With Bird circling, Youfone founder invests €5M in CM.com for 3% stake, eyes 5% ownership

Youfone founder Valentijn Rensing invests €5M in CM.com, gaining a 3% stake and signalling strong confidence in the Dutch tech company’s growth.

North Brabant-based CM.com, a provider of conversational commerce, announced that it has issued 1,020,408 new shares to Dutch entrepreneur Valentijn Rensing, founder of Youfone.

The €5M raised will provide CM.com an additional capital to support its balance sheet and accelerate strategic growth initiatives.

With this private placement, Rensing now holds about a 3 per cent stake in CM.com and plans to increase his ownership to over 5 per cent.

The shares were priced at €4.90 each, based on the average price from November 3 to November 7, 2025.

The private placement further broadens its long-term shareholder base, reflecting continued confidence in the company’s strategy and market position. 

Who is Valentijn Rensing?

Valentijn Rensing is an entrepreneur from Rotterdam, Netherlands. He started the telecom company Youfone in 2008.

In 2023, Youfone was sold to KPN, and Rensing remains as its CEO.

He also operates in the Belgian telecom market with the brand Yoin.

Additionally, he organises the annual Rotterdam Gala, a popular charity event. Shares in CM.com will be managed through Coöperatie Rensing Group.

Bird’s takeover bid

The announcement comes a week after Amsterdam unicorn Bird announced its intention to acquire CM.com through an all-cash public offer of €5.16 per share.

However, CM.com rejected the proposal, citing a lack of real long-term value.

Post takeover rejection, Bird again bought more shares, increasing its stake to 5.74 per cent.

Notably, CM.com raised €20M by offering 2,985,075 new ordinary shares, earlier in March and acquired GUTS Tickets, a blockchain ticketing company.  

Teslin reportedly sold 3% stake 

In other news, Teslin, a shareholder in CM.com, has reportedly sold a large part of its investment, reducing its stake from over 6 per cent to under 3 per cent, according to the AFM register.

Based in Maarsbergen, the Netherlands, Teslin Capital Management is a long-term investor in small and mid-caps in Benelux and Germany. 

It appears that Teslin sold at a loss, reports Quotenet.nl. 

“We see better opportunities in the market,” says Johan Terpstra, Teslin’s fund manager, to Quotenet.nl. 

If the entire stake were sold at the price offered by Bird, it would result in a loss of around €7M. 

However, Terpstra also clarified that there was no direct contact with Vis about the sale, and it was conducted through regular market transactions.

Teslin still retains about 900,000 shares in CM.com, but Terpstra could not confirm if there are any plans to sell this remaining stake.

At present, the founding duo – Jeroen van Glabbeek and Gilbert Gooijers remain the biggest shareholders of the company, holding 22.70 per cent shares each. 

CM.com: Connects people and businesses

Founded in 1999 by Jeroen van Glabbeek and Gilbert Gooijer, CM.com connects people and businesses via telecom operators, worldwide payment providers, and messaging channels.

The company offers solutions needed for mobile engagement and interaction with its target audience.

It includes SMS, Over The Top (OTT) (e.g. WhatsApp Business, Apple Business Chat, Google RCS, Facebook Messenger, and Viber), Voice API, and SIP.

These messaging channels can be combined with cloud platform features like Ticketing, eSignature, Customer Contact, identity services, and a Customer Data Platform.