US online postage and shipping software group Stamps.com is expanding to Europe with the takeover of UK-based multi-carrier delivery platform MetaPack for approximately £175 million ($230 million) in cash.
The deal, announced yesterday, will give the US company a strong footprint in the UK, continental Europe and other overseas markets. The Boards of Directors of both companies have approved the transaction, which is expected to close during August 2018.
Stamps.com, which offers postage and shipping solutions to over 725,000 business and private customers in the USA through several businesses (Stamps.com, Endicia, ShipStation, ShipWorks and ShippingEasy, has already doubled in size since 2015 through several acquisitions. In 2017, it increased revenues by 29% to $469 million and improved operating profits (adjusted EBITDA) by 32% to $230 million, representing a profit margin of 49%.
MetaPack, with 350 employees in six offices around the world, offers delivery software solutions to retailers through some 450 partner carriers operating in more than 200 countries, and has over 500 customers, including many of the world’s leading e-commerce retailers and brands.
Stamps.com stated that the British company processed more than 550 million packages in 2017 and generated revenue of approximately £36 million in its fiscal year ending March 31, 2018, with a gross margin of approximately 87% and an operating margin of approximately 10%.
MetaPack said the sale follows another highly successful year with the management team driving continued high growth in the UK and continental Europe, which “has now taken the business from a loss-making position into sustained profitability”.
Following the sale, MetaPack will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Stamps.com and will be instrumental in helping Stamps.com to achieve its ambitious and exciting international aspirations. To date Stamps.com has been focused on the development of its core US-based market, but with the purchase of MetaPack, its strategy will be expanded to maximise MetaPack’s strong international footprint.
The two companies underlined that they are highly complementary. The success of Stamps.com postage online and shipping software products in the SME market combined with the market-leading position of MetaPack’s platform in the retail enterprise space is expected to result in a wide number of cooperative opportunities for the combined business and enhanced services for customers of both organisations.
In the short term, Stamps.com expects MetaPack to operate autonomously with day to day operations continuing as normal. No changes to the management team are being made and there will be no platform impact on peak stability or uptime. Longer term, the company expects to invest in the platform to continue developing MetaPack’s customer proposition.
“This is a hugely exciting development for MetaPack,” said Steve Rowley, Executive Chairman. “The acquisition by Stamps.com is highly complementary and enables us to broaden our proposition and enhance our global label library. It gives us the degree of scale and support that we need to service global e-commerce customers. The transaction is testament to the entire team at MetaPack who have demonstrated outstanding loyalty and hard work, particularly in driving European growth and helping us return the business to profitability. Their skills were a crucial element in this acquisition.”
Patrick Wall, MetaPack Founder commented, “This announcement is excellent news for our customers, partners and employees. We’re very proud to become part of the wider Stamps.com group and in so doing, offer our customers continuity, greater product depth and an even stronger global proposition. e-commerce will continue to drive huge change in retailing and MetaPack is now best positioned to meet market needs all over the world. I’ve no doubt the best years are still to come.”
“The acquisition of MetaPack represents a significant strategic investment in our global e-commerce shipping business,” said Ken McBride, Stamps.com chairman and CEO. “MetaPack is the leading enterprise-level multi-carrier e-commerce software platform supporting the world’s largest retailers and the world’s best-known brands.
“MetaPack has significant business in Europe, complementing Stamps.com’s strong position in the U.S. MetaPack also serves the largest enterprises and retailers, complementing Stamps.com’s traditional focus on smaller businesses. Together, the two companies will be better able to provide innovative solutions in an increasingly global e-commerce world to customers of all sizes and in all geographies.”
