“This is a very congested market place, with lots of growth potential,” he said. Ian Maude, internet analyst at Enders Analysis, expects more deals in the sector. Viber competes with other messaging apps such as Whatsapp, WeChat and Line. The US, Russia and Australia are also among its biggest markets. Its founder, Mr Marco, was the chief information officer of Israel’s Defence Forces and the company’s research and development centre is still based in Israel, although its head office is in Cyprus. Viber is particularly big in the Middle East. Rakuten has been on a buying spree over the past couple of years – purchasing Europe-based video-on-demand company in 2012, the Singaporean online TV and film streaming Viki last year and a stake in the online scrapbook site Pinterest. “Sharing similar aspirations with Rakuten, our vision is to be the world’s number one communications platform, and our combination with Rakuten is an important step in that direction.” Viber’s chief executive and founder, Talmon Marco, said: “This combination presents an amazing opportunity for Viber to enhance our rapid user growth in both existing and new markets. He suggested that Rakuten users might be able to use Viber’s instant messages to contact an online store while considering a purchase. “Developing this messaging system on our own would have been impossible, ” he added. “This acquisition is a totally new strategy that will take Rakuten to a different level,” said Rakuten’s chief executive Hiroshi Mikitani. Viber, which is based in Cyprus, has 300 million registered users. Rakuten, which also owns the Canadian e-reader Kobo, said the purchase would allow it to expand its digital content into emerging markets.

Who owns viber