Ericsson has announced the acquisition of Cradlepoint for $1.1 billion in an all-cash transaction.  This marks the third exit of a Mercato Traverse Growth Fund company this year and the second in excess of $1 billion in 2020.

This is a direct result of the vision and perseverance of CEO George Mulhern.  During the 14-year history of Cradlepoint, there have many developments in the wireless arena.  When we originally invested in the Boise, Idaho-based company in 2011, Cradlepoint was focused on hardware for mobile devices.  Today, it is 10 times larger and has become the dominant wireless wide-area network provider with a novel subscription-driven business model.  None of this would have come to pass without George’s leadership, COO/CFO Val Heusinkveld’s determination and steady execution, as well as the 650 dedicated team members who will all be transitioning to Ericsson.

We anticipate the transaction will officially close in the next 45-75 days, following a standard regulatory review.  I hope you share in my enthusiasm as Cradlepoint, like Galileo and Central Logic earlier this year, validate our thesis of finding, funding and collaboratively scaling growth-stage companies in overlooked and underserved geographies.