Monotype Acquires Swyft Media

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Monotype Image Holdings, a publicly traded company based out of Woburn, Massachusetts has acquired New York based startup, Swyft Media. Monotype Image Holdings specializes in font production whereas Swyft Media specializes in selling branded digital stickers and other ad products. The acquisition figures to be very beneficial for Monotype Image Holdings. But just how much did this acquisition cost them, and does Swyft Media have a proven track record?

imgresSwyft Media was founded in 2012, but was originally TextPride. The startup has worked with popular apps like Kik, KakaoTalk, TextPlus. It’s reported that they have worked with nearly 300 brands. These include the likes of Sony, MGM, SEGA, Dreamworks, and Hearst. The acquisition could cost Monotype Image Holdings up to $27 million. They’ll pay Swyft Media $12 million upfront and another $15 million in potential earn outs.

With mobile messaging at the forefront of todays way of communicating, this acquisition should definitely help Monotype Image Holdings advance their business from a revenue standpoint. The company currently sits on Forbe’s list of America’s Top Small Companies at #100. They’ll look to build on their impressive $175 million in revenue since the companies inception in 2004. CEO Douglas Shaw wants to broaden his companies customer base. Their current customers include publishers and creative professionals. With this acquisition, he is looking to reach a younger audience based customer. Shaw is targeting the young texting teenager/young adult who use emoticons in their everyday text conversations. If this acquisition goes smoothly, Monotype Image Holdings could definitely fly up the Forbes list in the coming years.

from Thibault Mathieu http://ift.tt/1wZmY7o