Cork firm Poppulo to merge with US digital company
Andrew O'Shaughnessy, CEO of Poppulo which employs more than 200 people in Ireland. Picture: Cathal Noonan
Cork communication software company Poppulo is to merge with a US company in a deal that will value both firms at an estimated $1bn (€0.84bn).
Poppulo, formerly called Newsweaver, creates software to help companies manage internal staff communications and email. It employs more than 210 people in Ireland and a further 50 in Boston. Its clients include Unilever, Nestlé, Aon, Telefonica, Johnson Controls and Rolls-Royce.
Four Winds Interactive, which provides digital signage in workplaces is to merge with Poppulo, it was confirmed today. The merger is backed by investment firm Vista Equity Partners.
Both companies declined to comment on the financials of the deal. However, it's understood it values the combined companies at about $1bn (€0.84bn) with combined annual revenue of $100m (€84m).
The new company will maintain its existing operations out of offices in Denver and Boston in the US, Luton in the UK and in Cork.
Poppulo employs 216 staff at the Cork Airport Business Park and a further 54 in Boston. The companies said they will maintain their current operations for a period of time.
Poppulo is majority-owned by its founders including Andrew O’Shaughnessy. Two years ago they raised €30m in funding from US venture capital firm Susquehanna Growth Equity.
“This merger is a game-changer that will, for the first time, enable organisations to deliver long-overdue consumer-grade workplace communications that their people are used to in their personal lives,” Mr O'Shaughnessy said.
"The ability to connect and engage with every employee, and to give them a sense of belonging and purpose, has never been as critical as it is right now because of how radically the workplace has changed – and that’s where internal communication is critical.”
