Bird’s €165.8 Million Bid for CM.com Sets Off a Dutch Tech Showdown

A new corporate battle is taking shape in the Dutch technology sector. BirdDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the Amsterdam-based communications platform founded by Robert VisDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, has made a €165.8 million unsolicited offer to acquire CM.com , its Breda-headquartered rival known for cloud messaging, payments, and customer-engagement software. The proposal, representing a 20 percent premium over CM.com’s recent market price, was quickly rejected by CM.com’s founders — marking the start of a potential hostile takeover .

Under Bird’s proposal, CM.com would be delisted from Euronext Amsterdam and integrated into Bird’s privately held structure if the deal were approved. Vis argues that the acquisition would create a stronger European player in digital communications, combining Bird’s messaging and automation tools with CM.com’s payments and events infrastructure.

The result, he says, would be a more comprehensive digital communications and transactions platform capable of competing with larger U.S. firms such as Twilio and Salesforce . CM.com’s board, led by CEO Jeroen van GlabbeekDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, disagrees, stating that the company can deliver greater long-term value by remaining independent.

The two companies share similar origins. Both began in the early 2000s as SMS providers for businesses and later evolved into broader communication and payment platforms. Today, they compete head-to-head, offering tools that enable companies to manage customer contact across text, email, chat, and payment systems.

Bird is currently the larger player, reporting €489 million in revenue and €43 million in profit last year, while CM.com generated €274 million in revenue and €18 million in profit . Bird’s offer, which also includes the assumption of €65 million in CM.com debt , underscores Vis’s ambition to expand his company’s footprint into payments, ticketing, and conversational commerce — areas where CM.com has built a strong European presence.

Still, the market’s response has been cautious. CM.com’s share price has fallen sharply from over €40 at its 2021 peak to below €5 today, and many investors consider Bird’s 20 percent premium insufficient to offset those losses. Bird itself has also faced headwinds, with revenues declining for two consecutive years amid intense price competition in bulk messaging. Vis hopes that merging the two companies will help reduce costs, stabilize margins, and position the combined entity for growth through AI-driven customer engagement .

The biggest challenge to the deal, however, lies in CM.com’s ownership structure. Founders Van Glabbeek and Gilbert GooijersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → jointly control nearly half of the company’s shares and sit on a founding committee that must approve any major merger or restructuring. This gives them an effective veto over the transaction. Vis has already built a 5.7 percent stake in CM.com and is expected to continue acquiring shares to strengthen his position, but without the founders’ consent, a takeover remains out of reach.

Both companies are keeping their public tone measured. Bird has said it remains open to “constructive dialogue,” while CM.com maintains that independence offers the best path for long-term growth. Behind the diplomatic statements, though, tensions are rising. What began as a strategic overture could soon turn into a rare Dutch tech standoff — one that will test not only Robert Vis’s persistence but also the future shape of Europe’s communications and payments landscape.

Sources:
Silicon Canals
MarketScreener 
Dutch News
NL Times
Mt/sprout

J.V. / A.M.