Investment firm Letterone (L1) has invested $50 million in FreedomPop to boost the MVNO’s expansion plans.
L1, which holds minority stakes in Turkcell and VimpelCom, said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States had cleared the investment.
Mustafa Kiral, Senior Partner at L1's Technology arm, will join FreedomPop’s Board of Directors as a result of the deal.
FreedomPop began life in the US in 2013 before arriving in the UK last September.
It said it plans to open an additional eight markets by the end of 2017.
The MVNO, which runs on Sprint’s network in the US and Three’s in the UK, offers users a free mobile service after a one-off activation fee.
It makes its money by charging users for extra minutes, SMS and data once they have used up their monthly allowance, in addition to other services such as security.
FreedomPop CEO Stephen Stokols said in June that 48 percent of users pay for additional services.
It does not share precise subscribers numbers.
Alexey Reznikovich, L1 Technology’s Managing Partner, said: “FreedomPop… is disrupting the businesses of traditional mobile carriers by giving people ways to use mobile devices free of any call charges.
“As the telecoms market consolidates, and technologies advance, it’s important to remain ahead of the curve in terms of new customer propositions”.
Stokols added: “L1’s expertise will be used to accelerate our international expansion.
“L1’s unique ability to open new markets and new growth opportunities will deliver real value for us beyond what any typical late stage investor could do.”
Earlier this year, L1 invested $200 million in Uber.
Source: http://www.eurocomms.com/industry-news/11767-turkcell-vimpelcom-shareholder-invests-in-freedompop
