Automattic Inc., the online company responsible for the widely-used blogging platform WordPress.com, has purchased Beeper, the messaging application that was central to a recent conflict involving Apple Inc.

Automattic announced on Tuesday that it will be acquiring the Beeper app and bringing on board its 27 employees. This acquisition also involves Beeper co-founder Eric Migicovsky, who is set to take on the role of Automattic’s head of messaging.

According to an anonymous source familiar with the matter, the purchaser, who also possesses the Tumblr and Longreads websites, is acquiring the business for a sum of $125 million. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed by the source.

The agreement is a strategic move to integrate online messaging as a fundamental aspect of Automattic's operations. Beeper, initially introduced as a beta version in 2021, is a versatile chat application that consolidates various messaging platforms into a single unified inbox. With approximately 100,000 users, this service is compatible with popular apps such as Facebook Messenger, Signal, and Slack.

In a media interview,Migicovsky said,"There’s basically no open standard for chat, and our vision is to create that by connecting to legacy chat networks.”

Migicovsky gained recognition initially for his creation of the Pebble, a smartwatch that came before the Apple Watch. Lately, he has played a significant role in the investigation of Apple's antitrust practices. Last year, his company introduced Beeper Mini, a software version that enabled Apple's iMessage to function on Android devices, causing displeasure for the tech giant, resulting in the app being blocked.

Migicovsky had actively advocated for curbing Apple's dominance, which drew the attention of regulators. The incident was referenced by the US Department of Justice in an antitrust lawsuit filed against Apple recently.

The individual stated that the agreement was reached following the public disagreement, however, Automattic had already been an investor in Beeper for a considerable period of time.

He further added, "Automattic is a big company but they’re not like a Big Tech company. They know how to build open-source infrastructure to open-source the internet."