Acquires KW-Commerce, Becoming One of the Largest E-Commerce Aggregators
SellerX, Europe’s leading aggregator of e-commerce businesses, announced today it has raised an additional approximately $500 million in debt and equity financing led by Sofina, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, and Victory Park Capital, with participation from a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and existing investors. The financing will be used to fuel growth, support additional acquisitions and further build out SellerX’s operational infrastructure and systems. The funding comes shortly after the previously announced $118 million equity round in August 2021, which was led by the Growth Fund of L Catterton. SellerX has a unicorn valuation on a pre-money basis and has raised more than $750 million to date.
SellerX co-founder Philipp Triebel commented, “This is a pivotal time for SellerX. The additional funding will allow us to continue bolstering our portfolio with the best Amazon sellers around the world and fuel our ongoing growth through technology and infrastructure investments across the business. As we reflect on the tremendous progress we have made since our inception only 14 months ago, this funding marks an important milestone for SellerX and we could not have accomplished this achievement without the dedication of our team.”
KW-Commerce Acquisition
SellerX also announced that it has acquired KW-Commerce, one of the largest private label sellers on Amazon worldwide with more than $100 million in revenues. KW-Commerce was founded in 2012 by Jens Wasel and Max Kronberg and serves over 8 million customers annually across more than 190 countries. Currently, KW-Commerce has 22,000 active products and leverages its own fulfilment model and infrastructure in Asia and Europe spanning 350,000 sq ft in warehouse space across four warehouses, to efficiently deliver its vast array of merchandise to customers around the world. With headquarters in Berlin and a significant presence in Asia, KW-Commerce and its 450 employees operate in five primary markets: EU, UK, USA, Canada and Japan. Following the completion of the merger, Jens Wasel and Max Kronberg will join the SellerX senior leadership team as Managing Directors, allowing SellerX to continue to benefit from their knowledge and expertise in the years to come.
“Having generated rapid organic growth and achieved more than $100 million in annual sales, KW- Commerce’s outstanding team has created a top player in the industry and is a game-changing addition to our growing portfolio,” said SellerX co-founder Malte Horeyseck. “KW-Commerce’s well-established operational footprint, including a 70-person sourcing team in Hong Kong and international warehouse infrastructure, will help us create a resilient and flexible supply chain. Jens, Max and the rest of the talented leadership team’s experience and successful track record scaling brands organically on Amazon’s Marketplace is unmatched. Therefore we are excited to welcome them to the SellerX family in this truly transformational merger.”
Jens Wasel and Max Kronberg, Founders and Co-CEOs of KW-Commerce, added, “Today’s announcement marks an inflection point for KW-Commerce and is evidence to the hard work of our team. Through our conversations with SellerX, it was clear that they are the right partner to support our continued growth. We believe that by bringing together our extensive private label assortment and mature global supply chain with SellerX’s considerable M&A and integration experience, we will be better positioned to capitalize on the immense opportunities ahead. We are thrilled to begin this new chapter during this exciting time for our industry as we work together with Philipp, Malte and the entire SellerX team to create a powerhouse in the e-commerce brand aggregators industry.”
With the completion of this merger SellerX has now acquired more than 40 brands across Europe and North America since its inception in September 2020. With the addition of KW-Commerce, SellerX will have over 25,000 products in its portfolio and 11 offices across Europe, Asia and the U.S. Through the combination of SellerX’s M&A expertise and KW-Commerce’s operational backbone, the combined company will be able to integrate new brands rapidly and accelerate organic growth to achieve scale and gain market share.
