Link Mobility Group

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LINK Mobility Group AS
Company typeAksjeselskap
OSE: LINK
IndustryTelecommunication
Founded19 December 2001
HeadquartersOslo, Norway
Area served
Europe
North America
Asia
Oceania
South America
United States
Key people
André Christensen (Chairman)
Thomas Berge (Interim CEO)
Morten Løken Edvardsen (Interim CFO)
Ketil Opdah l (Interim CTO)
ProductsVoice
SMS
MMS
RCS
RevenueIncrease NOK 3.539 billion
Increase NOK 391 million
Number of employees
Increase 700
SubsidiariesAltria
Message Broadcast
Netsize
Xenioo

LINK Mobility Group AS is a cloud communications platform as a service (CPaaS) company headquartered in Oslo, Norway. Link Mobility allows customers to send, and receive phone calls, SMS, MMS, RCS and eMails through their API. LINK is publicly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. In 2017, LINK Mobility had a total turnover of 1,294 million NOK, increasing to NOK 3,539 billion in 2020.[1] With 28 offices across 18 countries[2] including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, Poland, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and the United States. LINK is the largest CPaaS provider in Europe.[3]

History[edit]

LINK Mobility was founded in 2001 by Jens Rugseth with headquarters in Oslo, Norway.[4] The company was originally called EMEMESS (an abbreviation for MMS messages), becoming LINK Mobility in 2007 after acquiring a Swedish CPaaS operator.[5]

LINK's first major customer was Norwegian Air, where LINK provided SMS services such as boarding alerts and flight delay alerts.

Listings and delistings[edit]

LINK was first publicly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in the early 2010s, before being privatised by Abry Partners of Boston in mid 2018 for NOK 3.4 billion (USD 416 million).[6] In December 2020, Abry chose to again list LINK on the OSE, with a list price of NOK 47 per share, rising 19% on its first trading day. After the listing, LINK had a market value of NOK 12.6 billion (USD 1.56 billion).[7] LINK was named a Unicorn IPO by Bloomberg News and the 3rd largest European Technology IPO of 2020 by UK Tech News.[8]

Mergers and acquisitions[edit]

  • 2017, Acquired Netmessage in France for EUR 9.9 million.[9]
  • 2018, Acquired HSL Mobile in The United Kingdom.[10]
  • 2018, Acquired Netsize in France, adding EUR 55.2 m/year of revenue.[11][12]
  • 2019, Acquired 5 Alterco subsidiaries for EUR 7.8 million.[13]
  • 2020, Acquired WebSMS and SimpleSMS in Austria.[14]
  • 2021, Acquired MarketingPlatform in Denmark.[15]
  • 2021, Acquired Amm in Italy for EUR 18.7 million.[16]
  • 2021, Acquired Tismi in The Netherlands for EUR 20 million.<[17]
  • 2021, planned to acquire Soprano Design, based in Sydney, Australia for $600 million. However, Soprano exited negotiations over debt and share price concerns.[18][19]
  • 2021, Acquired Message Broadcast, based in Newport Beach, California, for $260 million.[20][21]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "LINK Mobility 2020 Annual Report" (PDF). 26 April 2021.
  2. ^ "About Us". LINK Mobility International. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  3. ^ "Annual Reports - LINK Mobility Investor Relations". LINK Mobility Investor Relations. Retrieved 2017-10-10.
  4. ^ MarketScreener. "Jens Rugseth - Biography". www.marketscreener.com. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  5. ^ "Founder Jens Rugseth and LINK Mobility: 20 Years Later". LINK Mobility International. 2021-02-02. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  6. ^ Chopping, Dominic. "Abry Partners Makes $416 Million Takeover Bid for Norway's Link Mobility". www.penews.com. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  7. ^ "Bloomberg News: Link Mobility Becomes Europe's Newest Unicorn Startup". Bloomberg News. 21 October 2020.
  8. ^ "UKTN roundup: The largest tech IPOs in Europe in 2020". UKTN (UK Tech News). 2020-12-09. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  9. ^ ASA, Link Mobility Group. "LINK Mobility Group ASA Acquires Netmessage in France". www.prnewswire.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  10. ^ "HSL Mobile | HSL Mobile to be acquired by LINK Mobility Group AS". RealWire. 2018-11-28. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  11. ^ "LINK Mobility Group AS positions itself as French market leader by acquiring Netsize". LINK Mobility International. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  12. ^ "Netsize, marque iconique du SMS disparait". Servicesmobiles.fr (in French). 2021-04-15. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  13. ^ "Bulgaria's Allterco nearly doubles 2020 cons net profit on revenue rise". seenews.com. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  14. ^ "websms and SimpleSMS become LINK Mobility Austria". LINK Mobility International. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  15. ^ "Link Mobility agrees to buy Danish firm MarketingPlatform". www.telecompaper.com. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  16. ^ "Link Mobility to take over Italy's Amm". www.telecompaper.com. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  17. ^ Release, Press (2021-02-12). "LINK Mobility Group acquires Tismi B.V in the Netherlands for EUR 20 million". NewsnReleases. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
  18. ^ "Norway's Link Mobility pays $560m for HT&E backed Soprano Design". Australian Financial Review. 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2021-05-22.
  19. ^ "HT&E's Soprano deal collapses - AdNews". www.adnews.com.au. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  20. ^ MarketScreener. "LINK Mobility : strengthens foothold in US with Message Broadcast | MarketScreener". www.marketscreener.com. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  21. ^ MarketScreener. "LINK Mobility : acquires U.S. based Message Broadcast, LLC continuing global expansion | MarketScreener". www.marketscreener.com. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
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