SparkPost Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors

SparkPost was acquired by Bird for $600M in April 2021, a 14.3x multiple on $42M of revenue.

SparkPost acquisition price

$600M

Acquired by Bird · Apr 2021

SparkPost revenue at acquisition

$42M

Last twelve months · Apr 2021

SparkPost revenue multiple at acquisition

14.3x

EV/Revenue · Apr 2021

Cumulative funding SparkPost raised

$207M

across 2 funding rounds

SparkPost Overview

About SparkPost

SparkPost is a cloud-based email delivery platform providing APIs for sending and receiving transactional and marketing messages. Customers such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, Groupon, Zillow, and Comcast rely on it for inbox placement, analytics, and scalability, handling billions of emails daily. Acquired by MessageBird in 2020, the New York-based service supports high-volume senders across industries with real-time insights and suppression lists.


Founded

2008

HQ

United StatesBaltimore, MD

Status

Acquired

Customer focus

B2B

Revenue model

Usage-based, Subscription

Revenue

$42M (Apr 2021)

Valuation

$600M (acquired Apr 2021)

SparkPost Acquisition

SparkPost was acquired by Bird for $600M on 28 April 2021.

The acquisition price implies a 14.3x revenue multiple on $42M of revenue.

Before the acquisition SparkPost had raised $207M across 2 funding rounds.

MessageBird, a Netherlands-based communications platform also referred to as Bird, acquired SparkPost, a US-based predictive email intelligence platform headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, for $600 million on April 28, 2021. The deal was financed through an $800 million extension to MessageBird's Series C round, bringing the total to over $1 billion, with investors including Eurazeo, Tiger Global, Owl Rock, and BlackRock. The transaction was expected to close in Q2 2021 pending regulatory approvals. SparkPost, known for its email delivery and marketing capabilities serving clients like JPMorgan Chase, PayPal, LinkedIn, and Adobe, brought MessageBird a significant US foothold, expanding its workforce from 20 to about 300 employees and establishing SparkPost's headquarters as MessageBird's main US base. The acquisition aimed to strengthen MessageBird's omnichannel platform by integrating SparkPost's email technology for more contextual customer communications. This move positioned MessageBird against competitors like Twilio while enhancing its global presence, particularly in North America, and supported ambitions for further growth potentially toward an IPO.

SparkPost acquisition details
AcquirerDateTypePriceEV/Revenue
28 Apr 2021Strategic M&A$600M14.3x

SparkPost Funding History

SparkPost has raised a total of $207M across 2 funding rounds.

SparkPost's first fundraising round was a $27M Series C in February 2015. The most recent completed round was a $180M undisclosed-stage round in January 2021.

SparkPost funding rounds

SparkPost funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedDeal Summary
Jan 2021Undisclosed stageLLR Partners; NewSpring; PNC Financial Services$180MSparkPost, based in Columbia, Maryland, is a cloud-based email sending and optimization platform that delivers nearly 40% of the world's commercial email, processing 4-5 trillion messages annually for customers including Adobe, Twitter, Zillow, The New York Times, Booking.com, and Zynga. The platform provides analytics on email opens, reading time, engagement rates, bounce rates, and competitor benchmarks, powered by a global network collecting over a trillion message events. It powers eleven of the top 13 firms in Forrester's 2020 Email Wave and focuses on deliverability, user experience, and data-driven insights for enterprise B2B and B2C email programs. On January 27, 2021, SparkPost raised $180 million in a strategic growth investment from LLR Partners, NewSpring Capital, and PNC Bank, bringing total funding to over $270 million. The round aims to fuel product innovation, acquisitions, and expansion amid rising demand for digital marketing solutions post-2020. CEO Rich Harris noted steady revenue growth over the prior three years, substantial customer base expansion, achievement of the Rule of 40 in Q3 2020 (growth rate plus profit margin), and continued performance into 2021. The investment supports SparkPost's dominant market share in email service providers and cross-channel marketing clouds, following acquisitions like eDataSource in 2019 for email deliverability measurement. Shortly after this round, SparkPost was acquired by MessageBird for $600 million, integrating its email capabilities with MessageBird's omni-channel communication tools for text and voice, expanding both companies' North American presence and customer offerings.
Feb 2015Series CHercules Capital (lead); LLR Partners; NewSpring$27MSparkPost, an email optimisation technology developer founded in 2014, received $27M in funding in 2015 from LLR Partners, Hercules Capital, and NewSpring. This followed a prior $32M raise from undisclosed investors in 2013. The company provides a data-enhanced software platform for sending compliant business emails, claiming responsibility for nearly 40% of the world’s marketing emails for clients like Adobe, Booking.com, Rakuten, The New York Times, and Zillow. Later, in an undisclosed round (context suggests around 2021), SparkPost raised $180M from PNC Bank, LLR Partners, and NewSpring Capital to accelerate growth, support R&D, and boost sales amid digital transformation demands.

