2, a similar portal based out of Hyderabad, owned by SMS Country. The acquisition includes SMS country’s Internet asset 160by2.com, key engineering team and all intellectual property associated with 160by2.com. However, after the acquisition, 160by2 will continue to operate as a separate unit under Way2online. This story was first reported by Pluggd.in. Way2online claims to have a registered user base of 23 million users, and says that 160by2 would add another 13 million to it. It claims that both platforms add a million users every month, and (at present) there is only a 20% overlap between the two sites' user base. VV Raju, CEO of Way2SMS told MediaNama that the company plans to launch an Instant messaging application, which also integrates the Way2SMS service. Excerpts from the interview: MediaNama: What's the rationale behind this acquisition? VV Raju: We are a consumer focused internet company operating in the p2p vertical, so the motive is to increase consumer penetration, increasing the topline and reducing costs. Through the acquisition Way2online will have control of two of the largest companies in the segment and a 95% market share, since Way2sms has close to 78% share while 160by2 has 17%-18% share. Way2sms has close to 23 million registered users and 160by2 has close to 13 million registered users. So in total we'll have around 33 million users. We'll also get access to advertisers and existing relationships that 160By2 has. MediaNama: That leads to consolidation in the P2P segment.…
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