Vox buys out SA cloud marketing outfit Everlytic

One of South Africa’s leading telcos, Vox, has just acquired a majority stake in local cloud communications startup, Everlytic. The buyout comes in the wake of impressive growth by Everlytic over the last few years.

“The addition of Everlytic completes our portfolio of products and solutions that allow customers to communicate via any delivery channel — email, fax and SMS. They also add significant intellectual property (IP) in campaign management and success that we are keen to leverage,” says Jacques du Toit, CEO of Vox Telecom in a press release sent to Ventureburn.

Everlytic started out as a communications agency, called Prefix Technologies in 2004, and has since gone on to launch its email marketing platform in 2010. This was followed up by its focus on enterprise level marketing in the cloud. Headquartered in Johannesburg, the company today provides companies with digital marketing tools that enables them to track their communication, from email marketing, social sharing to analytics.

Read more: Interview: Sam Hutchinson, CTO of unified messaging juggernaut Everlytic

“Vox Telecom provides us with wider geographic reach and additional channels to market, which we believe will allow us to accelerate our growth plans,” adds Everlytic MD Walter Penfold.

In 2014, Everlytic was named the fastest growing company in South Africa when it claimed the first spot in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 Africa awards. It boasted achieving 606% growth in just five years.

“Vox Telecom’s entrepreneurial spirit and innovative approach is something we identify with, and we look forward to being a key part of the company’s long term strategy,” adds Penfold.

The Vumela Fund, which is managed by FNB and Edge Growth, invested in Everlytic in 2013. Edge Growth’s Head of Investments for Vumela, Richard Rose, says “We’re excited to continue backing this exceptional team and world class digital communications software. Vox Telecom is a natural fit for the business and will be a significant force in achieving our ambitious growth plans.”

Everlytic will operate as a standalone business division within Vox Telecom, while The Vumela Fund will retain its minority stake.