LINK MOBILITY
Acquired by
ABRY PARTNERS
LINK MOBILITY acquired by ABRY PARTNERS
Target
LINK MOBILITY
Acquirer
ABRY PARTNERS
Context
In a landmark European tech transaction, Abry Partners, via its vehicle Victory Partners VIII Norway AS, has launched a recommended voluntary cash offer to acquire the entire issued share capital of LINK Mobility Group ASA. The transaction is structured as a public-to-private (P2P) takeover, with the board of directors of LINK Mobility providing a unanimous recommendation in favor of the deal. Notably, the transaction includes a substantial management roll-over, where key executive investors are reinvesting a portion of their holdings (representing 14.7% of the company) into the new holding structure. This alignment of interests, combined with pre-acceptances from institutional shareholders, secured approximately 54% of the share capital at the announcement date. This leveraged buyout is designed to provide LINK Mobility with the private capital and operational flexibility required to pursue a grander global scale. For Abry Partners, this acquisition serves as a strategic entry point into the European CPaaS market, providing a platform for further regional consolidation. The deal highlights the ongoing trend of US-based private equity firms seeking "alpha" in the European mid-market technology sector by targeting high-growth, mission-critical software platforms.
LINK MOBILITY, which reported an EBITDA margin of LOGIN in 2017, is valued in this transaction at an EV/EBITDA multiple of LOGIN, representing a LOGIN premium to the average currently observed in the TMT (Tech, Media, Telecom) sector (12.8x).
Note that this data is based on contribution from our growing community, composed of M&A and Private Equity professionals, and has been verified by our team to ensure its accuracy.
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Target
LINK Mobility Group ASA is a leading European provider of mobile messaging and Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) solutions. Headquartered in Oslo, the company facilitates seamless interaction between enterprises and their customers through a variety of mobile channels, including SMS, RCS, WhatsApp, and mobile payment services. By providing highly scalable Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), LINK Mobility enables businesses to automate customer engagement, deliver mission-critical notifications, and streamline mobile marketing campaigns across a diverse range of industries. Positioned as one of the fastest-growing companies in its sector, LINK Mobility holds a dominant market-leading position across Northern and Central Europe. The company has successfully executed a rapid consolidation strategy, acquiring numerous local players to build a formidable international footprint. Its business model is characterized by high transaction volumes and recurring revenue streams, supported by a specialized cloud infrastructure that ensures secure and reliable message delivery for over 20,000 corporate clients.
Ent. Value
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Historical Financials (NOK)
Other operations with LINK MOBILITY
| Date | Acquirer | Target | Country | Sector | Deal Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/2021 | LINK MOBILITY | MESSAGE BROADCAST | UNITED STATES | Software | LINK Mobility acquired Message Broadcast to establish a significant foothold in the United States, positioning itself to capture growth in a fragmented and fast-paced market. The acquisition is designed to integrate a proprietary, high-margin communication platform into the Group's global ecosystem, significantly contributing to organic growth and overall profitability. By onboarding a management team with extensive industry experience, the Group aims to leverage existing relationships with blue-chip enterprise clients in sectors such as utilities and healthcare, where mission-critical communication is a non-negotiable requirement. This transaction is a central component of the Group's strategy to expand its product offerings and geographic footprint while maintaining its focus on scalability and innovation. The combined organization benefits from enhanced cross-selling opportunities and a broader, more diversified customer portfolio, accelerating the Group’s ambition to become the leading provider of B2C mobile messaging solutions in the North American market. |
| 02/2018 | LINK MOBILITY | TERACOMM | BULGARIA | Software | The acquisition Teracomm by LINK Mobility Group, designed to consolidate the mobile messaging market in South-Eastern Europe. The strategic rationale focuses on building a unified regional platform by creating synergy between Teracomm and LINK’s existing regional operations. By aggregating technical infrastructure and sales networks, the group intends to accelerate the deployment of innovative mobile messaging and data services across the region. This expansion is central to LINK’s broader objective of scaling its European presence and leveraging the high underlying growth rates of the South-Eastern European market. The acquisition enables the group to utilize shared technical expertise and professional resources to enhance service delivery and reach a broader client base. Furthermore, the divestiture allows the seller to pivot its strategic focus toward Internet of Things (IoT) products and services, thereby optimizing its resource allocation while ensuring the continuity of the mobile messaging business under a proven industry operator. |
| 01/2018 | LINK MOBILITY | HORISEN MESSAGING | SWITZERLAND | Software | LINK Mobility Group ASA completed the acquisition of 100% of the voting equity instruments of Horisen Messaging, a Swiss-based subsidiary carved out from HORISEN AG. The acquisition was a strategic move by LINK Mobility to consolidate its position in the European mobile messaging market. By acquiring Horisen Messaging, LINK Mobility secured a dominant market position in Switzerland, holding over 30% of the market share, and gained access to a valuable international messaging network. For the seller (HORISEN AG), the divestiture served as a corporate restructuring to separate the operational SMS trading business from its core software technology platform, allowing the parent company to pivot to a "pure product house" model while maintaining a commercial relationship as a technology vendor to LINK Mobility. |
| 01/2018 | LINK MOBILITY | SMS ITALIA | ITALY | Telecom | The acquisition of SMS.it represents a pivotal strategic move for LINK Mobility, aimed at securing a dominant market position within the Italian mobile messaging sector. By integrating SMS.it, which operates an independent mobile network and maintains key interworking agreements with Italian operators, LINK Mobility gains immediate access to significant messaging volume and an established customer base. This acquisition is part of the Group’s broader strategy to expand its European footprint through the consolidation of leading regional players, thereby enhancing its ability to provide scalable, cross-border mobile communication services. The strategic rationale is driven by the demand for digital convergence and the necessity for robust, high-uptime messaging infrastructure to support enterprise-to-consumer communication. |
| 01/2018 | LINK MOBILITY | TOTALCONNECT | ITALY | Software | LINK Mobility Group ASA has completed the 100% acquisition of the share capital of Archynet s.r.l., known as "Total Connect." The acquisition was conducted on a cash-free, debt-free basis, effectively integrating the Italian mobile messaging business into the Group's existing portfolio. The acquisition is strategically aligned with LINK Mobility’s ongoing consolidation strategy within the European mobile communications market. By acquiring Total Connect, LINK Mobility deepens its footprint in the Italian region, gaining immediate access to the target's existing customer base and messaging infrastructure. The deal enables the acquirer to leverage economies of scale and cross-selling opportunities, integrating Total Connect’s local technical capabilities into the broader Group platform to enhance the overall messaging service offering for enterprise clients. |
REFERENCES
Authors: mynth contributor (mynth data is contributed by M&A / PE professionals and systematically cross-verified with private deal documents and official press releases).
Press release: view release
Target: link mobility
Acquirer: abry partners