[Featured $1.1M Listing] Amazon launches Appflow, $484B Senate Bill, Facebook $6B Investment and More…

This week, Amazon’s AWS announced the launch of its data transfer service, AppFlow. This fully managed service lets customers manage the flow of data between AWS and third-party SaaS applications like Google Analytics, Marketo, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Slack. With AppFlow, customers can create and automate bidirectional data flows without writing custom integration code. AWS Principal Advocate, Martin Beeby, commented, “Developers spend huge amounts of time writing custom integrations so they can pass data between SaaS applications and AWS services so that it can be analyzed, these can be expensive and can often take months to complete.” The announcement comes as Google’s hybrid cloud platform Anthos hits general availability for AWS with plans to add Microsoft Azure by the end of 2020.

Senate lawmakers on Tuesday passed a $480 billion bipartisan bill that would replenish funds for emergency small business lending programs in the US. The new legislation includes $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion for a national COVID-19 testing strategy. Senator Schumer called the deal a “result of bipartisan negotiations with Secretary Mnuchin, the Trump administration, and Speaker Pelosi.” In other parts of the world, to help startups impacted by Coronavirus, the U.K. government announced a Future Fund, pledging £250M in matching funds made up of taxpayer money. To qualify, businesses must secure an equal or greater amount of matching funding from private investors, and be a U.K. registered private company that has previously raised at least £250,000 in private investment during the last five years.

Facebook dominated headlines this week with news of its second most substantial investment to date, battles with foreign governments, a new gaming app for Android, and its stepped-up efforts in the fight against misleading information on its platform. The week started with Facebook announcing a $5.7 billion investment in India’s Jio Platforms, making it the telecom giant’s largest minority shareholder at nearly 10%. According to industry analysts — the companies that need to worry most about this multi-billion-dollar investment are Walmart’s Flipkart, Paytm, and Amazon, each of whom have struggled to find a successful business model in India.

Elsewhere, the Australian government announced that Google and Facebook would have to start paying media outlets for news content. The measure is an effort to rescue local publishers by compelling tech giants to share some of their advertising revenue. The requirements were decided upon when talks with Google and Facebook on voluntary measures stalled.

In an attempt to cut down on the viral re-sharing of misleading information, Facebook introduced a feature that will display the location of Facebook pages and Instagram accounts with a large audience, on every post they share. By doing so, they are hoping to give users a better idea of how reliable or authentic the account may be. The feature is now live on Facebook and is rolling out on Instagram.

Facebook released its new Gaming app on Android this week, months ahead of schedule. The launch of Facebook Gaming was a clear next step for the social media giant as their investment in gaming has culminated in more than 700 million users actively playing games through the platform each month. The move sees Facebook taking on the likes of Amazon’s Twitch, Google’s YouTube, and Microsoft’s Mixer. The new app has launched without ad support; however, Facebook does have plans to monetize by taking commissions from donations viewers sent to streamers.

Google announced it would be adding new features to its Meet platform, and has officially started rolling them out this week. One significant update, which many believe was made in an effort to compete with the popular video conferencing app, Zoom, is the addition of the ability to view a gallery of 16 call participants at one time. While Zoom caps its gallery at 49 participants, Google Meet expanding the view from four to 16 is a marked improvement for many. Notably, Google wrote in a blog post on April 9 that the service is adding more than 2 million new users every day.

Featured in FE exclusive listings, we have a Private-Label Amazon FBA business in the Computer and Mobile Accessories niche listed at $1.089M. The business has scaled by selling a diverse range of privacy screen filters for a variety of digital screens and sizes. With a focus on quality and innovation at the forefront of its strategy, the business has an average 4.5-star rating on Amazon. It appeals to both B2B and B2C customers, including Fortune 500 brands such as BP, Facebook, Santander, and Deutsche Bank. With well-received products, strong supplier relationships, and a trained team of virtual assistants staying on post-sale, a new owner will be able to transition seamlessly into the business. If you are interested in this business, please follow the link above to request a prospectus.

In virtual events news, FE founder Thomas Smale, will be speaking along with other leaders from Softbank, Drift, and Shopify at SaaStock Remote June 10-11, 2020. Join the global community of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) founders, executives, and investors for this entirely virtual event. Click here to register.

Add the SaaS Growth for Good podcast to your playlist! On the premiere episode, Thomas Smale tells Rob Mattingley, the founder of Plexy, the surprising best time to sell your business – you can list to the episode here.

During this time, FE International continues to offer its full range of M&A services. This includes our 409A Valuation Service for businesses requiring valuations for various purposes, for example, collateralizations, SBA loans, and other business needs.

For more updates throughout the week on the financial world of online business M&A, follow our team on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

Featured Listings

Affiliate – DIY & Heat Press Blog – $9K Gross/Mo

• Firm foothold in the DIY & Heat Press niche
• Rapid revenue growth of c.153% between 2018 and 2019
• Diversified income streams
• Extensive content library of c.230 articles helping secure keyword rankings for c.13,000 keywords
• Impressive social media presence with over 35,000 followers spread across Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube

Yearly net profit: $107,000
Asking price: $217,000

Affiliate – Home & Cleaning Resource – $12K Gross/Mo

• Firm foothold in the lucrative home and cleaning niche
• Solid organic search presence with keyword rankings for c.10,000 keywords
• Over 60 detailed articles covering vacuum cleaner types, accessories and carpet maintenance
• Lean operating model with high net margins

Yearly net profit: $145,000
Asking price: $418,000

SOLD

SaaS – B2B Order & Inventory Management Software – $29K MRR
Display Advertising – Automobile and Automotive Accessory Reviews – $20K Gross/Mo
Advertising – Photography and Graphic Design Resources – $2.5K Gross/Mo

SaaS – 12 Y/O B2B Project Management Platform – Fully Managed – $1.8K MRR

For more updates throughout the week on the financial world of online business M&A, follow our team on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.