MessageBird’s $200 Million Fundraise Likely Last Before an IPO
MessageBird’s $200 Million Fundraise Likely Last Before an IPO
(Bloomberg) -- MessageBird said it’s raised $200 million of new funding at a valuation of $3 billion in what’s expected to be the last cash injection before an initial public offering next year.
Some of the funds will be used for acquisitions, and MessageBird still believes it will be “IPO-ready” in the first half of 2021, Chief Executive Officer Robert Vis said in an interview this week.
“We think there’s going to be considerable consolidation going forward, so part of the raise is to put us in a position to do M&A,” said Vis, who founded MessageBird in 2011. “This could be anywhere from a very small company to a very sizable one.”
The founder also said he’s been approached by what seems like “every single SPAC provider in the world,” but that the company hasn’t decided whether to stick to a traditional IPO. Investments have poured into special-purpose acquisition companies this year with several businesses, including ChargePoint Inc. and Hims Inc., announcing deals with the publicly traded takeover vehicles.
MessageBird lets companies add a few lines of code to their app or website so customers can text, email or call-in with questions. Revenue is on track to grow 50% to about 300 million euros ($353 million) this year, buoyed in part by demand from e-commerce clients moving sales and support online, and the company is “around the profitability line,” Vis said.
The Amsterdam-based company’s IPO would follow U.S. rival Twilio Inc., which is now valued at about $44.4 billion four years after it listed at a $1.23 billion market value. Twilio’s share price has roughly tripled during the Covid-19 crisis due to a surge in demand for its products by companies depending on online services like WhatsApp and Zoom to resolve consumer complaints as stores sit vacant.
Vis said the pandemic’s impact on the business hadn’t just been related to fiscal details or staffing, but also a fundamental shift in his opinions about remote working and fundraising via video conference.
“I raised this $200 million from investors I’d never met before, all on Zoom and Google Hangouts,” Vis said. “I’m excited about thinking about what this will be like during IPO.”
The round was led by San Francisco-based Spark Capital, with participation from existing investors such as Atomico, Accel and Y-Combinator. MessageBird said Spark’s General Partner Will Reed will join its board.
Vis founded MessageBird in 2011 after selling his micropayments business, Zaypay. MessageBird now has about 350 employees in 21 cities, and additional offices in Singapore, San Francisco, Sydney and Bogota.
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