Xurpas eyes more acquisitions, regional expansion

MANILA, Philippines - Xurpas Inc. is targeting to conquer Southeast Asia through more acquisitions possibly this year as it seeks to expand in the region, its top official said.

“Our goal really is to create, at minimum, a regional footprint,” said Xurpas chairman and CEO Nico Nolledo.

Nolledo said the company is eyeing to expand in Malaysia, Bangladesh and Indonesia and eventually to the rest of the region. “The objective is to be in as many markets in Southeast Asia as we can,” he said.

The Philippines, he added, is just one of the countries that Xurpas wants to operate in.

Nolledo said there are more than 600 telcos in the world. A big part of them are operating in emerging markets and some of them are in Southeast Asia.

“There aren’t too many players, it’s easier for us to build our presence that’s why we are in a rush. We don’t want to be a laggard where the competition will be very stiff already by the time we expand,” Nolledo said. “For you to become global, you need to fly,” he added.

Less than six months after its successful initial public offering in December 2014, Xurpas has acquired a number of companies.

These include a $500,000 convertible note investment in Einsights Pte, which comes with an option to receive interest income or convert the note into equity at a discount; a $76,136 investment in Xeleb Inc. which expands Xurpas’ product portfolio through celebrity branded games, content and services and a $1.4 million investment in Matchme Pte. Ltd, which enhances the company’s mobile game development capacities with MatchMe’s real-time, multiplayer online games tournament platform.

With its aggressive expansion mode, Xurpas is looking to tap the market again to raise funds, possibly through a follow-on offering.

“There’s nothing that we’re really planning for. If ever we raise capital, it will be because there is a very promising investment or acquisition,” Nolledo said.