Perwyn acquires majority stake in JT's IoT division

Submitted 24/06/2021 - 9:44am

Perwyn, a family-backed private equity investor, is pleased to announce the acquisition of a majority stake in JT’s Internet of Things (IoT) division (“the business” or “the IoT business”). 

The business, which has doubled in size every year for the last three years, provides device connectivity services to customers around the world, with almost 10 million JT SIMs in active use today. It was created in 2014, as part of JT’s international expansion drive, and the acquisition has been timed to maximise the growth potential of the business. The business will remain headquartered in Jersey and JT will retain a minority stake. 

Mark Blower, Partner Perwyn, says: “Perwyn has a major focus on, and experience in, technology enabled services. Therefore, the IoT business fits perfectly into our stable alongside our other investments in other high growth tech sectors such as web hosting and analytics. Fortunately for us, our growth themes have not changed in a Covid-19, or post Covid-19 world. If anything, the IoT will continue to take off as the adoption of device usage expands.” 

Phil Male, JT’s Chairman, says: “I am immensely proud of the hard work, talent and commitment which the JT team have shown to get our IoT business to this point. Together we have grown this business from inception into an entity now worthy of a sale at this scale. This sale not only shows the vast potential and value of Jersey’s digital sector, but also demonstrates that within Jersey we have both the human talent and the funding to enable and build globally successful digital businesses.   
 
“Now is the right time for JT to sell the majority of this business, in order to further turbo-charge that success. Whilst retaining a minority stake and becoming a supplier to Jersey’s biggest technology business, we believe that in Perwyn we have a new owner for the business with the vision and risk appetite to fund and grow this young, dynamic and growing global Jersey business.”

Chief Minister, Senator John Le Fondré, says: “This is extraordinarily good news for Jersey and a clear marker of just what can be achieved in the digital economy. We welcome this significant inward investment to the Island, which will lead to growth and exciting employment opportunities for Islanders. 

“The agreement clearly shows that Jersey is gaining a global reputation as an incubator of successful digital businesses, and I am determined that this will represent the start of an even more exciting time for Jersey’s digital sector.“   

Andrew Wynn, Perwyn Founder and Managing Partner, adds: “We are extremely pleased to have secured the purchase of JT’s IoT business. We have been watching JT’s development in this space for some time with great interest and are impressed by both the speed and scale of their success and growth in this area. They are now one of the most attractive players in this global market. The process of dealing with JT and the island of Jersey during this transaction has been collaborative and productive. We are confident this relationship will bring benefits to Jersey, as well as augmenting the island’s future attractiveness as an incubator for leading-edge innovative businesses. We look forward to working with the JT team to complete the transaction, which is one of important size and scale for us.”
 

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