KORE to be Acquired by Private Equity Firms
IoT company KORE Group Holdings has entered into an agreement to be acquired by private equity firms Searchlight Capital Partners and Abry Partners. Under the terms of the deal, KORE shareholders will receive $9.25 per share in cash. This price represents an approximate 700% premium to the company's unaffected stock price.
The acquisition of KORE follows a period of significant operational changes for the IoT company. In August 2024, KORE announced a major restructuring plan aimed at saving $20 million to $22 million annually. This initiative included a 25% reduction in its full-time workforce, with the goal of reinvesting the savings into more profitable areas of the business, particularly its core connectivity services. Financially, KORE's recent performance has been mixed. While the company reported a modest 0.4% year-over-year revenue increase in the third quarter of 2024, its more recent Q3 2025 results showed revenue was roughly flat. However, the company has shown growth in its total IoT connections, surpassing 20.5 million by the third quarter of 2025, and has improved profitability, with a 12% increase in Adjusted EBITDA in the same period. The move to take KORE private is part of a larger trend of private equity firms acquiring public technology companies. These firms often target companies they believe are undervalued in the public markets and can achieve greater growth through strategic and operational changes without the quarterly pressures of public reporting. The median time for a tech company to be taken private after an IPO has shortened to about six years. The acquiring firms, Searchlight Capital Partners and Abry Partners, both have a history of investing in and growing technology and communications companies. Abry Partners, which has been involved with KORE since its 2021 public offering, focuses on scaling businesses through strategic acquisitions and technology investments. Searchlight's investment philosophy centers on creating value through deep sector knowledge and strong partnerships with management. The new ownership structure is expected to support KORE's long-term strategy. Abry Partners' typical approach involves embedding operational experts to upgrade technology and improve back-office systems, with a focus on building businesses for long-term success. For its part, Searchlight emphasizes a "value creation thesis" from the start, aiming to transform companies into thriving businesses that have realized their full potential.
