Wireless Logic, a British telecoms firm specialising in Internet of Things (IoT) communications, has sold a minority stake to US private equity group General Atlantic, in a deal that values the business at £3.5 billion — a staggering 100-fold increase from its valuation when it was bought back from Dragons’ Den investor Peter Jones in 2011.
Oliver Tucker, co-founder and CEO of the Maidenhead-based firm, confirmed the investment but did not disclose the size of the stake acquired. As part of the deal, Vittorio Colao, former CEO of Vodafone and vice-chairman of General Atlantic, will join the Wireless Logic board, which is chaired by former BT chairman Sir Michael Rake.
Founded in 2000, Wireless Logic was originally sold to Jones’s Phones International Group in 2002. Tucker and co-founder Philip Cole bought it back in 2011 for £35 million, backed by ECI Partners. Now, the company serves 25,000 customers across 165 countries, connecting devices from business laptops and medical monitors to smart traffic systems and Just Eat deliveries via its partnerships with 53 mobile network operators.
“Yes, we are a lot bigger now, but [Peter Jones] still got a good return,” Tucker said, acknowledging the scale of the firm’s transformation over the past decade.
Wireless Logic pivoted into the machine-to-machine (M2M) and IoT market in 2007 and has expanded rapidly since. Under Montagu Private Equity, which acquired the business from CVC in 2018, the company has made 14 acquisitions, including UK-based Mobius Networks and Israel’s Webbing.
Montagu remains the majority shareholder, with General Atlantic joining as a strategic investor to help scale the business globally.
Wireless Logic’s parent company, Blue Holdco, posted revenues of £256.7 million for the year ending April 2024, with underlying profits of £102.3 million (before tax, interest, and acquisition-related costs). However, after factoring in acquisition-related expenses of £141 million, the group recorded a pre-tax loss of £222.3 million.
Despite this, Tucker emphasised the company’s robust profitability and rapid growth, noting a 20% year-on-year increase in both revenue and profits. He described Wireless Logic as one of the UK’s rare profitable unicorns, with international expansion proving both rewarding and challenging.
“Anyone who tells you that expanding internationally is easy is lying. It takes you three times as long and probably three times as much as you originally envisaged,” Tucker said.
He expressed enthusiasm about Colao’s appointment, saying: “He knows our market and the people within it extremely well. He will add huge amounts of value.”
With most machines still unconnected to the internet, Tucker believes there is vast untapped potential for Wireless Logic as businesses worldwide invest in smart infrastructure and IoT capability.
Co-founder Philip Cole stepped away from the business in 2019. Peter Jones was contacted for comment but has not yet responded.
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Wireless Logic valued at £3.5bn as founder sells minority stake to General Atlantic