Rakuten Inc, owner of Play.com and the Kobo e-reader, has snapped up messaging and VOIP businesses Viber for $900 million (£540 million).

Viber is based in Cyprus and has a growing body of 300 million registered users.

Japanese company Rakuten says the acquisition is a part of a plan to become the world’s primary internet services company.

“This acquisition will enable Rakuten to penetrate new markets with multiple digital content offerings, in combination with its e-commerce and financial services platforms,” it said in a statement.

Rakuten chairman and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani added: “Viber delivers the most consistently high quality and convenient messaging and VoIP experience available.

“Additionally, Viber has introduced a great sticker market and has tremendous potential as a gaming platform.”