Bharti Softbank backed Hike messenger is integrating Hoppr and Tiny Mogul Games (TMG) under its brand name. The company mentions that it will also integrate games from Tiny Mogul, like Shiva: the time bender, into its own app, as well as add coupons from nearly 200 brands on Hike. Note that Hoppr was one of the first investments by Bharti Softbank (BSB). According to Y2CF’s filings with the Registrar of Companies, Bharti Softbank had purchased stake amounting to 49.74% for Rs 22,25,00,000 on 17.10.2011, with the option of subscribing subscribing to a maximum total shareholding of 60%. In May last year, both founders of Hoppr left the company, and sources indicated merging Hoppr with Hike would be likely. Hoppr is a hyperlocal ecommerce initiative, where customers get rewards and offers based on brands and merchants in the vicinity, a feature that will now be available on Hike. Tiny Mogul Games on the other hand, was launched by BSB in August 2013 with games like SongQuest and Shiva the timebender. It looks like these gamers will now be available on Hike as well. This is an interesting move by Hike and a strategy similar to one that Viber adopted, where the messaging app started allowing users to play games with each other. Zip Phone acquisition: Earlier in January, Hike had acquired the VoIP startup Zip Phone. The company had said then that voice calling was one of the top requested features by its users, and this acquisition would allow the company…
