MOL Announces the Full Acquisition of Thailand Zest Interactive

MOL announces the full acquisition of Zest Interactive, Game Distributor in Thailand today. If you notice, MOL has been very active lately. I foresee we will see more of MOL in future.

MOL Announces Acquisition of Zest Interactive,

Leading Games Distributor in Thailand

Acquisition Strengthens MOL’s Positioning as a Leading Platform for

Payment Services in Thailand

BANGKOK, Thailand, July 25, 2011 – MOL AccessPortal Co., Ltd. (MOL Thailand), a leading social payments and online games aggregator in Thailand, today announced that it has fully acquired Zest Interactive Co., Ltd. (Zest Interactive), one of the country’s leading games distributors.

MOL Thailand is part of MOL Global, one of Asia’s leading payment service providers for online games, virtual worlds and social networks. MOL’s flagship product, MOLPoints, is a virtual currency used by social gamers and online consumers in the region to acquire in-game credits and digital goods.

Zest Interactive, a privately held Thailand-based games distributor and payment gateway company, has an existing network of over 40,000 physical payment channels including cybercafes and retail outlets.

The acquisition in Thailand further strengthens MOL’s portfolio as the largest Internet payment provider for the online games market in the region. Following the acquisition, MOL Thailand’s products are now available in more than 6,500 cyber cafes and 60,000 payment locations all over the country. Zest Interactive will continue to operate under its existing brand and will now be able to offer new in-game currency including Facebook Credits and Zynga Game Cards. The acquisition gives both companies a broader product range through complementary products and stronger sales channels across Thailand.

See also  MOL Investing To Drive Consumers’ use of Virtual Currency Online

“Thailand presents one of the most robust and fastest growing markets for online gaming in Southeast Asia over the next few years for MOL. Our growth in Thailand is driven by the rapidly increasing numbers of social gamers and varied players in the online games ecosystem such as telecommunications service providers, online game developers and the distribution channels,” said Craig White, President, Global Operations of MOL Global. “The acquisition of Zest Interactive is a further step of the initiative we began a year back in Thailand to better serve our customers.”

Preecha Praipattarakul, Chief Executive Officer of MOL Thailand, said, “MOL Thailand has grown by leaps and bounds in the last 12 months. We have recorded high growth on our payment volume, in the number of users and we have included more games and content to our payment platform. MOL Thailand and Zest Interactive have always had an excellent relationship. Now with this acquisition, we will join forces, pooling our experienced teams and best practices to strengthen our joint capabilities and lead the gaming market, offering further value to our customers in Thailand with a wide range of localized payment options and global popular content.”

“Since its creation in 2006, Zest Interactive has grown to be one of Thailand’s leading online games distributors. We are proud of our achievements and of being able to contribute to the strengthening of MOL’s position and business in Thailand. With the synergy created between our two dynamic teams, MOL will have a strong foothold in Thailand.  Zest has always prided itself on its excellent customer service and complete range of gaming products,” said Paul Sarab, Chief Executive Officer of Zest Interactive.

See also  Check Out the Latest Thailand Protest Update via Live Blog

Paul Sarab, a gaming industry veteran with over 20 years of experience in this market and also the founder of Zest Interactive, has joined MOL Thailand’s management team as its Chief Operating Officer reporting to MOL Thailand’s CEO Praipattarakul.

-Ends-

About MOL Global Pte Ltd (MOL Global)

MOL Global is one of Southeast Asia’s biggest internet companies and fully-own both payment service provider, MOL AccessPortal Sdn Berhad (MOL) and the world’s pioneer social network, Friendster Inc. (Friendster) Through its ownership of MOL and Friendster, MOL Global has one of the region’s largest end-to-end content, distribution and commerce networks, pairing MOL’s physical payment collection points and payment platforms with Friendster’s large online footprint, social network and gaming community in Asia. For more information on MOL, vist www.molglobal.net or www.mol.com.

About MOL AccessPortal Co. Ltd (MOL Thailand)

MOL Thailand, part of the MOL Global Group, operates and develops payment systems for online games and digital goods. The Company is one of the largest social games distributors in Thailand. For more information on MOL Thailand, visit http://th.mol.com/

About Zest Interactive Co, Ltd

Founded in 2006, Zest Interactive Co, Ltd is one of the top platform game distributors in Thailand. The Company has one of the largest physical and online distribution channels in Thailand and operates three physical stores in Bangkok. For more information on Zest, visit www.zest.co.th

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

[ad#img]
[ad#boxlist]
(image source)