THE PHILIPPINES, MARCH 10, 2012: Mobile application developers Chikka and Wolfpac have recently declared a merger, with Chikka as the surviving entity. The two groups have been fierce rivals in the Philippine mobile communications scene, where they separately produced applications, platforms, and services, which transformed the ordinary Filipino’s cellular phone into an entertainment device, an instant messenger, an email client, an electronic wallet, and more.
Both Chikka and Wolfpac trace their beginnings in 1999. Chikka Text Messenger, Chikka’s flagship mobile communication application, is an integration of web and mobile messenger utilities. Wolfpac, on the other hand, became well-known through their successive releases of mobile games like PetPals and Text2Millions. Smart Communications, the Philippines’ leading mobile network, acquired Wolfpac and Chikka in 2004 and 2009, respectively.
“The resulting powerhouse now serves as an incubator for new technologies and innovation, producing telco-grade platforms and systems, and real value-added services for the new digital consumer, including corporate partners,” said Chito Bustamante, Chikka chief executive officer.
The merger will form one of the largest web and mobile applications developers in the Philippines to cater to mobile internet communities demanding apps of high utility and high entertainment value – qualities ingrained in the two companies’ respective DNAs.
“This unified Chikka and Wolfpac organization now has the highest concentration of crack as well as veteran talent in development and content creation in the Philippine mobile industry. You can imagine what we can do today with wider access to data among consumers, with such technologies as smart phones, the Cloud, and with various developer networks,” Bustamante added.
