Depop to be acquired by Etsy for $1.625bn
- Transaction is the largest acquisition of a private venture-backed technology company in the UK since 2019.
- Depop’s 2020 gross merchandise sales (GMS) and revenue were approximately $650 million and $70 million, respectively, each increasing over 100% year-over-year
- TempoCap expects an 11x cash-on-cash return in 3.5 years at closing.
London, 2nd June 2021, — TempoCap, the leading European technology growth investor, is pleased to announce that its portfolio company, Depop, is to be acquired by Etsy, Inc. for $1.625 billion. The transaction marks a watershed moment for the European scale-up ecosystem, as the largest acquisition of a private venture-backed technology company in the UK since 2019.
Depop, founded in 2011 by serial entrepreneur Simon Beckerman and led by CEO Maria Raga, is one of the world’s most successful community-powered marketplace apps, where users buy and sell unique fashion.
The site is home to 21 million+ stylists, designers, artists, collectors, vintage sellers and more. Approximately 90% of Depop’s active users are under the age of 26. Depop is amongst the most popular shopping apps in both the U.K. and the U.S., and this year was recognised by FastCompany as one of the top five most innovative retail companies in the world.
Depop’s acquisition represents an extraordinary achievement for TempoCap too, highlighting several significant milestones for the firm, with an expected cash-on-cash multiple at closing of more than 11x in three and a half years and an expected IRR of approximately 125%.
Adam Shepherd, Investment Partner at TempoCap, said, “Depop’s runaway success is a fantastic story for the European tech sector. It is one of very few technology acquisitions of this magnitude in the last several years in Europe – a testament to the success of Maria Raga, Simon Beckerman and all of the team at Depop. It is also an extremely rare company, as one that has had a major cultural impact too, in changing the narrative of fashion. At TempoCap, we feel proud to have been a part of that exciting journey. We wish Depop great success in this next phase, with a very natural partner in Etsy. Depop’s core pillars of community, entrepreneurship and sustainability are mirrored in Etsy’s values – and we fully expect that Depop will go from strength to strength in its new home.”
Olav Ostin, Managing Partner, TempoCap, said, “We are thrilled about Depop’s acquisition by Etsy and offer the team our huge congratulations. The transaction marks the third liquidity event in TempoCap’s portfolio in as many months, following last week’s announcement from Acorns that it plans to go public in a $2.2 billion SPAC and Talentsoft’s proposed acquisition by Cegid, announced in April. These three deals combined, alongside previous exits, should mean that TempoCap will have returned 100% of the capital invested across its entire portfolio since inception in only five years, underlining the success of a strategy that has led to investments in some of the world’s best technology companies.”
You can read further details about Depop’s acquisition here.
You can also read about Acorns’ SPAC here and Talentsoft’s proposed acquisition by Cegid here.
