Affle to acquire 8 pc stake in Indus OS for Rs 21 cr

New Delhi, Jul 2 () Mobile advertising company Affle on Thursday said it will acquire 8 per cent stake in smartphone operating system firm Indus OS.

"Affle (India) Ltd through its subsidiaries announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire 8 per cent ownership in OSLabs Pte Ltd, Singapore, (Indus OS). Indus OS operates India's largest independent indigenous app store, with key investment from Samsung Venture Investment Corporation," Affle said in a statement.

According to a regulatory filing, Affle will pay USD 2.86 million or about Rs 21 crore to Indus OS for the stake.

"We derive significant synergies with the Indus App Bazaar which, through its multi-lingual capabilities, deeply enhances our vernacular scale and the verticalisation strategy.

"It strengthens Affle's position as the enabling platform for the indigenous apps ecosystem in India, ensuring a digitally inclusive growth for our customers," Affle Chairman, MD and CEO Anuj Khanna Sohum said.

Indus OS has 'Indus App Bazaar', which comprises over four lakh apps accessible in English and 12 Indian languages -- Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Odia, Punjabi, Malayalam, Bengali, Assamese and Kannada.

"Indus OS platform with its indigenous app store capabilities, thousands of apps and powered by a robust app recommendation engine is deployed by Samsung and many Indian OEMs (original equipment makers).

"This deal would strategically strengthen our market position and create a leading one-of-its-kind engagement model for the Indian users," Indus OS co-founder, Director and CEO Rakesh Deshmukh said. PRS HRS