Deal to complete by July and expand ‘make greeting card the gift’ opportunity
Moonpig has announced it is adding gifting experience business Buyagift to its portfolio for £124million cash to broaden the online greeting specialist’s offer.
The acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Smartbox Group, which owns the brands Buyagift and Red Letter Days, is an acceleration of Moonpig Group’s strategy to become the ultimate gifting companion, according to the company statement issued yesterday, Monday, 23 May.
Already the leading online greeting card and gifting platform in the UK and Netherlands, the deal is expected to be finalised by the end of July and will create Britain’s leading range of physical and experiential gifts, “delivering a step-change in Moonpig’s gifting proposition” according to the statement.
In addition, the integration of Buyagift’s product offer into Moonpig’s platform “unlocks the growing £6billion UK gift experiences segment of the gifting market” and ceo Nickyl Raithatha said: “We see significant potential for the cross-selling of gifting experiences to Moonpig Group’s loyal customers.”
Nickyl added: “The proposed acquisition of Buyagift rapidly accelerates Moonpig Group’s journey to become the ultimate gifting companion.
“There is strong strategic rationale for the transaction, and compelling financial benefits. Buyagift is profitable and highly cash-generative, with a proven track record of strong growth and we are excited by the ways that we can further transform the business using the group’s proven playbook.
“We look forward to working with the Buyagift team to deliver an enhanced proposition for our customers and to create value for our shareholders.”
The group said the proposed acquisition will enable digital delivery of gifts on Moonpig Group’s technology platform including both the opportunity to “make the greeting card the gift” through gift vouchers printed within the card, and unlocks the same-day gifting market through embedding the gift experience in an e-card delivered instantly.
The company said the experiences segment is growing at a faster rate than total gifting as a result of the secular consumer trend towards experiential gifts such as days out, meals and activities rather than physical gifts.
Within this segment, specialist gift experiences platforms such as Buyagift have consistently increased their market share by providing superior choice, flexibility and assurance of quality to consumers across the UK. As the leading platform in a large and fragmented market, and the group believes Buyagift is well positioned to accelerate market share gains within the growing experience gift market.
Top: Moonpig is acquiring Buyagift for £124m
