Press release
Funding – Merger/Acquisition – International Development – Messaging and Information Security
Alinto and Cleanmail raise €2.3 million
to form an international group
specializing in secure messaging
Lyon, France, November 29, 2016 – Alinto, a European developer of Cloud messaging software, announces that it has raised €2.3 million to accelerate its international development, and that it has completed its 2nd external growth operation. Alinto has been joined by Cleanmail, the Swiss specialist in Cloud-based anti-spam filtering since 2002. This strategic alliance between two independent European players achieves two key goals: Alinto’s continued expansion within Europe, and the strengthening of its business technology, notably in the field of security.
Rhône-Alpes PME (Groupe Siparex) takes stake in Alinto’s equity as part of this operation, also funded by CIC Lyonnaise de Banque and BPI (via a growth credit).
After this acquisition, Alinto/Cleanmail now counts over 2,000 clients, representing 3 million users and generating consolidated sales revenue of over €3 million. The goal is to reach €5 million by 2020.
“This new round of funding enables us to join forces with a company that is completely complementary with the technologies offered by Alinto. The high level of expertise of Cleanmail’s teams will help us meet the needs and challenges of our market, notably with respect to security, by reinforcing our international efforts,” says Philippe Gilbert, Founder of Alinto.
“As a partner for SME growth, we have been watching Alinto for a long time and we are very happy to help them pass this new international milestone by taking part in a structuring operation. With this acquisition, Alinto/Cleanmail becomes a major European company and the leader in the Swiss market”, adds Cyril Fromager, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Rhône-Alpes PME (Groupe Siparex).
International development and reinforced presence in Switzerland
Already present in France, Spain, Germany, and Swiss Romandie, Alinto further strengthens its international position, now covering the German-speaking Swiss market. Swiss Romandie already represented nearly 20% of Alinto’s sales revenue, with clients such as Netplus, Citycable, and Virtual Network. This round of funding will also enable Alinto to deploy new, even more secure, services in Spain and Germany.
“We continue to grow, leveraging local teams and infrastructure in four European countries, as we feel strongly that Cloud adoption requires us to stay close to our clients. Every year, we invest nearly 25% of our turnover in research and development to better meet the technological challenges of tomorrow in this niche market. New projects are already on their way.” concludes Philippe Gilbert, Founder of Alinto.
Consolidated business expertise in security
Alinto received the Oseo Special Innovation Prize at the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 awards for its work to protect e-mail. Now, Alinto enhances its Alinto Protect” security offering by integrating Cleanmail technology into its mail delivery solution, notably used by the Métropôle de Lyon’s 9,000 employees since 2015.
The new group meets the challenges faced by its clients today concerning data security and protection by offering this new solution in each geographic region where it is present.
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