BusinessWire- -Rakuten Inc, one of the world’s largest Internet services companies, announced today its acquisition of pioneering messaging and VoIP company, Viber. Rakuten will acquire Viber for a total consideration of $900 million. The acquisition represents another bold step for Rakuten into the digital content space, following its acquisitions of Kobo, Wuaki.tv, and Viki.
The new update includes a new and improved user interface (UI), which is the first significant update to the app's software in the last four years. According to the company, Viber Messenger 10 comes with a fresh look and enhanced connectivity options with additional privacy measures
Carl Williams writes, "There is a lot going on right now around the world. People are quite upset over President Trump’s recent executive order which restricts people from certain countries entering the United States. This puts a lot of travellers out of touch with their friends and family; it also sets them up for a lot of unexpected out of pocket expenses. Viber, a voice over internet protocol provider, has issued their own response to this travel ban. Unlike other companies that are taking a stance of either for or against, Viber is taking a unique position. One that helps those effected by the travel ban rather than the company itself."
Viber, the mobile messaging app bought by Japan’s e-commerce giant Rakuten for $900 million, is spreading its wings beyond voice calling on mobile after it introduced video calling to its Android and iOS apps.
