By Krystal Hu
(Reuters) – Infobip has raised over $200 million from private equity firm One Equity Partners in a deal which values the Croatian cloud communications firm at over $1 billion and was its first external round of funding, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The investment will help Infobip further expand in the United States through potential acquisitions, as it competes head-to-head with rivals such as San Francisco-based Twilio, the sources said.
Founded in 2006, Infobip provides technology in omnichannels marketing, allowing companies to communicate with customers through text messages or third-party apps such as WhatsApp.
It counts global firms Uber, Costco and Unilever as customers, with the ability to reach seven billion mobile devices in more than 190 countries through its network, according to company releases.
The company, currently profitable, generated 602 million ($710 million) in revenue last year, up 38% year over year, the sources said.
It saw a 20% spike in SMS volumes in April compared to February, as businesses looked to reach customers through virtual communications during a global lockdown prompted by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Infobip will now focus on expanding its business and is considering an initial public offering in the United States at a later date, one of the sources said.
Communication Platforms as a Service, or CPaaS, will grow from $3.3 billion in 2018 to $17.2 billion by 2023, according to forecasts by market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).
Citi and Morrison Foerster advised Infobip in raising the funds.
(Reporting by Krystal Hu in New York; editing by Grant McCool)
