Lumata: Francisco Partners and Buongiorno Backed Venture Positioned for Global Growth in Mobile Marketing
LONDON & MILAN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Leading private equity firm Francisco Partners and Buongiorno S.p.A. (FTSE Italy STAR: BNG), global leader in the market of paid content on mobile, today announced the launch of Lumata, a newly formed entity which combines a number of Buongiorno B2B assets and strong private equity backing under one focused company. Lumata will serve customers globally in the mobile marketing space, a sector which is growing at 30 per cent annually.
The joint venture will see Francisco Partners take a majority share holding of 70 per cent and Buongiorno the remaining 30 per cent. Lumata will, from today, operate globally with 15 offices, have more than 500 employees and report a starting annual turnover in excess of €50 million. Lumata will serve mobile operators, OEMs, and consumer brands as part of its vision to transform mobile marketing. Lumata’s client portfolio already includes tier one operators such as Orange, T-Mobile, Telecom Italia Mobile, Verizon, Airtel, MTS and Telefonica, as well as blue-chip brands such as Nestle, P&G, HP and Espresso Group
Heading up Lumata, for Francisco Partners and Buongiorno, is former Clearwire executive and Match.com CEO Thomas Enraght-Moony, a proven business leader with a strong track record of growth and innovation in fast growing markets.
“The mobile channel represents an immense opportunity for businesses to engage with their customers in new, exciting, and useful ways. Francisco Partners has a first class pedigree in picking market winners and I’m delighted to head up the strong team they’ve put together,” said Enraght-Moony.
Matt Spetzler, Principal at Francisco Partners said, “Francisco Partners views the mobile marketing space as an exceptional opportunity for growth. We are committed to build on our initial investment in Lumata and to arm it with the resources needed to become a category leader. With Thomas we have a seasoned CEO with the vision, experience and determination to make Lumata a world-wide success.”
Concluding, Mauro Del Rio, founder and Chairman of Buongiorno and Board member of Lumata Group, said, “The Buongiorno B2B team has built a solid foundation. The combination of this team and Francisco Partners investment expertise makes this focused stand-alone company an incredibly exciting and logical next step in the businesses evolution. It will undoubtedly be the recipe for growth and success.”
About Lumata
Lumata is a company backed by Francisco Partners and Buongiorno S.p.A. created to provide a seamless link for operators, brands and hardware manufacturers to engage with their customers through the mobile channel. Lumata hits the ground running with annual revenues in excess of €50 million, a global footprint with 15 offices and more than 500 employees. Lumata’s client base includes: Orange, T-Mobile, Telecom Italia Mobile, Verizon, Airtel, MTS & Telefonica as well as blue chip brands such as Nestle, P&G, HP and Espresso Group.
For further information, please visit: www.lumata.com
About Francisco Partners
Francisco Partners is a leading global private equity firm focused exclusively on investments in technology and technology-enabled services businesses. With approximately $7 billion of capital raised to date, Francisco Partners pursues structured investments in technology companies, targeting investments in private companies, public companies and divisions of public companies, with transaction values ranging from $25 million to over $1 billion.
For further information, please visit: www.franciscopartners.com
About Buongiorno
Buongiorno is known in the worldwide mobile ecosystem for developing and managing paid apps and content that help consumers get greater enjoyment from mobile devices. With direct connections to more than 130 telecom operators in 25 countries, over 10 years experience and a team of 850 professionals, Buongiorno makes the mobile internet experience happen. In 2011, Buongiorno has undergone a refocusing change, materialized via the acquisition of Dada.net and the spin-off of the majority of its B2B business. Today Buongiorno concentrates exclusively on delivering a top notch mobile entertainment experience to end consumers and is investing heavily in the marketing of a few high-potential businesses, based on paid content on mobile. Furthermore Buongiorno is investing heavily in a few high-potential businesses, in the paid content and mobile payments solution area: Cashlog.com and eGaming portal Winga.com
Buongiorno is headquartered and listed in Milan, Italy.
For further information, please visit: www.Buongiorno.com
CONTACT:
For further Lumata media information, please contact:
MUSTARD PR
Andrew Durkin, + 44 (0) 7887 998407 (M)
Andrew@mustardpr.com
Dan Walsh, + 44 (0) 7827 816871 (M)
Dan@mustardpr.com
KEYWORDS: United Kingdom United States Europe North America California Italy
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Technology Software Mobile/Wireless Professional Services Finance Communications Marketing
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