A Dutch software company, MessageBird, is set to acquire email marketing firm SparkPost for US$600 million in an all-cash deal to strengthen its North American focus and competition with Twilio, Bloomberg reported.
Twilio’s value has grown from US$1.23 billion to US$67.8 billion within four years of listing. MessageBird had procured US$800 million from investors including Eurazeo, Tiger Global, Owl Rock Capital, and BlackRock to fund the transaction. Eurazeo’s Nathalie Kornhoff-Bruls will join MessageBird’s board.
MessageBird aims to grow its US workforce from 20 to 300 by the transaction closure. MessageBird’s platform makes it easier for companies to communicate with their customers through a range of channels including SMS, voice and messaging platforms like WhatsApp. The acquisition of SparkPost will add email to MessageBird’s suite of communication tools, as well as top clients like Disney, JPMorgan and Adobe.
Making a big investment like this in email might seem like a kind of return to basics, but MessageBird CEO and founder Robert Vis said it’s still a widely-used method of communication between businesses and their customers.
MessageBird “wants to make communicating with a business to feel as natural as with a friend,” Vis told CNBC in an interview. “And if you define that as texting with a business, where are all the interactions happening today? They’re happening on email.”
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Realtors’ Appeal, DOJ Antitrust Probe Moves Forward
Jan 13, 2025 by
CPI
Commerzbank Chairman Doubts Amicable Merger with UniCredit After Stake Acquisition
Jan 13, 2025 by
CPI
Senator Warren Presses HUD Nominee on Rent Price-Fixing
Jan 13, 2025 by
CPI
Epic Games CEO Accuses Tech Giants of Shifting Loyalties to Court Trump Administration
Jan 13, 2025 by
CPI
Apple’s New Developer Fees Face Renewed Scrutiny from EU Antitrust Regulators
Jan 13, 2025 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – CRESSE Insights
Dec 19, 2024 by
CPI
Effective Interoperability in Mobile Ecosystems: EU Competition Law Versus Regulation
Dec 19, 2024 by
Giuseppe Colangelo
The Use of Empirical Evidence in Antitrust: Trends, Challenges, and a Path Forward
Dec 19, 2024 by
Eliana Garces
Some Empirical Evidence on the Role of Presumptions and Evidentiary Standards on Antitrust (Under)Enforcement: Is the EC’s New Communication on Art.102 in the Right Direction?
Dec 19, 2024 by
Yannis Katsoulacos
The EC’s Draft Guidelines on the Application of Article 102 TFEU: An Economic Perspective
Dec 19, 2024 by
Benoit Durand