Listed consumer technology firm Xurpas has acquired a 51-percent controlling stake in technology firm Storm Flex Systems for $4.3 million.
?The acquisition of Storm signals our expansion into an entirely new distribution network, and into the selling of physical goods and services,? said Nix Nolledo, president and chief executive officer of Xurpas.
?We feel this partnership will allow us to achieve the next stages of growth and development in the region. There is a tremendous opportunity ahead of us,? said Peter Cauton, CEO of Storm.
Xurpas and Storm completed the sale on Feb. 26, 2015. Storm will use the money raised from the transaction to further accelerate its already impressive growth locally, and branch out to other markets in Southeast Asia.
Storm has developed a proprietary platform which allows employees of any company that has signed with Storm to exchange their current employee benefits and transform them into a wide range of products and services — such as gadgets and dining, a private carpool system, doctor consultations on demand, all the way to donations for charitable causes.
The firm?s flex benefits system is currently used by some of the country?s leading local conglomerates, business process outsourcing and fast-moving consumer goods companies both in Manila and recently, in Metro Cebu.
Since inception, Storm has demonstrated exponential growth, with revenue increasing five-fold from 2013 to 2014.
The total number of client employees served by Storm currently stands at 15,000, with the company expecting to substantially increase this figure to 30,000 in 2015 post acquisition by Xurpas.
?The business has been running successfully for the past two years, and can boast of a truly astounding growth trajectory. It has a sound revenue generation model which is both unique and exportable to other markets. So we consider it as one of the great inroads to regional expansion,? said Nolledo.
Storm is the second and the largest acquisition so far by Xurpas after its successful initial public offering in December 2014. — PNA
