Expandeco acquires logistics company thanks to Crowdberry investors
22/01/2025
The Slovak company Expandeco, which focuses on providing services to help online retailers expand into new markets abroad, has acquired the Czech logistics company Pošta bez hranic, using private equity funds exceeding €2 million raised from Crowdberry investors.
With the acquisition, Expandeco will be able to serve more than 1,200 new customers and process over 3 million shipments annually.
The Slovak company has set itself the goal of building a single place where e-shops can find complete support for entering foreign markets. Services include website localization, marketing strategies, customer support and logistics. This comprehensive approach is intended to help Expandeco clients not only expand their scope, but also increase their competitiveness. The ambition of Expandeco is to become a leading company in the field of e-commerce expansion at the European level.
A merger of two strong companies
Pošta bez hranic is an experienced logistics provider with more than 14 years of operating on the market. It currently cooperates with more than 30 logistics carriers and covers almost 150,000 delivery points across Europe. In 2023, the company had revenues of €12.4 million and EBITDA exceeding €1 million.
The merger with Expandeco opens up the opportunity for e-shops to use an integrated platform that combines localization, customer support and comprehensive logistics solutions under one roof.
"This acquisition represents a significant milestone in our ten-year history. By joining forces with Pošta bez hraníc, we can offer our clients comprehensive solutions for their expansion in Europe, fulfilling our vision of becoming a leader in supporting e-commerce at an international level," stated Tomáš Vrtík, CEO of Expandeco.
Expandeco is rapidly growing its business every year. Sales in 2019 were around €915,000, but by 2023 sales exceeded €2.6 million.
At the end of September 2024, Crowdberry partner Daniel Gašpar commented on the opportunity to invest in Expandeco: "This is a rare opportunity for investors who usually do not have a chance to be part of such a transaction. There is great interest in the investment – shortly after the launch of the campaign, more than 80 investors have already expressed interest in investing, indicating capital of more than €1.3 million," he said.
An opportunity for private investors that doesn't come along very often
The finance for this acquisition was secured via an investment campaign on the Crowdberry platform, where Expandeco received support from more than 150 investors from Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Already in the initial phase of launching the investment campaign, the opportunity had attracted significant interest. The multi-million-euro campaign was closed within just a few months.
This investment opportunity provided local investors with a unique opportunity to directly finance a regional M&A transaction. Transactions of this type are traditionally only available to institutional private equity funds.
The merger of the two companies will create the largest provider of e-commerce services in Central Europe, with sales of €17 million and EBITDA of approximately €1.8 million in 2024. The goal is to increase the turnover of the combined companies to €30 million within four years and make a significant return on investment for Crowdberry investors.
*Investment involves the risk of partial or complete loss of the invested money. Your investment is not covered by the deposit protection system.