Dutch software firm MessageBird rebrands as Bird, slashes prices

Twilio

01/02/2024 19:54

AMSTERDAM, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Privately held Dutch cloud
communications software company MessageBird said on Thursday it
has rebranded as "Bird" and is cutting prices to well below
those of U.S. rival Twilio  TWLO.N  in a bid to win market
share.
    "Today we are ... taking our margins to zero," CEO Robert
Vis said in a blog post on the company's new domain
www.bird.com. 
    A spokesperson said the company could not comment beyond the
blog statement.
    Bird helps companies manage their communications with
consumers via all channels -- messaging apps, phone calls, video
calls, online chats and email.
    A source familiar with the company said Bird registered
EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization, of around 80 million euros ($87 million)in 2023.
The company is weighing an IPO on the Euronext stock exchange in
2024 or 2025.
   In 2021 Bird raised $800 million from investors including
Eurazeo, Tiger Global and Owl Rock and purchased email giant
SparkPost in a deal worth $600 million.

($1 = 0.9200 euros)

 (Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Susan Fenton)
 ((toby.sterling@thomsonreuters.com;))