Brandtone successfully completes €18.5 million
funding to accelerate growth
- €18.5 million successfully raised with Ares Capital Management as primary backer
- Funds raised will be used to fund expansion in to new markets and sectors and the development of the Brandtone offering to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving marketplace
Brandtone, the leading mobile marketing company in developing and emerging markets, is pleased to announce that it has successfully raised €18.5 million in debt and equity financing. US-based Ares Capital Corporation is providing approximately €12 million, with existing Brandtone shareholders Unilever, Syngenta, Verlinvest and Vision Private Equity providing a further €6.5 million collectively in equity.
The new funding will be used as working capital to support Brandtone’s immediate expansion into South East Asia and further expansion in Africa and Latin America.
It will also support the company’s entry in to new sectors, including the agri-food and healthcare, and enable it to invest in the leadership and innovation necessary to ensure its offering continues to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving marketplace.
Brandtone aims to engage with one-in-ten households in the twenty fastest growing developing and emerging markets by 2017, highlighting the potential and significance for this backing. This latest financing round comes a year after Brandtone closed its third round of funding with an investment of €14 million, led by Syngenta Ventures.
Donald Fitzmaurice, Founder and CEO at Brandtone, said: “We see this funding as a strong vote of confidence in the company. Ares’ decision to provide financing, along with further backing from existing investors, is an endorsement of the company’s vision and strategy for growth. The move from equity to debt financing is also evidence of Brandtone’s on-going transition from start-up to grow-up.”
About Brandtone:
Brandtone is the leading developing-world engagement agency. Headquartered in Dublin, the company uses the concept of ‘sustainable engagement’ to help brands build one-to-one relationships with consumers at scale. These relationships help Brandtone to deliver campaigns that close the loop to purchase and yield measurable outcomes that can be optimized in real-time.
Each engagement is based on trust, value exchange and permission; where the consumer initiates the interaction, receives a meaningful reward and is asked for their permission to be re-engaged in the future.
As a result of these campaigns, Brandtone has built up a permissioned database of millions of profiled consumers in developing and emerging markets.
Since its inception in 2010, Irish-based Brandtone had grown its presence across the globe and now operates in 12 markets, including; South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Russia, Colombia, Brazil, India, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Today, Brandtone has 120 employees and has worked with over 60 brands across the globe.
For further information please visit: http://www.brandtone.com
