Xurpas expands reach, buys stake in US tech firm

Consumer technology firm Xurpas Inc. has gained a foothold in one of California’s hottest technology hubs by acquiring a 4.5-percent stake in startup US firm Quick.ly.

Founded in 2015, Quick.ly Inc. is reinventing search to get people to what they are looking for more quickly. It was founded as an operating company of Idealab, a creator and operator of technology businesses, based in Pasadena, California.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, Xurpas said it had purchased 666,666 shares of Quick.ly’s preferred shares at $1.50 per share for a total investment of $999,999. This marks Xurpas’ first investment outside of Asia.

“Expansion has always been one of our company’s priorities. And we will continue to do this through the acquisition of new distribution channels and world-class products. It is the main reason why we decided to raise money through last year’s IPO (initial public offering). We are both proud and humbled to be an investor in Quick.ly,” Xurpas president Nix Nolledo said.

Xurpas has mapped out a regional expansion plan by introducing “truly innovative” products. This most recent investment into a company with “unique, cutting edge technology” furthers this goal, the company said.

Quick.ly is the fifth company to join Xurpas’ portfolio of investments. The local firm earlier invested in: Singapore-based Altitude Games; local HR-tech firm Storm Flex Systems; PT Sembilan Digital Investama, owner of Indonesian mobile content company Ninelives; and Singapore-based multiplayer games platform MatchMe.

Xurpas grew its first quarter net profit by 27 percent year-on-year to P59.2 million as mobile consumer and enterprise businesses boosted revenues. Three-month revenues went up by 52 percent to reach P132.23 million.

Xurpas is a technology company specializing in the creation and development of digital products and services for mobile users. Its portfolio includes online casual games, messaging and social discovery applications, as well as call/SMS (short messaging system)/data bundles, peer to peer mobile airtime credit transfers and mobile commerce.