The cloud communications company Twilio Inc. agreed to invest up to $ 750 million in Syniverse Technologies LLC in a forerunner of a public listing for the privately held courier company.
The investment, announced Monday, could be followed in the coming months by a merger between Syniverse and a special-purpose acquisition company, people familiar with the matter said Sunday when the Wall Street Journal first reported of the news. Such an agreement could estimate that Syniverse, owned by private equity firm Carlyle Group Inc., is between $ 2,000 and $ 3 billion, including debt, they said. There is no guarantee that Syniverse will withdraw a listing, either through a SPAC agreement or a traditional IPO.
Should it be made public through an SPAC, it would be the last in a recent chain of such offerings, as more companies are looking for an alternative to traditional IPO. SPACs are made public without business and then look for one to combine, and the resulting transaction provides the target with a listing.
Crucially for Syniverse, the Twilio deal involves a trade deal that would open up a significant amount of business. Syniverse can also use the proceeds of a SPAC agreement to make acquisitions.
Syniverse provides roaming, messaging and other telecommunications services for mobile operators and other businesses. It has been owned by Carlyle since 2011.