Digital Virgo, the telecom bill payment specialist, chooses Nasdaq

Digital Virgo announced on Thursday that it would go public in the United States in an underwritten deal that values the French mobile payments platform at $513 million.

FACTS

• The Digital Virgo Group is a Lyon-based company that has specialised in mobile payment and digital marketing since 2008. It is one of the world's leading specialists in mobile payment via billing solutions for telecom operators and mobile money providers.

• Digital Virgo is present in more than 40 countries, particularly in Africa, and offers more than 2 billion users a unique platform for paying for sports, entertainment and games as part of their phone bill.

• Digital Virgo connects merchants to operators and eWallet providers using simple, fast and secure transaction channels available anywhere in the world.

• By connecting operators and merchants, Digital Virgo facilitates

  • Generating sustainable traffic and engagement for operators;

  • Simplified access to audiences and distribution hubs for content creators;

  • Monetisation of content in a secure and locally adapted way;

  • The establishment of a high-performance ecosystem thanks to additional expertise such as digital marketing, editorial animation, knowledge of local markets and needs, the assurance of secure payments, etc.

• Operator billing offers a fast and secure option for digital content purchases. Users can make payments in seconds without logging into additional accounts, resulting in higher conversion compared to bank payment methods.

CHALLENGES

• A strategic choice of listing: three years ago, founder Eric Peyre had prepared everything for an IPO on Euro¬next before giving up at the last moment in the face of market fluctuations. In the end, it was the American Nasdaq, which is more suitable for tech companies than the European stock market, that was chosen. This strategic choice implies that the company benefits from the same tools as its competitors in terms of fund-raising capacity, valuation and credibility.

• Expansion into new markets: In addition to the American market, which represents a high potential for customer acquisition and the integration of new content, Digital Virgo is also targeting Asia and the Middle East, where the mobile phone is often the only means of payment and access to content.

• MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• Evina is a French start-up offering telecom operators the ability to identify and neutralise the risks of fraud linked to mobile payment transactions. Its 40 or so clients include leading operators such as Orange, Bouygues Telecom and Vodafone. Known as "direct carrier billing", the market for direct billing via telecom operator customer invoices is growing very fast: nearly 20% of global digital content purchases go through telecoms, according to a study by Juniper Research, compared to 68.5% for credit cards. It will be worth more than 40 billion dollars by 2021.