Fusion Corporate Partners

eBay Inc. is to acquire Zong, a leading provider of payments through mobile carrier billing, for total consideration of approximately $240 million in cash. Zong leverages connections with more than 250 mobile network operators around the world, offering localized, secure and easy-to-use payments capabilities for digital goods and services in 21 languages and 45 countries. Combined with PayPal’s global payment platform serving 100 million active accounts worldwide, the company expects that Zong will add complementary technology and talent that help strengthen PayPal’s position in mobile payments and digital goods.

Zong allows consumers to easily pay for purchases from their mobile phones or computers through direct carrier billing. Consumers simply enter their mobile phone numbers. Then, in a matter of seconds, Zong verifies that number and clears the payment on the customer’s existing wireless service account.

“Commerce is changing. With mobile phones, we walk around with a mall in our pockets. PayPal helps to make money work better for customers in this new commerce reality – no matter how they want to pay or what device they’re using,” said Scott Thompson, president of PayPal. “We believe that Zong will strengthen this value by helping us reach the more than 4 billion people who have mobile phones, giving them more choice and security when they pay.”

PayPal is an industry leader in mobile payments and digital goods. PayPal expects to transact more than $3 billion in mobile payments in 2011. Currently, more than 8 million customers are making purchases on their mobile phones through PayPal, driving up to $10 million in mobile payments per day.

Earlier this year, PayPal launched PayPal for Digital Goods, a new product that lets buyers pay in two clicks without leaving their gaming experience or content site. In 2010, PayPal processed $3.4 billion in payments for digital goods.

eBay Inc. does not expect the acquisition of Zong to have a material impact on its financial guidance as issued in conjunction with its first quarter earnings release on April 27, 2011. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval, and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011.

USA, San Jose, CA & Menlo Park, CA

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Move, Inc., an online real estate firm, has acquired SocialBios, a social search platform. SocialBios allows individuals and companies to create one social hub for their  online profiles through interactive ‘About Us’ pages that simplify the discovery of shared connections on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Foursquare and Google without sacrificing their privacy. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Real estate is inherently a social business. Today’s search experience is highly interactive and instant with the explosion of mobile in real estate. We’re uniquely positioned to lead our industry and connect people naturally through their social graph,” said Scott Boecker, chief product officer at Move, Inc.  “This acquisition brings a new element of discovery and creativity to our online real estate marketplace as we evolve our web, mobile and social search experiences.”

As part of the acquisition, SocialBios founder Ernie Graham and co-founders Ira McMahon and Andrew Van Tassel have joined the product development team at Move, Inc. Graham, who will head up Move’s social product strategy and development team, will work with the Move’s franchise and broker customers to develop social graphing strategies that help them facilitate more connections between their agents and brokers with consumers.

The SocialBios office and team of social experts will be based in Denver, Colorado. The SocialBios website, products and brand will remain in production and available to real estate professionals.

USA, Cambpell, CA & Denver, CO

TripAdvisor has acquired Where I’ve Been, a leading travel website and social platform with a detailed interactive world map that lets users share where they’ve been, lived, and want to go. Where I’ve Been is based in Chicago, Illinois and was founded by Michael Dalesandro and Craig Ulliott. Terms of the deal were not disclosed

Where I’ve Been allows users to share their world map on social networks and interact with like-minded users. Its Facebook application has allowed 10 million people to create color coded travel maps, “pinning off” close to half a billion places. Members can also upload stories and photos, source the community for answers to travel questions, and browse the “Travel Guide” which displays socially relevant information first. This acquisition underscores TripAdvisor’s continued focus and growth in social travel.

The entire product team at Where I’ve Been will join TripAdvisor.

USA, Newton, MA & Chicago, IL

Related articles:

• TripAdvisor acquires EveryTrail Posted on February 4, 2011
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