Value-added applications developer for telecom providers, SabSe Technologies, co-founded by HotMail co-founder Sabeer Bhatia, and proven serial entrepreneur Yogesh Patel, announced yesterday that it had acquired Jaxtr, the world's largest social communications company,  which helps make international calls for free.

Without disclosing the acquisition price, SabSe Technologies said it would maintain and expand upon Jaxtr's service, which will continue to operate under the Jaxtr brand, alongside the acquiring company's existing SabSeBolo brand, the company said.

Melno Park, California-based Jaxtr has more than 10 million users in 220 countries, where users use the web to save money on international mobile calls, send free SMS messages worldwide and get a free global voicemail box online through Jaxtr.

Mountain View, California-based SabSe's acquisition of Jaxtr brings together two valuable consumer and business telecom applications now on a common platform.

Jaxtr, with its large active user base will enable SabSe to accelerate deployment of its additional applications, and to leverage an instant audience for its innovative technology.

Over the past several years, Jaxtr has built a robust consumer service currently providing free and low-rate international calling to over ten million members around the globe. The company had raised more than $20 million in funding from investors like Mayfield Fund and August Capital.

One of its Jaxtr's early investors was the late Rajeev Motwani, the Stanford professor and mentor to Google co founders, who was found dead after drowning in the swimming pool of his Bay area home in Atherton, California, last Friday. (See: Web guru Rajeev Motwani dies in drowning accident)

"Jaxtr's consumer services complement SabSe's SMB portfolio perfectly," said Bhatia, chairman of SabSe and founder of Hotmail, which he sold to Microsoft for a reported sum of $400 million in 1997.

"Aside from increasing our market penetration, this acquisition will enable serious growth for SabSe as we work with the local markets Jaxtr currently serves," said Patel, SabSe CEO. "Jaxtr's customer base, technology, and active users will be significant in our accelerating SabSe's sales and market presence at a tremendous pace."

SabSe Technologies has developed a strong platform aimed at providing "Telephony Applications as a Service" (TAAS), coupled with a web-based API, allowing for unprecedented rapid development for telephony applications.

In the last few years, SabSe has become a leader in the developing value-added applications, which are easily deployed by telcos around the world.

SabSe's customers include AirTel, Tata and Celcom, among others.