Tata Communications acquires Kaleyra for $100M, grows business worldwide

Tata Communications has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement through Tata Communications Limited to acquire Kaleyra, with the aim of empowering global enterprises to offer personalised experiences to their customers.

Kaleyra is a global omnichannel integrated communication services provider with a set of proprietary platforms, offering targeted personalisation through messaging, video, push notifications, e-mail and voice-based services, and chatbots.

With this transaction, Tata Communications will gain a platform with strong capabilities and scale. Kaleyra brings a stronghold in the business communications market in banking and financial services, retail and digital commerce industries across global markets, in addition to a strong team with expertise in technology, engineering and research & development.

Tata Communications will also benefit from Tier 1 carrier connections in the US, ready connectors to third party platforms, and video services without the need for additional software plugins, the company states.

The resulting business will leverage Tata Communications' base of enterprise customers worldwide, extensive mobile network operator (MNO) connections and global expansion opportunities. It will benefit from the global digital ecosystem enabler that powers today's fast-growing digital economy in more than 190 countries and territories, according to a statement.

Under the terms of the agreement, Tata Communications has agreed to acquire Kaleyra in a cash only transaction, at a price per share of US$7.25 for a total consideration to Kaleyra shareholders of approximately US$100 million and the assumption of all outstanding debt.

This transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both Tata Communications and Kaleyra. Consummation of the deal is subject to approval by Kaleyra's stockholders, certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Upon closing of the transaction, expected in six to nine months, Kaleyra will become a subsidiary of Tata Communications Limited. For the full year ended 31st December 2022, Kaleyra reported revenue of US$339.2 million (US$353.3 million in constant currency), an increase of 26.7% compared to the full year 2021 (32.0% increase in constant currency).

A.S. Lakshminarayanan, MD and CEO, Tata Communications, comments, "With this investment in Kaleyra, we will accelerate our push into the customer interactions platform market and fortify our global CommTech position.

"We are excited about Kaleyra's remarkable talent and their demonstrated capabilities in next-gen technologies. With this acquisition, we will further build intelligent, intuitive and innovative multi-channel communication solutions to unlock new growth opportunities for our customers."

Commenting on the acquisition, Mysore Madhusudhan, Executive Vice President, Collaboration and Connected Solutions, Tata Communications adds, "As we further our position in the industry 4.0 world, we are committed to offering heightened targeted communications solutions for enterprises and their customers. We are confident our combined forces with Kaleyra will forge the path for the next wave of intelligence in enterprise communications globally."

Dario Calogero, Founder and the CEO of Kaleyra says, "When we launched Kaleyra 24 years ago with my co-founder Simone Fubini, I could hardly envision that our voyage would take us from a small Italian startup, to global expansion, a publicly listed NYSE company, and now working together with a great technology leader like Tata Communications. This is a great day for Kaleyra and our shareholders, and our employees worldwide."

Finally Dr. Avi Katz, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kaleyra, comments, "I am very pleased with today's outcome, fruits of the dedicated and professional work of the Kaleyra team. It's been a privilege to be part of the Kaleyra team since the onset of their public listing journey in late 2019, and through the follow up significant funding of the company and its meaningful strategic extensions through GigCapital.

"This transaction represents a significant premium to the last closing share price and delivers significant value creation to all Kaleyra stakeholders. We are excited about the next chapter of the Kaleyra journey, being an essential part of the Tata Communications enterprise."