Brightstar Corporation
Brightstar Corp., is an American privately held corporation founded in 1997. It provides global wireless distribution and services, serving mobile device manufacturers, wireless operators and retailers.[1] Brightstar offers device and accessories distribution, handset protection and insurance, and mobile digital products. In 2019, Brightstar was named by Forbes as one of "America's Best Midsize Employers".[2]
![]() | |
Type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Wireless Telecommunications |
Founded | 1997 |
Headquarters | Miami, Florida, United States |
Key people | Rod Millar, CEO |
Products | Device and Accessories Distribution, Logistics, Supply Chain, Device Buyback and Trade-in, Handset Protection and Insurance, Multi-channel Retail and Mobile Financing Services, and Mobile Digital Solutions |
Revenue | US$10 billion+ (2014) |
Number of employees | 4,000 |
Website | www |
History
Brightstar was founded by Marcelo Claure in 1997.[3]
Brightstar Corp acquired eSecuritel, an Alpharetta, GA based cell phone insurance service provider, from Mainsail Partners in April, 2011.[4]
In October 2013, Japanese SoftBank paid $1.26 billion for a 57% stake in Brightstar.[5]

In February 2014, Brightstar Corp. completed its acquisition of 20:20 Mobile, a European mobile provider.[6]
In July 2014, Brightstar Corp. and Bharti Enterprises announced that they entered into an agreement to have Brightstar acquire a majority stake in Beetel Teletech, a Bharti company.[7]
In February 2015, Jaymin Patel was appointed CEO of the company, replacing Claure.[8]
In June 2018, Brightstar acquired Next Wireless Group, an online seller of used smartphones.[9] In August 2018, Jaymin Patel resigned as CEO of the company.[8] Reza Taleghani, Brightstar's CFO became interim CEO of the company.[8] As of 2019, Rod Millar served as CEO of the company.[10]
In November 2019, Brightstar acquired Risk Insure which will enable Brightstar "to broaden its portfolio in the wireless industry."[11]
In April 2020, the company acquired WeFix.[12] In September, SoftBank sold the company to Brightstar Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount.[13]
The company's headquarters is located in Miami, Florida.[8]
References
- "About Brightstar - Brightstar Corporation Web Page". Archived from the original on 2012-11-01.
- "Forbes Names Brightstar As One Of "America's Best Midsize Employers" For 2019". EconoTimes. 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
- Gale, Kevin (18 October 2013). "How Brightstar CEO Marcelo Claure turned a freebie into a $1.26 billion deal". South Florida Business Journal.
- Partners, Mainsail (2011-04-05). "Brightstar Corporation Acquires eSecuritel". Mainsail. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
- Carew, Sinead (2013-10-18). "SoftBank to spend $1.26 billion for majority Brightstar stake". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
- "BRIGHTSTAR EXPANDS GLOBAL PRESENCE WITH ACQUISITION OF 20:20 MOBILE GROUP IN EUROPE". Yahoo Finance. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
- "Brightstar acquires majority stake in Bharti Group's Beetel Teletech". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
- Reiser, Emon (12 July 2018). "Brightstar Corp. CEO to resign". South Florida Business Journal.
- Reiser, Emon (19 June 2018). "SoftBank Group Corp. subsidiary buys online seller of used smartphones". South Florida Business Journal.
- Sladky, Lynne (2019-10-25). "SoftBank hopes new WeWork leader will be 'guided missile' to fix it". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
- "BrightStar Corp. Acquires Right Insure". NuWireInvestor. 2019-11-21. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
- McCaskill, Steve (21 April 2020). "Brightstar acquires device repair firm WeFix". TechRadar. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
- Narioka, Kosaku; Dvorak, Phred (2020-09-18). "SoftBank Sells Brightstar, Carrying On Its Divestiture Spree". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-10-13.