Verkkokauppa.com Oyj INSIDE INFORMATION 9 February 2022 at 20.30 EET
VERKKOKAUPPA.COM ACQUIRES E-VILLE.COM ONLINE STORE TO STRENGTHEN OWN BRAND OFFERING
Verkkokauppa.com Oyj has agreed to acquire e-ville.com online store, headquartered in Finland with operations in China. The acquisition supports Verkkokauppa.com's strategy to strengthen and expand its assortment in own brands. With the acquisition, Verkkokauppa.com will get e-ville’s experienced sourcing organization operating in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, China. E-ville's local purchasing organization and efficient sourcing process, established for more than 10 years, also allows for controlling the sustainability of the sourcing channel.
E-ville is an online store founded in 2007 serving customers in Finland and the Nordic countries. E-ville has a warehousing and maintenance team in Mäntsälä. Its selection includes e.g. mobile phones, bicycles, leisure equipment, electronics, and other home products. E-ville employs about 40 persons in Finland, China, and Thailand, and they will continue in the service of the company.
“The acquisition is the first in the history of Verkkokauppa.com. We have had a strong organic growth during past years, and this acquisition provides an excellent fit with strategic growth targets. E-ville's consumer, corporate and wholesale business and sourcing service in the Far East will strengthen our key growth areas. E-ville's innovative and efficient corporate culture fits perfectly with Verkkokauppa.com's culture and the way we work and serve our customers. We warmly welcome e-ville's personnel to the Verkkis community,” says Panu Porkka, CEO of Verkkokauppa.com. The e-ville.com online store will continue to operate and serve its customers as before.
The purchase price amounts to approximately EUR 5.3 million, of which EUR 3.3 million will be paid in cash and EUR 2.0 million in new shares to be issued in a directed share issue to the seller at closing. The shares will be subject to a lock-up undertaking. The parties have also agreed to additional purchase price installments of up to approximately EUR 6.7 million payable solely if the combined sales of own brand products exceeds set target levels during 2022, 2023 and/or 2024. The total aggregate purchase price can amount to EUR 12.0 million at the maximum.
The transaction will close in the beginning of April 2022 and the acquired business operations will be consolidated into Verkkokauppa.com's figures from the beginning of the second quarter of 2022. E-ville’s operations are estimated to have a positive impact of EUR 5–8 million on Verkkokauppa.com's revenue in 2022.
The revenue of the acquired operations in the fiscal year April 2020 - March 2021 amounted to approximately EUR 10 million (April 2019 – March 2020: approx. EUR 7 million) with an operating profit margin of approximately 5 percent (3 percent). The balance sheet of the acquired companies at end of March 2021 was approximately EUR 2 million with an equity of approximately EUR 1 million. No material liabilities will be transferred in the acquisition.
Verkkokauppa.com Oyj
Verkkokauppa.com will published its Financial Statements Release on Thursday 10 February around at 8.00 a.m. EET. On the same day, the company will arrange two news conferences, the first in Finnish at 10:00am EET and the latter one in English at 11.00 a.m. EET. During the news conferences, Verkkokauppa.com’s CEO Panu Porkka will present the Q4 2021 result as well as comment on the acquisition of e-ville.com. Questions to the CEO can be sent beforehand or during the presentation via e-mail to investors@verkkokauppa.com.
Presentation materials for both events are available at https://investors.verkkokauppa.com/en/presentations.
For both news conferences, the Livestream webcast is available at www.verklive.com.
More information:
Panu Porkka, CEO
Verkkokauppa.com Oyj
panu.porkka@verkkokauppa.com
Marja Mäkinen, Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Verkkokauppa.com Oyj
marja.makinen@verkkokauppa.com
Tel. +358 40 671 2999
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Main media
www.verkkokauppa.com
Verkkokauppa.com empowers its customers to follow their passion by providing a wide product assortment of around 80,000 products. Verkkokauppa.com Oyj serves its retail and corporate customers through its webstore, megastores, 24h kiosk and network of collection points as well as fast deliveries and various services. As Finland’s most popular and most visited domestic online retailer, its deliveries cover around 75 percent of the Finnish population within the next day. The Company has four megastores: in Oulu, Pirkkala, Raisio, and Helsinki, where its headquarters is also located. Verkkokauppa.com employs more than 750 people and its shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange with the ticker VERK.
