Munich, 7 October 2015. windeln.de AG, the leading online retailer in Europe specialising in baby and toddler products, has completed the acquisition of Bebitus Retail S.L. ("bebitus"), an online shop for baby and toddler products in Spain, Portugal and France. windeln.de signed the purchase agreement on 10 August 2015. The closing conditions for the transaction have now been fully met.

Alexander Brand, board member and co-founder of windeln.de: "In just a few years, bebitus has established itself as the leading online provider for the needs of young families in Spain – with relatively little capital requirements. In addition, the company has begun to expand its offer via its own online shops to the neighbouring countries of Portugal and France. We forecast great growth potential for these three southern European markets, which we want to exploit together with bebitus."

Bebitus is the leading and fast-growing online retailer of baby and toddler products in Spain

The Barcelona-based company bebitus was founded in 2011 by Guillem Sanz Marzà, who is also the majority shareholder. Alexandra Viguera Andreu joined the team in 2012 as COO and other shareholder.
Similar to windeln.de and feedo, bebitus initially started with the sale of baby and toddler products for daily needs, and then also sold higher-margin products and consumer goods such as .B strollers according to customer requirements. After the successful development of the Spanish online shop, bebitus pushed ahead with its expansion to France in autumn 2013 with www.bebitus.fr and to Portugal at the beginning of 2014 with www.bebitus.pt.
Sales revenues in 2014 amounted to around seven million euros, the majority of which was generated in Spain. For 2015, sales growth of more than 100% to around EUR 15 million is expected.

Purchase price largely performance-related and in tranches until 2017

The purchase price, which is to be paid in cash to the shareholders of bebitus upon completion, amounts to around five million euros. In addition, the parties have agreed on performance-related additional purchase price payments, which depend on the achievement of certain annual sales targets of bebitus by 2017. If, for example, bebitus achieves annual sales growth of around 75% by 2017, the total purchase price would be about 0.8 times the turnover for 2017. The majority of the performance-related purchase price payments are made through the issuance of new shares of windeln.de AG from the authorized capital.

Acquisition is a logical continuation of windeln.de's expansion strategy in Europe

With the acquisition of Bebitus, windeln.de not only opens up the Spanish market, but also expands its presence in the very attractive markets of Portugal and France. For example, France represents a very important market for baby and toddler products in Europe with the highest birth rate compared to other European countries. Local product range, excellent supplier relationships and expert knowledge in the relevant target markets are clear strengths of bebitus.
As a 100% subsidiary of windeln.de, Bebitus will retain its previous brand name and operate its own websites as an independent business unit from its headquarters in Barcelona. Managing Directors Guillem Sanz Marzà and Alexandra Viguera Andreu will lead the business with their team.
Konstantin Urban, board member and co-founder of windeln.de: "We are very pleased to be able to expand the online business for baby and toddler products in Southern Europe together with Guillem and Alexandra in the future. The corporate culture of both companies is very similar, so that together we can benefit from our value systems. With our service-oriented teams, we focus on the customer and offer the perfect service for young families in Central, Southern and Eastern Europe."
In addition, windeln.de expects high synergy potential with bebitus through the centralization of processes, a common business infrastructure and the use of the greater purchasing power of windeln.de.
Guillem Sanz Marzà, founder and CEO of bebitus, emphasizes: "We have already learned a lot from windeln.de during the many discussions in recent months. We firmly believe that by merging and integrating core processes into windeln.de's corporate structure, we can further accelerate the growth of Southern European online shops for baby and toddler products."
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. It does not require the approval of the supervisory authorities or the Cartel Office.