Acision Secures Refinancing Package to Support Change Strategy and Address Opportunities in Rich Digital Communication

READING, England, Feb. 4, 2015 /CNW/ - Acision, a global leader in secure, mobile messaging and innovator in WebRTC technology, is pleased to announce it has raised $160 million of senior secured loans with a group of syndicate investors. While the deal will refinance Acision's existing indebtedness, it will also strengthen the company's financial position over the next four years, enabling it to accelerate its change strategy in app and services mobilisation, and take full advantage of the opportunities being created by the rich digital market.

The new refinancing package was supported by first time assignments from ratings agencies:

• Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's"), which has given Acision a corporate family rating (CFR) of 'B2', and stated a stable outlook, and;
• Standard and Poor's Ratings Services ("S&P"), which have assigned its 'B' long-term corporate credit rating to Acision, and stated a positive outlook.

"Acision has successfully established itself as the leading provider of mobile messaging software and services to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Enterprises globally, achieving strong EBITDA growth and a robust cash position over the last four years. Messaging is our DNA. Therefore, to build on our strengths, we are diversifying and expanding our business to enable next-generation IP messaging and security solutions for MNOs, as well as focusing on rich mobile services which directly address monetisation opportunities for both MNOs and Enterprises," said Karen Griffiths, Chief Financial Officer at Acision.

Acision's Change Strategy 

As part of its strategic drive, Acision is aggressively pursuing its goal to be a leader in rich, digital communication solutions to Operators and Enterprises globally, shaping its business around the high-growth area of mobilising and monetising applications and services.  Today, Acision is focusing on three business areas which include Messaging Infrastructure (enabling IP messaging, SMS, MMS and security solutions built for MNOs), Consumer Services (messaging monetisation solutions), and Rich Engagement Services (rich communication, secure messaging, OTT and WebRTC services), which is principally focused at Enterprises and the developer community.

Acision's Consumer Services division, which largely leverages its Messaging Infrastructure business, offers mobile monetisation solutions and applications to MNOs. Taking ownership of the untapped "Credit Orchestration" and "Real-time Lifecycle Management of Prepaid" markets, Acision has built industry-leading solutions designed to take advantage of global mobile subscribers who are on pre-paid contracts and can run out of credit. To date, Acision has launched these solutions successfully in several geographies around the world, and continues to thrive in emerging markets, as the company incorporates cross-carrier and border connection solutions as part of this portfolio.

In order to extend its mobile services offerings beyond the operator community to developers and Enterprises, Acision's Rich Engagement Services division was launched to advance today's communication possibilities, enabling smarter, more secure 2-way digital dialogue. Predominantly made up from two recent acquisitions, Acision purchased MindMatics in September 2014, to provide leading enterprise-grade, secure application to person (A2P) messaging services (across SMS and IP) to blue-chip verticals including the financial, aviation, travel and logistical industries. Crocodile Technology's assets, were purchased in November 2014, adding WebRTC-based services to Acision's portfolio, in order for it to offer the latest real-time, rich communications via the forge by Acision SDK (voice, video, chat and presence),  and provide the backbone to fuseMe by Acision, a smart, over- the-top (OTT) app for consumers and Enterprises.

Didier Bench, Executive Chairman at Acision, concluded: "This increased commitment provides us with the opportunity to capitalise on the exponential growth in richer communications and secure messaging solutions. Our 20+ year heritage, robust business model, operator track record and growing footprint in fast evolving markets, means we are well positioned to lead and invest in new cutting-edge digital services, organically or through acquisitions, and make our vision for Acision become a reality."

About Acision 

Acision connects the world by powering relevant, seamless mobile engagement services that interoperate across IP platforms and enrich the user experience creating value and new communication opportunities for carriers, enterprises and consumers across the world.

For more information, visit Acision at http://www.acision.com.

SOURCE Acision