FE is pleased to announce that LeadOwl has been acquired by Cache Ventures, in the private equity fund’s first acquisition. LeadOwl, a lead generation tool will continue to be run by the existing management team, with Cache Ventures’ focus set on expanding the product capabilities, fueling sales growth, and building upon LeadOwl’s market leadership position in the rapidly growing, $100 billion B2B lead generation market. FE International was sole advisor to LeadOwl on the acquisition.
Conferencing services company, Zoom, has been sued by a shareholder as the company’s share price fell by nearly 20% after Zoom allegedly overstated its security measures. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom’s daily usage has grown from 10 million users to 200 million. The company has since had to confront security and privacy flaws, including accusations the software was not end-to-end encrypted. Zoom is actively repairing its encryption efforts and default settings to improve security protection. In related news, Microsoft this week announced that Microsoft Teams set a new daily record of 2.7 billion meeting minutes. Since the crisis began, the number of Microsoft users have doubled, and video calls in Teams grew by more than 1,000% in March.
As the demand for online grocery shopping soars, Walmart Grocery has temporarily secured the No. 1 ranking position among all shopping apps in the U.S., surpassing Amazon by a reported 20%. As of April 5, the mobile grocery shopping app experienced a 460% increase in growth for average daily downloads. To meet demand, Walmart announced in March it planned to hire 150,000 new employees for its stores and fulfillment centers.
In App news, Apple may let you try out parts of third-party iOS apps without installing them on your iPhone. The functionality is apparently part of a new API referred to in iOS 14 as “Clips.” The report is based on information discovered in the iOS 14 code, providing some insight into some of Apple’s work in progress.
As reported by affiliate networks and publishers, third-party vendors such as Skimlinks have been removed from the Amazon affiliate program. The move will offer greater profit margins for the e-commerce giant and publishers sending traffic directly to the company, streamlining the affiliate program. The decision aims to cut down on programs collecting a larger percentage of a final sale rather than just commission on a single good in order to retain more profits from sales. According to Ad Exchanger, “the e-commerce giant isn’t giving up on affiliate entirely – it’s just creating a single channel between Amazon and digital publishers.”
On Thursday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced he believes U.S. businesses could begin running again in May. The statement was made shortly after the Federal Reserve introduced efforts to launch another $2.3 trillion in funding for businesses and municipalities. Mnuchin went on to explain the administration is doing everything it can to ensure American companies can open for business and “have the liquidity that they need to operate their business in the interim.” The administration also plans on introducing a secondary task force to aid economic recovery.
New in FE exclusive listings, we have a Private Label E-commerce business in the Custom Leather Goods niche listed at $1.415M. Launched in 2012, the business produces a range of one-of-a-kind accessories made from re-purposed baseball gloves, which provide high quality, durable and novel apparel to sporting and leather enthusiasts alike. With well-received products, the business has achieved an exceptional 4.8-star rating and reports an average order price of c.$145. Listed with $2.1M in annual gross sales and a strong track record of growth, this listing offers a highly lucrative acquisition opportunity for a new owner. If you are interested in this business, please follow the link above to request a prospectus.
In events news, SaaStock Remote will kick off its virtual conference on June 10-11, 2020. Join the global community of software as a service (SaaS) founders, executives, and investors for an entirely virtual event. Leaders from Softbank, Glassdoor, Drift, Shopify, and others will take the stage to help you take your business to the next level. Click here to register.
For those of you catching up on podcasts, FE International Founder Thomas Smale was recently featured on the Ecom Exits podcast with Nate Ginsburg, opening up about what buyers are looking for in an FBA business and more. Tune in to get The Insider’s Guide to Selling Your FBA Business from over 800+ deals.
Thomas also has the chance to interview with Natalie Luneva on the SaaS Boss podcast to discuss SaaS Valuations and Building a Sellable SaaS Business. In this episode, Thomas offers insights on the future outlook of the SaaS space as well as advice for online business owners dealing with the effects of the pandemic.
During this time, FE International continues to offer its full range of M&A services. This includes our new 409A Valuation service for businesses requiring valuations for various purposes, for example, collateralizations, SBA loans, and other business needs.
If you or anyone you know is in need of employment resources at this time, we would like to share an article created by our friends at SaaS Mag, which provides a list of companies still hiring now. The fourth issue of SaaS Mag will be released soon, so be sure to sign up for your complimentary subscription! This edition will feature an exclusive cover story and interviews with SaaS leaders from G2, Microsoft, Hotjar, FastSpring, and more! Subscribe for free today.
Continue reading below for more on LeadOwl, Amazon, Zoom, Microsoft and more.
