Sector: Digital Commerce M&A

Hampleton advised Shopware, a leading digital commerce software solutions provider in the DACH region, on its US$100 million growth capital round from global investment firm Carlyle and PayPal, the global payments and commerce platform.

Headquartered in Schöppingen and led by brothers Sebastian and Stefan Hamann, Shopware offers a holistic omnichannel digital commerce platform that is highly flexible and has a rich set of features, supporting complex B2C, D2C, B2B and services-driven business models. Its platform caters to a highly diversified customer base across a wide range of different industry verticals, focused on sophisticated mid-market merchants but also serving multinational market leaders including Philips, Jägermeister and Aston Martin.

Carlyle and PayPal's growth capital will help drive Shopware's international expansion and the development of new products.

Hampleton advised The Loop54 Group AB, the cutting-edge provider of AI search and personalization SaaS, on its acquisition by FACT-Finder, a European leader in e-commerce technology, backed by GENUI, a German investment company founded by renowned entrepreneurs and investment experts. 

Loop54 delivers unparalleled accuracy and relevance in on-site search, navigation and personalization with its cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology, GOLEM. Working with small, heterogenous sets of data, Loop54’s AI boosts conversions with unique and responsive customer experiences, trusted by over 170 leading brands and retailers including Office Depot, Notonthehighstreet and Coop Sweden. Combining with FACT-Finder and backed by a seasoned investor in GENUI, this transaction will create a European champion for AI-powered e-commerce personalization.

Hampleton advised Banking Software Company s.r.o., a 300-person strong leading provider of digital banking solutions, on its transaction with PortfoLion Zrt., a leading investor with a track record of successfully investing in Central and Eastern Europe and W.UP with its AI-based digital personalisation platform which complements BSC's portfolio perfectly.

Banking Software Company and its flagship product Digital Banking OS help retail, corporate & investment and wealth management banks to transition from product-centric to customer-centric organizations by allowing them to orchestrate digital cross-channel customer journeys.

The transaction is instrumental in the creation of a new Central European digital banking powerhouse with PortfoLion as financial sponsor, combining the Banking Software Company, operating in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Russia, together with W.UP operating in Hungary and the United Kingdom. The management and shareholders of the Banking Software Company and W.UP all are staying in the combined business.

Hampleton Partners advised Queue-it ApS, the leading provider of a virtual waiting room SaaS, on a strategic investment by GRO Capital A/S, a leading investor with a track record of successfully investing in Northern European software companies.

Queue-it has built a strong, global portfolio of prestigious clients in the e-commerce, ticketing and public sector space, helping them to capitalize on peak web traffic events such as product launches, ticket onsales and big sales events such as Black Friday as well as the blockbuster economy.

The team at Queue-it will work with GRO Capital to further develop their product offering and expand their global footprint.

Hampleton Partners advised Tradebyte, an e-commerce integration software provider that connects brands and retailers with its supplier and providers, to Zalando, a Berlin based cross-platform e-commerce company.

Tradebyte uses its SaaS solutions by offering quick, cost effective ways to streamline the digital supply chain process. This transaction will be an effective tool for Zalando to make its mark as one of the leading e-commerce powerhouses.

Tradebyte supports Zalando in fufilling its vision of the Zalando platform as an operating system for the fashion world.

Hampleton Partners advised on the acquisition of pixi* Software, a leading Germany-based provider of technology solutions for e-commerce order fulfilment and warehouse management, to  the Canadian Descartes Systems Group (TSX:DSG) (Nasdaq:DSGX), the global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce.

pixi* brings Descartes a strong foothold in Germany and e-commerce technology for it to sell through its global sales & marketing channels.

Hampleton Partners supported Canadian based THP on their path to find its best acquisition partner, Williams Lea Tag, a UK based Advent International owned provider of end-to-end marketing execution services, powered by advanced data analytics and deep digital expertise.

THP has developed a compelling offer, delivering rapid, cost-effective on-demand content and social media solutions very effectively for key players within the food and beverage sectors.

Williams Lea Tag acquired THP to add on-demand digital and social media content capabilities and boost evolution of its global omni-channel proposition.