In The News

Private equity fund buys fast-growing West Chester company

September 11, 2013  |  Netrada North America

Cincinnati Business Courier 

NETRADA North America, previously the North American division of German-owned e-commerce service provider NETRADA Group, was acquired by a private equity fund.

Bregal Sagemount, a New York City-based private equity fund with $500 million in committed capital, purchased the West Chester-based company, according to a news release issued Sept. 11.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are pleased to join forces with Bregal Sagemount, who we are confident will be a great partner given their track record with growth investments,” Dave Cook, CEO of NNA, said in a news release.

NETRADA North America’s clients are some of the biggest names in the retail industry, including PUMA, Tommy Hilfiger, The Limited and Brooks Brothers.

NNA offers a number of services to help companies sell their products online. Here’s an example of the service NNA provides to its clients: When a consumer surfs PUMA’s website for new shoes or a T-shirt, NNA is providing the support for the website. It makes changes to the site, helps with marketing, provides digital images and descriptions of products, sends emails to customers, takes care of questions, handles item exchanges and ships the product to the consumer.

Earlier this year, NNA opened a new 400,000-square-foot logistics facility. Combining that facility with Bregal Sagemount’s financial backing, NNA will expand the solutions offered to existing customers and will be able to add new clients.

In the first half of 2013, NNA increased revenue by more than 45 percent. In 2011, NETRADA Group had a total of 2,000 employees. Employment increased to 3,000 employees by 2013.

“In partnership with NEU (NETRADA Europe) we have grown the business substantially in recent years and I am excited at the prospect of continuing this journey and accelerating our investment in support of the services that we offer our clients globally,” Cook said.

NETRADA North America and NETRADA Europe will continue their partnership under a cooperation agreement. Cook and Dave Eckley, co-founders of NNA, will continue to run the business. In addition, the company plans to continue making strategic investments to expand its geographic footprint and service offerings.

“We are excited to partner with NNA’s management team to build on their success by further enhancing their best-in-class service offerings and expanding into strategic geographies,” said Gene Yoon, managing partner at Bregal Sagemount. “NETRADA North America is well positioned to take advantage of the rapid growth in online and mobile commerce, and it is truly unique in the strength and depth of its end-to-end solutions.”

In a separate transaction, NETRADA North America will acquire NEU’s operation in Shanghai.

Founded in 2001 as Fulfillment Technologies LLC, also known as Fill-Tek, the company merged with NETRADA Group in 2011, becoming NETRADA North America.

U.S. investment bank Stephens Inc. advised on this transaction.

 

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