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 Collection A spherical from Perception Companions in 2016 and emerged chief within the world 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 studies the transaction values Bynder at $600M and $350M of that funding might be used to purchase out Perception’s stake within the firm. Bynder expects the transaction to shut early subsequent 12 months.
An built-in DAM platform
Bynder operates a platform that makes it simpler for Fortune 500 corporations to handle their digital property resembling pictures, movies, and different promotional supplies throughout platforms and groups. It counts corporations resembling Spotify, Puma, Icelandair, and 5 Guys, amongst its prospects.
Co-founded by Chris Corridor and Roland Keijzer in 2013, Bynder has grown to turn into a scalable, cloud-native platform supporting corporations rework the creation, administration, and distribution of their advertising property.
Corridor says the corporate has $100M in recurring annual income and 1.7 million customers throughout almost 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 an announcement.
The acquisition of Bynder by THL comes after the Dutch firm appointed DAM business veteran Bob Hickey as Chief Govt Officer in March this 12 months. Based on Insider, Hickey started conversations about an acquisition with THL shortly after taking up management of the corporate.
“At this time’s announcement will speed up our development via product innovation and continued funding in our accomplice ecosystem, enabling us to scale with our prospects and assist much more manufacturers ship distinctive content material experiences,” provides Hickey.
A development market
Based on 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 via which prospects need 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 turn into elementary for executing digital advertising at scale. A examine by Adobe in collaboration with IDC discovered that 85 per cent of entrepreneurs are underneath stress to create property or ship campaigns extra shortly. The entrepreneurs additionally revealed creating 10 instances extra property 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 commerce.
“We’ve devoted appreciable time and sources to understanding the expertise wants of selling and gross sales organisations,” says Jim Carlisle, managing director at THL and head of each Know-how & 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 group in place with co-founder Corridor persevering with to serve on its board.
THL is investing via 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 result 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 information administration, robotics, AI, and different transversal applied sciences.
