KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 6) : CTOS Digital Bhd has increased its stake in Thailand’s Business Online Public Company Ltd (BOL) to 22.65% from 20% previously as part of its efforts to expand its foothold in the country’s business decision-making solutions market.

In a statement today, the credit reporting agency said it has acquired 2.65% or 21.74 million shares via a direct business transfer on the Thailand stock exchange for a purchase consideration of THB208.7 million (approximately RM26.8 million). The acquisition will be fully funded by proceeds from the recent Initial Public Offering (IPO).

“BOL continues to exceed our expectations and we are very pleased with the opportunity to increase our stake,” said CTOS group CEO, Dennis Martin.

According to CTOS, BOL is the largest company information bureau in Thailand, with 59% market share in terms of revenue for the financial year ended December 31, 2020, citing information from the International Data Corp (IDC). “BOL has an extensive database of business information online on over 1.6 million local businesses including Thailand’s financial institutions, corporates, small medium enterprises (SMEs), and government agencies," CTOS said.

The group previously acquired its 20% stake in BOL in October last year.

Shares in CTOS ended unchanged at RM1.56 today, giving the company a market capitalization of RM3.43 billion.