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The Belgian operator will purchase a 57.56% stake in India’s Route Mobile, a move they say will create the world’s third-largest Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) offering
Today, Proximus has announced a major push into the global CPaaS market, agreeing to purchase a majority stake in India’s Route Mobile for €643m.
The acquisition is being made via Proximus’s enterprise-focussed subsidiary Proximus Opal, which itself is the parent company of Proximus’s CPaaS business Telesign.
The deal will see Proximus Opal take a 57.56% in Route Mobile, with the Belgian operator explaining they will move to combine Route Mobile with Telesign to create what they claim is the third largest CPaaS company globally by messaging volumes.
Combined, the two businesses will generate an annual revenue of around €900 million, with Proximus saying that Route Mobile’s footprint in the Indian subcontinent, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America perfectly complements Telesign’s presence in Europe and North America.
“With a vastly expanded customer outreach. Proximus’ CPaaS portfolio will be significantly extended through adding Route Mobile capabilities, notably in omnichannel, which will help capture value from the ongoing – generative AI-based – revolutions in customer engagement,” said Proximus in a company statement.
Rajdip Gupta, the current CEO of Route Mobile, will head up the combined company’s CPaaS operations, while Joe Burton, the current CEO of Telesign, will lead their digital identify activities.
Alongside the initial stake acquisition, Indian regulatory law means that Proximus Opal will also be obligated to offer to purchase up to a further 26% of outstanding shares in Route Mobile at the same price; if all shareholders agree to this additional offer, Proximus’s final stake in Route Mobile would sit at just under 75% and its total spend to around €1 billion.
As part of the agreement, Route Mobile’s founding shareholders, represented by Clear Bridge Ventures, will subsequently re-invest up to €300 million in Proximus Opal, taking a stake of up to 14.5%.
The deal is expected to be closed in the next six months, pending regulatory approval.
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