Route mobile is valued at approximately €1.1 billion and under the terms 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.
The all-cash deal will see Proximus finance the transaction through bridge financing and the issuance of a new bond.
"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," said Guillaume Boutin, CEO of the Proximus Group
"This will allow us to reap the benefits of scale, considerably reinforce the product suite of both brands and realise 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.
The news builds on the Proximus Group's significant presence in the CPaaS and digital identity (DI) markets due to Telesign. The acquisition of Route Mobile will generate additional scale for Proximus with an annual revenue roughly €900 million for Route Mobile and Telesign combined.
Proximus' CPaaS portfolio will be significantly extended with the addition of Route Mobile capabilities, notably in omnichannel, which will help capture value from the ongoing – generative AI-based – revolutions in customer engagement.
"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," added Rajdip Gupta, CEO of Route Mobile.
"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.
Once the transaction is complete, 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 benefit from Route Mobile's 'TruSense' skills that will reinforce Telesign's existing capabilities.
Once the transaction is complete, the DI activities of the Group will be led by Joe Burton, the CEO of Telesign who will also continue to execute his current role.
"Our mission at Telesign is to create a trustworthy place for everyone in the digital space," said Joe Burton, CEO of TeleSign.
"As Proximus Group welcomes Route Mobile to the family, we are encouraged by the opportunities it will bring us as we focus on expanding our global reach and meeting our customers' digital identity and messaging needs. The relationship with Route Mobile will complement Telesign as we focus on delivering our brand promise.
Geographically, Route Mobile's footprint in the Indian subcontinent, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America complements Telesign's presence in Europe and North America, allowing the Group to own a global customer coverage of more 200 countries and territories.
The annual run-rate EBITDA synergies realised 3 years post-closing are expected to be at least €90 million from both Route Mobile and Telesign.
Subject to regulatory and anti-trust approvals as well as the completion of a mandatory takeover offer in line with Indian regulations, Proximus expects to close the transaction within the next six to nine months.
