By James A. Loyola The owners of Wavemaker Partners US, a venture capital management firm based in Los Angeles, are acquiring a 48 percent stake in technology firm Xurpas Inc. for ₱170 million. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Xurpas said it is using the ₱170 million proceeds from the issuance of new shares for the acquisition of Wavemaker US. Wavemaker US has been operating for almost 17 years as a top-rated US technology fund and has a track record of successful exits, via both public offering of shares and acquisitions. Founded by Eric Manlunas, the early-stage venture capital firm started in Los Angeles in 2003. According to financial data firm, PitchBook, Wavemaker US is one of the most active venture capital firms in Southern California. After the transaction, Xurpas controlling shareholders Nico Jose Nolledo, Fernando Jude Garcia, and Raymond Gerard Racaza will be reduced to a 29.88 percent stake from 57.12 percent. “Wavemaker US has an outstanding team who has consistently outperformed the public markets in the last 16 years,” said Xurpas Chairman Nolledo. He added that, “this acquisition brings forward our vision of expanding Xurpas’ technology mandate and gives our shareholders access to promising venture-backed early-stage companies in the US and globally.” “We believe this combination with Xurpas will give Wavemaker US a unique competitive advantage due to its heritage as a publicly-traded technology company with extensive enterprise service experience,” said Manlunas. He added that, “despite our already rapid growth during the last several years, we intend to further grow Wavemaker US’ assets exponentially in the next 5 to 7 years and this partnership with Xurpas will enhance our chances of achieving that. We look forward to leveraging Xurpas’ access to the public markets, creating global scale and delivering outstanding investment returns.”