The name CM.com may not immediately mean anything to you, but chances are you have dealt with the company. The technology company from Breda controls the digital communication behind companies such as Thuisbezorgd.nl, ticket sales for the Grand Prix in Zandvoort and voting at the Eurovision Song Contest. On Wednesday it was announced that the Amsterdam software company Bird wants to take over the company. An offer of almost 166 million euros is ready.
CM.com was founded in 1999 by Jeroen van Glabbeek and Gilbert Gooijers. They met at high school in Breda and studied Industrial Engineering together at TU Eindhoven, which is where the idea for the company arose.
Back then under the name ‘ClubMessage’, the two started working on a plan. They sent text messages to visitors of a disco with information about parties. In this way, they reached many people at the right time in one go, which they believed worked much better than sending out flyers. It became a success, just at the beginning of the ‘mobile phone era’.
Idols and Big Brother
The company soon rolled from disco to the television world. Their technology allowed viewers of programs such as Idols and Big Brother to vote for their favorite participant.
In the following years, CM.com expanded its services. For example, the company developed technology for paying via QR codes, built its own payment platform, and ensured digital communication within governments.
In 2020, CM.com acquired the Global Ticket company. This made the company the largest digital ticket seller in the Benelux. That same year the company went public.
Dutch Grand Prix
CM.com was the main sponsor of football club NAC Breda between 2015 and 2019. To gain more fame worldwide, Van Glabbeek and Gooijers chose to become partners of the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort in 2019. If ‘Event Supplier‘ the company arranges card checks, debit card payments and public flows.
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With their ‘smart technology’ they also ensure, among other things, that there is no beer shortage during Formula 1, which is not unimportant. The organization also receives tips on where they can place additional route signs, for example.
Takeover
CM.com now has more than seven hundred employees, according to its website. Last year’s turnover was more than 274 million euros. Software company Bird said in a statement that the two companies fit well together and that a combination therefore makes strategic sense.
CM.com stated in a press release that it will assess the proposal, but provides no further explanation.
