Way2Online Interactive India Private Limited, which runs Person to Person (P2P) messaging portal Way2Sms.com, has acquired 160by2.com, another P2P messaging portal based out of Hyderabad with 13 million registered users. 160by2 is operated by SMS Country and as a part of the deal, Way2online has acquired SMS Country’s Internet asset 160by2.com, key engineering team and intellectual property associated with 160by2.com. The deal was an all-cash deal but the value was not disclosed.

Post-acquisition, 160by2 will continue to grow as an independent unit under the leadership of Way2Online. There is only 20 per cent of 160by2′s user base overlapping with Way2Sms. Way2Sms has 23 million registered users and with the acquisition the company targets a turnover of Rs 60 crore during 2012-13.

Raju Vanapala, Founder & CEO, Way2Online, said “This acquisition not only broadens Way2Online’s consumer penetration to 33 million unique Internet users but also gives access to 35 per cent of the total Internet users in India. Above all, both the Internet properties Way2Sms and 160by2 are adding close to a million new users per month. I’m sure that the acquisition paves the way for way2online to become the largest consumer focused internet company in India and our rapid growth may soon take us to be numero uno among the Indian Internet companies.”

Satya Yerramsetti, CEO, SMSCountry, said “We are confident that 160by2.com, in the safe hands of Way2Online, would only add more value to both our users as well as our advertisers.”