Lumata: Francisco Partners and Buongiorno Backed Venture Positioned for Global Growth in Mobile Marketing

Leading private equity firm Francisco Partners and Buongiorno S.p.A. (FTSE Italy STAR: BNG), global leader in the market of paid content on mobile, today announced the launch of Lumata, a newly formed entity which combines a number of Buongiorno B2B assets and strong private equity backing under one focused company. Lumata will serve customers globally in the mobile marketing space, a sector which is growing at 30 per cent annually

The joint venture will see Francisco Partners take a majority share holding of 70 per cent and Buongiorno the remaining 30 per cent. Lumata will, from today, operate globally with 15 offices, have more than 500 employees and report a starting annual turnover in excess of €50 million. Lumata will serve mobile operators, OEMs, and consumer brands as part of its vision to transform mobile marketing. Lumata’s client portfolio already includes tier one operators such as Orange, T-Mobile, Telecom Italia Mobile, Verizon, Airtel, MTS and Telefonica, as well as blue-chip brands such as Nestle, P&G, HP and Espresso Group

Heading up Lumata, for Francisco Partners and Buongiorno, is former Clearwire executive and Match.com CEO Thomas Enraght-Moony, a proven business leader with a strong track record of growth and innovation in fast growing markets.

“The mobile channel represents an immense opportunity for businesses to engage with their customers in new, exciting, and useful ways. Francisco Partners has a first class pedigree in picking market winners and I’m delighted to head up the strong team they’ve put together.” Said, Enraght-Moony

Matt Spetzler, Principal at Francisco Partners said, “Francisco Partners views the mobile marketing space as an exceptional opportunity for growth. We are committed to build on our initial investment in Lumata and to arm it with the resources needed to become a category leader. With Thomas we have a seasoned CEO with the vision, experience and determination to make Lumata a world-wide success”.

Concluding, Mauro Del Rio, founder and Chairman of Buongiorno and Board member of Lumata Group, said, “The Buongiorno B2B team has built a solid foundation. The combination of this team and Francisco Partners investment expertise makes this focused stand-alone company an incredibly exciting and logical next step in the businesses evolution. It will undoubtedly be the recipe for growth and success.”

ABOUT LUMATA
Lumata hits the ground running with a starting annual turnover in excess of €50 million, a global footprint with 15 offices and more than 500 employees. Lumata’s extensive client portfolio already includes tier one operators such as Orange, T-Mobile, Telecom Italia Mobile, Verizon, Airtel, MTS & Telefonica as well as blue chip brands such as Nestle, P&G, HP, and the Espresso Group.