Acquisitions give Mblox largest reach, most advanced A2P messaging platform in the industry; Multi-channel messaging capability
SUNNYVALE, Calif. & CANTERBURY, United Kingdom–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, Mblox announces the completion of two acquisitions: next-generation, mobile messaging provider CardBoardFish and StarStar service provider Zoove. The agreements bring together the mobile messaging industry’s leaders in scale and scalability while extending the Mblox product line to add new voice and messaging features for its reseller partners and direct clients. Financial terms of the acquisitions will not be disclosed.
Mblox is the largest, independent application-to-person (A2P) SMS provider in the world with more than 100 direct commercial carrier and operator connections. The breadth of Mblox’s connections gives the company the highest quality and largest reach in what has become an increasingly fragmented industry. Over the past 15 years, CardBoardFish has developed a state-of-the-art, highly automated A2P messaging platform that offers industry-leading security, reliability and service levels. CardBoardFish is also registered as a mobile operator in several countries and owns number ranges in many more, which combined with its own Short Message Service Centers (SMSCs), expands mBlox’s commercial flexibility in how it delivers messages.
The addition of CardBoardFish’s next generation platform provides a clear migration path for legacy Mblox customers with a host of new features, even greater resilience and enhanced usability. Finally, the expanded capacity gives Mblox the scale and additional routes to deliver the most A2P messages per year than any other provider in the world.
Zoove is the exclusive provider of StarStar numbers in the U.S. The acquisition will expand Mblox’s services and enhance the way it assists brands in communicating with their customers on mobile phones. The move supports Mblox’s vision to have a greater share of communications that converge on the mobile device, including messaging, voice, email, push and web. StarStar numbers also work well with Mblox’s focus on mobile CRM, facilitating two-factor authentication, delivering customer support and offering an industry leading solution to accelerate ‘opt-in database’ enrollment.
Tom Cotney will remain the CEO of Mblox. CardBoardFish technical founder Allister Collins will remain with the company and serve as chief architect of the messaging platform, and CardBoardFish operations founder Ben Fitter will serve as a consultant to Mblox for the foreseeable future. Zoove CEO Joe Gillespe will join Mblox’s Advisory Board, and Zoove founder Tim Jemison will remain as a consultant to Mblox.
“These acquisitions extend our lead in A2P messaging by offering two things our customers have asked for – additional ways to have a relevant dialogue with consumers and an even greater international reach than we have today,” said Cotney. “The Zoove platform is immediately available to Mblox customers and the expanded features and reach via CardBoardFish will be available at the end of this month.”
For Mblox current customers and prospects, the CardBoardFish platform enables faster onboarding, enhanced message routing capability, and more sophisticated monitoring with a suite of online support tools. CardBoardFish customers will benefit from Mblox’s large network of direct connectivity and greater buying power.
“By joining Mblox, our customers and employees will have significant opportunities for growth,” said CardBoardFish founder Allister Collins. “We’re excited to bring Mblox customers onto our platform and help them achieve their messaging goals.”
Additionally, Mblox is expanding its capabilities to include multimedia messaging services (MMS) for its U.S. customers, giving reach to nearly 300 million tier one mobile subscribers. Mblox’s customers can send and receive SMS and MMS messages using the same common short code, allowing them greater flexibility in creating unique and personalized communications.
Mblox is also launching a new corporate identity that embraces the forward-looking, innovative nature of today’s messaging environment. “Messaging is no longer just about sending and receiving SMS, and the new Mblox identity highlights messaging solutions as the building blocks of mobile – a jumping-off point for creating an ongoing dialog with consumers,” said Cotney. “Mblox is now better prepared to support the mission-critical use of mobile handsets and tablets to serve consumers in a 24×7 world.”
Pillar Capital Advisors served as exclusive financial advisor to mBlox related to the CardBoardFish transaction. Catapult Advisors served as exclusive financial advisor to mBlox on the Zoove transaction.
About Mblox
Mblox is the largest independent application-to-person (A2P) mobile messaging provider in the world, trusted by more companies to carry their mission-critical traffic than any other service. As the industry’s most experienced Tier One SMS aggregator, Mblox specializes in the unique demands of large-scale mobile messaging programs and are known for providing reliable, uncompromising connections. By creating positive brand experiences, Mblox helps clients transform numbers into profitable relationships with their customers.
Contacts
Edelman for Mblox
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Mobile: +1-404-436-9670
Kaitlyn.Parsons@edelman.com