Sinch, a mobile engagement cloud communications firm, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Wavy, through the two legal entities Movile Internet Móvel S.A. and Wavy Global Holdings BV, for a total cash consideration of BRL 355m and 1,534,582 new shares in Sinch, which equates to £98m.

Wavy is part of Movile Group, an ecosystem of Latin American technology companies, and has established itself as a leading business messaging provider in the region. The company has successfully leveraged its strong position in text messaging to build a prominent position in next-generation, conversational messaging. It is the second-largest messaging provider in Brazil and offers services in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Paraguay.

“Uniting Sinch and Wavy significantly strengthens our offering in next-generation messaging and expands our presence in Latin America,” said Sinch CEO, comments Oscar Werner. “Our shared vision, greater scale and global outlook makes us uniquely well placed to succeed in the marketplace, innovate with our customers, and grow our business”,
Sinch has forged a strategy to grow the company through both organic and inorganic means. Sinch said a long-term focus on profitability and cash flow makes it well placed to continue and execute this strategy, even in times when overall macroeconomic conditions are unfavourable.

Wavy has commercial agreements with more than 50 mobile operators in Latin America and currently handles more than 13bn business messages per year. Its enterprise customers include financial institutions Caixa and CitiBanamex as well as Atento, a global business process outsourcing provider. A commitment to innovation has also seen Wavy develop a leading position in next-generation, conversational messaging. Customers in this segment include Latin American food delivery firm iFood, beauty group Avon and ticket sales specialist Ingresso Rápido. This high-margin innovation business is now seeing year-on-year growth above 200 per cent.

After the transaction has closed and won regulatory approval, Wavy CEO Eduardo Henrique will become a member of the Sinch senior management team.