O2: Yes, we’re acquiring Jajah Internet phone company

O2, the mobile phone separation of Spanish telecommunication company Telefónica, confirmed today that it’s acquiring Israel-based Internet voip phone company Jajah for 145 million euros (that’s $207 million).

The move reflects the rising interest in VoIP technology on the part of the large telecom and tech companies. In November, Israeli financial news site and TechCrunch. TheMarker reported that O2 was requesting for Jajah against Microsoft and Cisco, and it reported this weekend that O2 had won the bidding war. (At the same time, an O2 press representative told us the reports were “entirely speculation.”)

Telefónica is not the only telecom company interested in VoIP startups. Last year, BT acquired Ribbit, which dubbed itself “Silicon Valley’s first voip phone company.”
Jajah says it has approximately 15 million subscribers. It has launched at DEMO, the technology conference co-produced by VentureBeat, and raised $35 million from Sequoia Capital, Deutsche Telekom, Intel Capital, and others.