Proximus Group has signed a definitive agreement to acquire through Proximus Opal, a ∼58% interest in Route Mobile, a global company specialized in CPaaS services, listed on NSE and BSE in India with a market capitalization of EUR 1.1 billion.
As a part of the agreement, some of the founding shareholders of Route Mobile will reinvest in a minority stake in Proximus Opal, a subsidiary of the Proximus Group and the holding company of Telesign, Proximus' US-based affiliate. Building on the combined strengths of Route Mobile and Telesign, the Group is paving the way to become one of the worldwide leaders in the fields of digital communications (CPaaS) and digital identity (DI).
In line with its strategic vision, Proximus Group already built up a significant presence in the CPaaS and DI markets thanks to Telesign. The strategic acquisition of Route Mobile generates substantial scale, with an annual revenue around EUR 900 million for Route Mobile and Telesign combined.
In CPaaS, the transaction enables the creation of one of the worldwide leaders: Proximus Group instantly becomes the third largest player globally (based on messaging volume[1]), 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. After closing of the transaction, the CPaaS activities of the Group will be led by Rajdip Gupta, the CEO of Route Mobile who will continue to execute his current role.
In DI, the Group will also strengthen its offerings as the addition of Route Mobile's “TruSense” skills will reinforce Telesign's already substantial capabilities. After closing of the transaction, the DI activities of the Group will be led by Joe Burton, the CEO of Telesign who will continue to execute his current role.
Geographically, Route Mobile's footprint in the Indian subcontinent, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America perfectly complements Telesign's presence in Europe and North America, allowing the Group to own a worldwide customer coverage of >200 countries and territories, while ensuring exposure to high-growth markets.
The deal is expected to generate substantial value thanks to the enriching corporate culture, as well as the high complementarity of Route Mobile and Telesign – both in terms of product offerings and geographic coverage. Annual run-rate EBITDA synergies realized 3 years post-closing are expected to be at least EUR 90 million, which will be realized by both Route Mobile and Telesign.
Guillaume Boutin, CEO of the Proximus Group, sais
The acquisition of a majority stake in Route Mobile is a transformational step for our international CPaaS and digital identity activities. With Route Mobile and Telesign, Proximus Group now holds two strong and highly complementary global assets, both from geography and product expertise standpoints. This will allow us to reap the benefits of scale, considerably reinforce the product suite of both brands and realize synergies generating substantial value for our shareholders. This acquisition perfectly fits in our bold2025 strategy, with focus on strengthening our leadership in the domestic market and continuing to grow our international activities.
Rajdip Gupta, CEO of Route Mobile,
The partnership with Telesign paves the way for Route Mobile to become one of the global CPaaS leaders and achieve a billion-dollar annual revenue run-rate much sooner than the anticipated 3-4 years' timeframe. Route Mobile, with its strong CPaaS omnichannel product offerings and deep entrenchment in emerging markets coupled with Telesign's strong presence in developed markets and a very robust digital identity stack, complement each other immensely to create a very strong value proposition for the Proximus Group and its stakeholders.
