The Canadian provider of point-of-sale software, Lightspeed, has added two more companies to its growing list of acquisitions. The business revealed today that it would pay $500 million for Ecwid, an e-commerce platform, and $425 million for NuOrder, a B2B ordering platform for wholesalers, brands, and retailers.
Together, the two transactions highlight the long-expected trend of e-commerce industry consolidation when online payments are becoming increasingly important to the global economy due to COVID. Smaller companies are looking for better strategies to compete against industry giants like Amazon and Stripe.
Expanding Partnership:
Dax Dasilva, founder, and CEO of Lightspeed, said in a statement: “By partnering with Ecwid and NuOrder, Lightspeed has become the common thread unifying merchants, suppliers, and customers, a transition we believe will enable inventive shops to adjust to the new world of commerce. According to the CEO, they intend to empower entrepreneurs with the mechanisms they need to raise their dreams and streamline their operations when economies reopen, and business creation accelerates.
Ecwid will receive $175 million in cash and $325 million in stocks from Lightspeed, and NuOrder will receive $212.5 million in cash and $212.5 million in claims, the business announced. Subject to regulatory and other approvals, both transactions are anticipated to completion at the end of September.
Dax Dasilva, founder, and CEO of Lightspeed, said in a statement: “By partnering with Ecwid and NuOrder, Lightspeed has become the common thread unifying merchants, suppliers, and customers, a transition we believe will enable inventive shops to adjust to the new world of commerce. According to the CEO statement, they intend to empower entrepreneurs with the mechanisms they need to raise their dreams and streamline their operations when economies reopen and business creation accelerates.
Ecwid will receive $175 million directly and $325 million in shares from Lightspeed, and NuOrder will acquire $212.5 million as cash and $212.5 million in claims, as per the business announcement. Subject to regulatory and other approvals, both transactions are anticipated to completion at the end of September.
Lightspeed is a publicly traded company with a $9.4 billion market valuation. Intending to create a comprehensive, end-to-end, one-stop shop for consumers beyond the fundamentals of the point-of-sale software that helped the business build its name, it has been on an acquisition march over the past few months. Upserve was also purchased in December in a $430 million deal to strengthen its position in the restaurant sector.
Ecwid has been around for a while, first earning a reputation as a significant partner of Facebook to assist small businesses in creating commerce adventures on the social media platform, then expanding to offer tools for merchants who use services like Square and Wix as well from the other third-party portals like Instagram and Google.
Growth Of The Company:
Initially created in Russia, the business had mainly escaped venture capitalists’ attention until it raised $42 million from PeakSpan Capital and Morgan Stanley last year to accelerate its growth.
And it has been a good growth. Lightspeed reported sales of even more than $20 million during the period that ended in March, with an expansion of 50% year over year and 130,000 paying customers in more than 100 countries.
Lightspeed said that $11.5 billion in orders were placed over NuOrder’s platform in the year that ended in March. NuOrder has 3,000 brands and 100,000 store customers, some of which include Canada Goose, Converse, and Arc’teryx.
Like Ecwid, NuOrder reported $20 million in revenue during that time, with a 30% annual growth rate.
By building a global network for top brands and merchants, NuORDER has been aiming to redefine retail. The convergence of Lightspeed and NuORDER significantly accelerates that vision.
According to co-founders and co-CEOs of NuOrder Olivia Skuza and Heath Wells, the potential of connected commerce is now realized. He states that they are excited to work with Lightspeed to create global revolutionary value for brands and merchants. It marks a turning moment in the development of retail.
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