Deals done this past week


23 Jul 2012

An overview of the week in deals in the Irish and global technology sector.

PayPal acquires mobile payments start-up Card.io

E-payments giant PayPal has acquired mobile payments start-up Card.io for an undisclosed sum.

Card.io is a San Francisco-based company that provides technology for developers to capture credit card information by using the camera on a smartphone.

The company first worked with PayPal when they were integrating the Card.io technology into the PayPal Here app, Hill Ferguson, vice-president of Global Product, PayPal, wrote on PayPal’s blog.

Card.io’s employees will join the PayPal global product team in San Jose, California, to help it create new experiences to make it even easier for consumers and merchants to use the PayPal digital wallet, wrote Ferguson.

Autodesk acquires Socialcam video sharing app for US$60m

Socialcam, an app that lets users share video across social networks like Twitter and Facebook, has been acquired by US design software giant Autodesk for an estimated US$60m.

Autodesk says it will prioritise support for the existing Socialcam community, while investing in scaling the platform and developing a more comprehensive set of tools for Socialcam users.

Autodesk also plans to use the Socialcam platform to help make its Academy Award-winning technology for professional film and video creators more accessible to a broader audience.

“Socialcam shares Autodesk’s mission of helping everybody imagine, design and create a better world,” said Michael Seibel, founder and CEO, Socialcam.

Saongroup’s South African empire grows with new acquisition

Irish-headquartered online HR player Saongroup.com’s South African recruitment site PNET.co.za has acquired Jobs.co.za for an undisclosed sum.

In 14 years, Pnet.co.za has built one of South Africa’s largest websites, with more than 2,600 clients advertising 25,000 jobs and a database of more than 1.4m job seekers.

Launched in 1997, Jobs.co.za has developed a CV database of more than half a million job seekers with close to 100 clients advertising more than 8,500 live jobs.

“Saongroup.com’s further expansion into the South African market is a significant step for the company,” said Ciaran McCooey, CEO, Saongroup.com.

“Jobs.co.za already has an extensive footprint across the South African recruitment market and we aim to strengthen this further. This acquisition is a further positive development for Saongroup.com and in line with our global expansion strategy.”

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