Netherlands-headquartered customer service software provider Messagebird has added $800m to a series C round featuring media group Bonnier, expanding it to $1bn, TechCrunch reported yesterday.
Bonnier joined Eurazeo, Tiger Global Management, BlackRock, Owl Rock, Glynn Capital, LGT Lightstone, Longbow, Mousse Partners, NewView Capital, Accel, Atomico and Y Combinator in the extension, which was made up of 70% equity financing and 30% debt.
Spark Capital led the round’s $200m first close in October 2020 at a $3bn valuation, investing alongside Glynn Capital, LGT Lightstone, Longbow, Mousse Partners, Accel, Atomico, Y Combinator and New View Capital.
Messagebird offers a range of customer service tools across a variety of channels including email, phone, WhatsApp, text messaging and push notifications. It had raised a total of $100m from investors including Y Combinator, Accel and Atomico prior to this round.
The company revealed it has channelled $600m of the extension into acquiring SparkPost, the US-based creator of an email optimisation software platform it claims oversees some 4.5 trillion emails a year on behalf of its customers.
SparkPost had raised approximately $239m in funding as of a $180m round in January this year. Financial services firm PNC Bank was among its investors, as were venture debt firm Hercules Capital and private equity firms LLR Partners and NewSpring Capital.
Robet Vis, founder and CEO of MessageBird, said in a blog post: “SparkPost’s technology is truly differentiating. Its analytics products are stronger than its competitors, which allows for better inbox placement and delivery – and that is exactly what our customers want to optimise.
“With SparkPost’s powerful tools and expert services as part of MessageBird’s omnichannel offering, our end-users will be able to benefit even more from increased reliability, security and deliverability of their email communications.”
