Bob Hickey is the CEO of Bynder | Picture Credit score: Bynder
Amsterdam-headquartered Bynder has been acquired by Boston-based personal fairness agency Thomas H. Lee Companions (THL). Forward of this deal, the Dutch firm had raised $22.2M in Sequence A spherical from Perception Companions in 2016 and emerged chief within the international digital asset administration (DAM) market.
As a part of this deal, THL will purchase Perception Companions’ stake in Bynder. Whereas phrases of the deal weren’t disclosed, Insider reviews the transaction values Bynder at $600M and $350M of that funding can be used to purchase out Perception’s stake within the firm. Bynder expects the transaction to shut early subsequent yr.
An built-in DAM platform
Bynder operates a platform that makes it simpler for Fortune 500 corporations to handle their digital belongings similar to photographs, movies, and different promotional supplies throughout platforms and groups. It counts corporations similar to Spotify, Puma, Icelandair, and 5 Guys, amongst its prospects.
Co-founded by Chris Corridor and Roland Keijzer in 2013, Bynder has grown to develop into a scalable, cloud-native platform supporting corporations remodel the creation, administration, and distribution of their advertising and marketing belongings.
Corridor says the corporate has $100M in recurring annual income and 1.7 million customers throughout practically 4,000 manufacturers worldwide. “With the announcement of this new partnership, we will ship much more worth to our present and future prospects,” Corridor says in a press release.
The acquisition of Bynder by THL comes after the Dutch firm appointed DAM business veteran Bob Hickey as Chief Government Officer in March this yr. In accordance with Insider, Hickey started conversations about an acquisition with THL shortly after taking on management of the corporate.
“As we speak’s announcement will speed up our progress by means of product innovation and continued funding in our associate ecosystem, enabling us to scale with our prospects and assist much more manufacturers ship distinctive content material experiences,” provides Hickey.
A progress market
In accordance with IDC, the digital asset administration software program market is predicted to develop at a CAGR of 11.4 per cent from 2020 to 2025. “The necessity to create, handle, and ship wealthy, immersive, and dynamic media to the numerous channels by means of which prospects wish to work together in the present day continues to gas funding on this market,” says Marci Maddox, analysis director for Digital Expertise Methods at IDC.
Digital Asset Administration has now develop into elementary for executing digital advertising and marketing at scale. A examine by Adobe in collaboration with IDC discovered that 85 per cent of entrepreneurs are underneath stress to create belongings or ship campaigns extra shortly. The entrepreneurs additionally revealed creating 10 instances extra belongings than earlier than to help all buyer touchpoints.
In a various market spanning a number of buyer touchpoints, DAM software program makes it simpler for entrepreneurs to behave quick. With Adobe Inc. rising as a competitor on this rising house, Bynder’s acquisition will add to THL’s portfolio of SaaS merchandise that allow gross sales, advertising and marketing, and commerce.
“We’ve devoted appreciable time and assets to understanding the know-how wants of selling and gross sales organisations,” says Jim Carlisle, managing director at THL and head of each Expertise & Enterprise Options and the THL Automation Fund. “We’re excited to use that have to help Bynder in serving to its prospects develop their companies.”
No main modifications
Cliff Longley, managing director at THL, doesn’t see any main modifications in each day operations of Bynder. The PE agency additionally plans to maintain the present administration staff in place with co-founder Corridor persevering with to serve on its board.
THL is investing by means of its flagship Fund IX and Automation Fund, a phase within the PE business devoted to automation-related companies. The acquisition comes at a time when personal fairness deal-making has slowed from earlier years as a consequence of financial slowdown.
The buyout additionally provides a feather to Amsterdam‘s fledgling startup ecosystem that has minted many unicorns and constructed corporations in new-age fields like knowledge administration, robotics, AI, and different transversal applied sciences.
