Cheltenham-based Comapi has been bought by dotdigital Group for £11 million.

The London bulk-email specialist has snapped up fast-growing Comapi, which employs 30 people at its Bath Road headquarters.

Comapi specialises in live chat and has built a scalable software platform that allows businesses to communicate with their consumers across multiple messaging channels.

Dotdigital believes the takeover will enable the company to deliver conversational messaging across a range of channels, including email, SMS, Facebook messenger and Twitter. It will also allow dotdigital customers to meet consumer demand for a more personalised communication experience. The company hopes the takeover will position dotdigital as the most advanced platform on the market and make it more relevant in the strategic mobile first Asian market.

Milan Patel, dotdigital chief executive, said: "By adding Comapi to our business, dotdigital is executing on its vision to be an omni-channel marketing automation platform. Comapi has built an impressive platform that, integrated with our software, will allow our customers access to the next generation of consumer engagement marketing technology aiding retention and boosting our competitive advantage in securing new customers. We are pleased to welcome the Comapi team and look forward to supporting their business plan and introducing their technology to our global customers."

The Comapi management team has the potential to make a further £1.2 million in share options, dependant on them achieving specific performance targets over a two year post-acquisition period and remaining with the business.