Listings
New
E-Commerce – Custom Leather Accessories – $2.1M Gross/Yr
- Impressive traffic statistics of over 2.2M page views in the LTM
- Diverse product range generating c.$2.1M in gross annual sales over the LTM
- Good customer following with AOV of c.$145 and an exceptional 4.8-star rating from c.400 reviews
- Strong social media following with c.26,000 followers on Instagram and c.11,000 followers on Facebook
Yearly net profit: $416,000
Asking price: $1,415,000
Lead Generation – Rehabilitation & Self Help Resource – $36K Gross/Mo
- High-quality and informative resource in the rehabilitation niche
- Steady traffic with over 108,000 US visitors in the LTM
- Strong organic search presence with rankings for 4,000 keywords in the US and a robust backlink profile
- High payouts per lead, with average commissions per lead of c.$250 in the LTM
Yearly net profit: $346,000
Asking price: $951,000
SaaS – B2B & B2C Financial Options Analytics Software – $9.7K MRR
- Firm foothold in the recession-proof trading software niche
- Impressive traffic statistics of over 270,000 page views in the LTM
- Diverse product range generating c.$9,700 in MRR and a CAGR of c.149% over the period 2017 to 2019
- $500 LTV with ARPU of $63
- Strong social media following with c.3,000 followers on Twitter
Yearly net profit: $81,000
Asking price: $273,000
SaaS – B2B Shopify Product Management App – $2K MRR
- SaaS business firmly positioned in the lucrative product management niche
- Wide market acceptance with glowing reviews
- Strong MRR of c.$2,000 driven by the high-quality service provided
- Lean cost structure requiring minimal owner workload requirements
Yearly net profit: $21,300
Asking price: $95,300
Display Advertising – Technology & Software – $2.5K Gross/Mo
- Firm foothold in the lucrative technology and software niche
- Solid organic search presence with rankings for c.26,000 keywords
- Over 450 detailed articles on the niche
- Lean operating model with high net margins
Yearly net profit: $29,000
Asking price: $93,000
Sold
E-Commerce – 60K Tier Merch By Amazon (MBA) Store – $3.6K Gross/Mo
Display Advertising/Affiliate – Technology Blog – $3.2K gross/mo
In the News…
Cache Acquires LeadOwl
Cache is partnering with the existing LeadOwl management team – led by Kitty Kellman, co-founder, and CEO – to help expand product capabilities. Founded in 2013 by Sean Heilweil and Jarrett Lusso, Cache has been entirely self-funded. It began by building and launching Exit Monitor, which was acquired in August 2016 by Kaleidoscope Global. The launch of this partnership with 360 Family Office allows Cache Ventures to expand its reach and accelerate growth.
Zoom Sued by Shareholder
Announced this week, Zoom Video Communications has been sued by shareholder after claiming he “suffered significant losses and damages.” The Shareholder purchased 50 shares at $149.50 and sold them a week later at $120.50 per share after the tool was found to have significant security issues. The company was advertised to be end-to-end encrypted which has turned out to be false information. Alex Stamos, a former chief security officer for Facebook, has joined Zoom as an advisor to improve the company’s security strategy.
Walmart Ranks as No.1 Shopping App
According to app intelligence firm App Annie, Walmart Grocery has seen record downloads, allowing the grocery pickup and delivery service app to rank the top spot across all U.S Shopping apps. Walmart is now making moves towards “merging Walmart Grocery into the retailer’s flagship mobile application and website.” This news came after the company earlier announced plans to make the grocery shopping service part of Walmart.com and the Walmart mobile app.
Microsoft Video Calls in Teams Grew 1,000% in March
The latest numbers come as Microsoft finds itself facing intense competition. The company argues that this doesn’t mean that people are working longer hours, “rather that they are breaking up the day in a way that works for their personal productivity or makes space for obligations outside of work.” Still, only time will tell if these numbers will decline or continue to rise once things return to normal.
Apple’s iOS 14 Lets Consumers Sample Apps Before Download
The feature is presented as a marketing tool for app publishers, offering a way for users to try out new apps before they download them to get a better feel for the experience than a banner ad would allow.
Amazon Removes Third-Party Vendors from Affiliate Program
As of the beginning of the month, third-party vendors in the Amazon affiliate program have been removed. Including the company’s own header bidding network, the e-commerce giant has direct relations with thousands of publishers. The Amazon is not removing affiliate partners entirely – but is moving towards a single channel between Amazon and its digital publishers. CEO of CJ Affiliate stated, “We are actively working with our publishers who have been seeking ways to diversify their affiliate commerce beyond Amazon and our advertisers who see this as an opportunity to grow their market share.”
Mnuchin Believes U.S. Businesses Could Open in May
In an interview with CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Squawk on the Street, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said “he believed it was possible that the U.S. could open back up next month.” He explained that when the president feels more comfortable about the current medical issues surrounding the pandemic, businesses can expect to be allowed to re-open, and the administration is actively increasing efforts to re-open the economy by May. Also this week, congress revealed plans to roll-out another $2.3 trillion initiative to help out businesses and municipalities so they can continue operations until the economy opens again.
For more updates throughout the week on the financial world of online business M&A, follow our team on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.