Oakly Captial acquires Seven Miles
Oakley Capital (“Oakley”) is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Seven Miles GmbH (“Seven Miles”), a leading consumer technology company in the gift voucher and B2B gift card sector, partnering with its founders, Tom Schröder and Valentin Schütt.
Since it was established in Germany in 2014, Seven Miles has grown rapidly to become one of the leading physical and digital gift card networks in the DACH region, allowing consumers to purchase gift cards that can be used with more than 500 leading brands in the majority of German retailers. In 2019, Seven Miles expects to sell gift solutions in excess of €100 million. The market for multi-brand gift cards in Germany is expected to grow at over 15% in the coming years, as consumers increasingly value the convenience and flexibility that make gift cards an attractive present for many occasions.
Seven Miles offers a diverse range of gift card and employee incentive subscription products to both consumers and businesses. Operating under the brands ‘Wunschgutschein’, ‘WishCard’, ‘SteuersparCard’ and others, Seven Miles multi-brand gift vouchers can be redeemed at a wide variety of retailers, online, mobile, and in store. In total, its platform connects more than 500 leading brands to the majority of German retailers, covering more than 60,000 points of sale. Seven Miles also provides a range of B2B gifting solutions to corporate partners. This service, which is a fast-growing segment of the German employee incentive market, allows companies to thank, engage and reward employees with gift cards.
The investment in Seven Miles continues Oakley’s successful track record of backing founder managers in consumer technology platforms and in the DACH region. Oakley will support the current management team to create a sustainable digital platform and continue its strong growth and leadership in product innovation. This transaction further demonstrates Oakley’s ability to leverage its network, both to source opportunities and provide highly relevant expertise for its portfolio companies.
Peter Dubens, Managing Partner of Oakley Capital, commented:
“We are delighted to be partnering with Tom and Valentin. Seven Miles exhibits many of the characteristics Oakley looks for in a deal – a founder-led, high-growth business with a leading position in its niche market, and we look forward to the opportunity we have to build and develop the digital platform together.”
Valentin Schütt, Co-Founder of Seven Miles, commented:
“We founded Seven Miles five years ago. Together with Oakley, using their expertise in the digital consumer space, we want to establish Seven Miles as the market leader in the gift voucher solution space and continue to strengthen Wunschgutschein and WishCard as leading consumer brands.”
Nordic Capital has signed an agreement to sell Ellos Group to FNG NV (“FNG”) for an enterprise value of approximately SEK 2,400 million (EUR 229 million). During Nordic Capital’s ownership, Ellos Group has become an e-commerce leader in fashion and home furnishings in the Nordic region, with the strong brands Ellos, Jotex, Stayhard and Homeroom. The new owner FNG is a fast-growing Benelux-based fashion group that will support Ellos Group’s further European expansion and growth. Nordic Capital will become a significant minority shareholder in FNG following completion of the transaction.