Vercom, a technology company providing cloud solutions in the CPaaS model (Communication Platform-as-a-Service), reaches a new milestone towards its expansion on the international market. The investment in MailerLite, a global provider of tools for email communication, will enable the company to nearly triple the number of clients and ensure presence on 180 markets. The transaction value will amount to around PLN 400m, making it the largest acquisition of a foreign entity by a Polish company this year, and one of the largest acquisitions in the technology sector in recent years.
Vercom, a leader of CPaaS market in the CEE region, has announced the acquisition of MailerLite, a US-headquartered global provider of tools for email communication tools for business clients, for around PLN 400m. MailerLite operates mainly in the US and Western Europe, which together account for more than 70% of the company’s revenue. MailerLite has over 38,000 clients in 180 markets and employs around 100 people in 30 international locations. Over the past 3 years, MailerLite’s average annual revenue growth was at 43%, while gross margin PLN 45m in 2021.
– We are consistently implementing a strategy that aims to strengthen our presence on the international market. Our aim was to find a reliable partner, thanks to whom we could significantly accelerate implementation of these plans. MailerLite is a recognisable brand that enjoys great popularity among business customers around the world. It has a diversified portfolio of customers, dominated by entities from the attractive markets of the US and Western Europe. It also has an international team of specialists in key locations such as San Francisco, New York and Dublin. As a result of this transaction, the number of our clients will triple and our solutions will become available on the global market – said Krzysztof Szyszka, CEO of Vercom.
In April 2021, Vercom successfully launched an initial public offering (IPO), in which it raised PLN 180m. The amount raised together with debt financing will be fully spend on the acquisitions. In July 2021, the company acquired two companies for a total of around PLN 40m: FreshMail – leader of the Polish e-mail marketing market and PushPushGo – leader of push communication market in CEE region. Thanks to these transactions, the company has significantly increased its customer base and strengthened its product portfolio. The investment in MailerLite completes the stage of investing the IPO funds, and begins a new phase in the development of the both entities.
– We are looking forward to working with Vercom. We have similar global ambitions and together we will achieve our goals even faster. We will be jointly building our value and developing our services. Thanks to Vercom’s technology, we will be able to offer our customers full multichannel capabilities. We also strongly count on Vercom’s know-how in the area of transactional communication. This will allow us to further increase the attractiveness of our services and strengthen our competitive position on the global market – says Ignas Rubežius, CEO of MailerLite
– In recent years, Vercom has followed the path of dynamic, multi-faceted development, which culminated in its debut on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE). Vercom is currently a mature company offering unique solutions appreciated by local e-commerce champions, leading financial institutions and global consumer brands. It is a good time to exploit the technological potential and face the competition on the global market. Therefore, as the major shareholder of Vercom, we strongly support the investment in MailerLite and believe that this will be a strong impulse for the further development of the Group– adds Jakub Dwernicki, CEO of R22.
This acquisition of MailerLite will significantly accelerate the business growth of Vercom, and dynamically scale up it’s operations and finances across global markets. The number of customers will triple from approx. 19,000 currently to around 57,000 entities operating on 180 markets. At the same time, around 100 specialists from 30 international locations will join the Vercom team, providing efficient service to global portfolio of clients in all time zones. The investment will also allow to double gross margin from PLN 54m currently up to PLN 107m and will ensure significant potential in revenue synergies. A year after the successful IPO, Vercom has significantly scaled up, strengthened its competences in terms of technology, expanded its offer with new channels, expanded the team and prepared for global expansion and acquisition of a global player. The technological company has been building a stable business based on healthy foundations for over 17 years, but the last year was definitely a breakthrough. The acquisition of MailerLite will further accelerate the dynamic growth of Vercom’s business scale and operations. The company will also gain strong international exposure and access to thousands of new global clients.
– The acquisition of MailerLite opens up entirely new growth opportunities ahead of us. That means not only a jump increase in the scale of operations, but also a strong entry onto a fourteen times larger, global market. This also will ensure us the potential for further dynamic organic growth in the years ahead. With impetus we are joining the global CPaaS players, such as Twilio and Sinch. This is a milestone in the development of the company – Krzysztof Szyszka summarized.
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