Israeli Private Equity Firm in Negotiations to Sell Roaming Services Company Starhome

Israel-based private equity firm Fortissimo Capital is negotiating the sale of its portfolio company Starhome GmbH to an unnamed U.S. company, according to two persons familiar with the deal who spoke to Calcalist on condition of anonymity.

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Fortissimo acquired Starhome in 2012 for $80 million, according to Pitchbook data. The company is looking to get around $100 from the sale, one of the persons interviewed by Calcalist said.

Founded in 1999 as a unit of Israeli telecommunications company Comverse Technology, Inc., Starhome offers mobile network optimization and roaming services. The company reports a customer base of more than 300 mobile network operators. Headquartered in Zurich, Starhome employs more than 400 people worldwide, 120 of whom in Israel.

In 2013, Starhome merged with Luxembourg-based communications company MACH S.a.r.l. In 2015, Starhome negotiated a merger with its rival Roamware (listed as Mobileum Inc.) but the deal fell through.

While Fortissimo expects to be able to sell Starhome at a marginal profit, increasing competition and a shrinking market made it difficult for the company to grow more substantially, the person said.

Founded in 2004, Fortissimo raised four funds totaling $925 million and was an early investor in Israeli at-home carbonation products maker company SodaStream International Ltd., bought by PepsiCo Inc. for $3.2 billion in August.