Critical Path, Inc.
Irish provider of messaging services
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Critical Path was a provider of messaging services, working with mobile operators, telecommunications companies, ISPs, and enterprises. It was acquired on December 4, 2013 by Openwave Messaging.[1][2][3] On March 2, 2016, it was announced that Synchronoss Technologies agreed to acquire Openwave Messaging.[4]
 | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Fate | Acquired by Openwave (December 4, 2013)[1] |
| Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland |
Key people | Mark Palomba, CEO and Chairman Tim Noel, CFO Barry Twohig, EVP of Engineering |
| Products | Mobile Software Messaging Software Anti-Abuse Software Identity Management Software |
| Revenue | $66.963 million USD (2005) |
Number of employees | 331 |
History
Critical Path, Inc. was founded in 1997 by David C. Hayden[5] and Wayne Copeland de Geere[6] as a provider of outsourced email service to ISPs. In 1998 they hired a new CEO, Doug Hickey and acquired Usenet provider Supernews. The company went public on March 29, 1999. The IPO was covered favorably by the trade press at the time.[7] In early 2001, nearly two years after their IPO, a series of lawsuits against Critical Path were filed over hiring practices, accounting irregularities, and securities fraud,[8][9] culminating in a management shakeup and SEC action against the company's President, David Thatcher, and other executives.[10] Thatcher and two others pleaded guilty and were sentenced to jail terms from three months to one year.[11] In 2005 their stock was delisted by Nasdaq.[12]
In 2007 the company went private[12] and in 2008 sold Supernews to Giganews.[13]
In October 2010, Critical Path and Mirapoint, a secure enterprise messaging company, announced their decision to merge.[14]