Who has invested in SparkPost?

4 investors have backed SparkPost across its funding rounds, including NewSpring, LLR Partners, Hercules Capital and PNC Financial Services.

Lead investors include Hercules Capital.


SparkPost Investors

Investors in SparkPost by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
LLR PartnersUnited StatesPhiladelphia, PA2ParticipantFeb 2015
NewSpringUnited StatesPhiladelphia, PA2ParticipantFeb 2015

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Acquisitions by SparkPost

SparkPost has acquired 3 companies to date.

Last acquisition by SparkPost was on May 20th 2021. SparkPost acquired Taxi for Email for undisclosed valuation.


Latest Acquisitions by SparkPost

Taxi for Email
eDataSource
Port25 Solutions
Description
Taxi for Email is a collaborative platform for email design and production used by enterprise marketing teams worldwide. Durham-based, the company offers drag-and-drop editors, HTML code generation, and team workspaces integrated with ESPs like Mailchimp and Marketo. Rebranded as Beefree in 2018, it serves over 100,000 users across agencies and brands such as Unilever and Dell, facilitating responsive email templates compliant with Gmail and Outlook rendering standards.
eDataSource is a U.S.-based email intelligence provider founded in 2003, monitoring over 90 percent of global commercial emails via AI-powered machine learning and multi-source inbox data. The company supplies metrics and tools to leading brands, agencies, and email service providers for optimizing campaign performance across major ISPs.
Port25 Solutions is a Raleigh, North Carolina-based developer of PowerMTA, a high-performance message transfer agent for bulk email delivery. The software optimizes scalability for permission-based marketers, publishers, and email service providers, achieving high inbox placement rates. Used by financial institutions, consumer brands, and top ESPs, PowerMTA handles millions of messages daily with features like throttling, authentication, and feedback loops.
HQ CountryUnited KingdomUnited StatesNetherlands
HQ City
London
New York City, NY
Amsterdam
Deal Date20 May 202129 Oct 20195 Feb 2015
Valuationundisclosedundisclosedundisclosed
EV/Revenue
EV/EBITDA

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SparkPost Competitors

SparkPost competitors include listed companies like Ooma and Sprout Social, and private ones like Affinity, Pitch, Neat and Datarails.

Public and private companies comparable to SparkPost
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
AffinityUnited StatesSan Francisco, CAPrivate--$600M-
PitchGermanyGermanyPrivate--$600M-
OomaUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$274M$19M$617M2.1x
NeatNorwayOsloPrivate--$640M-
DatarailsUnited StatesUnited StatesPrivate$100M-$550M5.5x
Sprout SocialUnited StatesUnited StatesPublicly listed$458M($31M)$656M1.2x

SparkPost Public Comps

SparkPost is no longer listed, but its public comps include Ooma, Sprout Social, Consensus Cloud, Enghouse Systems, Tanla Platforms, Truecaller, Vercom, Pexip, Note Inc. and Agora.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Ooma$274M$19M2.4x2.1x35.5x15.4x
Sprout Social$458M($31M)1.3x1.2x(18.6x)8.1x
Consensus Cloud$350M$166M3.2x3.1x6.8x5.9x
Enghouse Systems$357M$87M1.4x1.4x5.6x5.6x
Tanla Platforms$461M$76M1.2x1.2x7.6x7.1x
Truecaller$195M$61M3.2x3.4x10.2x11.8x
Vercom$125M$34M5.9x5.2x21.8x18.2x
Pexip$118M$29M6.6x5.7x26.6x18.6x

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Common questions about SparkPost

When was SparkPost founded?SparkPost was founded in 2008.
Where is SparkPost headquartered?SparkPost is headquartered in Baltimore, MD, United States.
Is SparkPost publicly listed?No, SparkPost was acquired by Bird in April 2021.
Who acquired SparkPost?SparkPost was acquired by Bird in April 2021.
How much was SparkPost acquired for?SparkPost was acquired for $600M in April 2021, a 14.3x revenue multiple.
How much funding has SparkPost raised?SparkPost has raised $207M across 2 funding rounds.
What was SparkPost's last funding round?SparkPost's last funding round was a $180M undisclosed-stage round in January 2021.
Who are SparkPost's investors?SparkPost's investors include LLR Partners, NewSpring, Hercules Capital and PNC Financial Services.
Which companies are comparable to SparkPost?Companies comparable to SparkPost include Affinity, Pitch, Ooma, Neat, Datarails and Sprout Social.
How many companies has SparkPost acquired?SparkPost has acquired 3 companies, including Taxi for Email, eDataSource and Port25 Solutions.

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