Equistone buys fashion retailer DefShop

Oscar Geen
31 August 2017

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Equistone Partners Europe has acquired Berlin-based urban clothing company DefShop for an undisclosed value.

Equistone currently draws equity from its fifth fund, which was 67% invested as of March 2017, according to unquote" data. The GP expects to be 80% deployed by the end of the year, according to a source close to the situation.

Equistone acquired a majority stake from the founder of the business, Alexander Büchler, who will retain a minority stake with his family.

DefShop generated €7m in EBITDA from sales of €47m in 2016, and projects revenues to increase to €64m for 2017; the figure was €26m in 2015.

Equistone plans to accelerate growth in the B2B area of the business and targets strategic acquisitions.

Company
DefShop was founded by Alexander Büchler in Berlin in 2006. It has two physical stores as well as an online shop. The company's product range comprises 25,000 articles from approximately 350 brands, including Adidas, Nike, Jack & Jones and Converse. It distributes these through the B2B platform Roadmap1, through which DefShop also connects to its network of large-scale European retailers that include Amazon, eBay, Vaola and Rakuten.

People
Equistone – Alex Milkovic (partner); Maximilian Göppert (investment manager).
DefShop – Alexander Büchler (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – KPMG (financial due diligence, tax); PwC (commercial due diligence); P+P Pöllath + Partners (legal); Shearman & Sterling (legal); Latham & Watkins (legal); GCA Altium (debt advisory); H&Z (operational due diligence); Blue Summit Media (marketing due diligence).