Seventure exits Retailo

Listed corporation Blackhawk Network wholly acquired Retailo as part of an international expansion strategy in a cash-only transaction, adding 40,000 new distribution locations through the takeover and bringing Blackhawk's total EMEA retail distribution network to around 70,000.

Blackhawk, whose products include prepaid gift cards, is headquartered in California and is a subsidiary of US supermarket chain Safeway. Retailo will now operate as a business unit of Blackhawk, reporting to its office in London.

Seventure, which described the reaped IRR as a "significant double digit", originally invested in Retailo in 2009 by leading a €7m financing round alongside Wellington Partners and Endeavour Vision. Prior to Seventure's backing, Wellington and Endeavour had backed Retailo in a series-A financing round in 2008.

The divestment is Seventure's second exit in Germany, after selling shopping portal Tradoria to Japan-based internet service company Rakuten in 2011, alongside DuMont Venture.

Company
Retailo offers prepaid gift cards for brands such as Douglas, Amazon.de, Ikea, C&A, Saturn, Fleurop and Zalando, across some 40,000 distribution points in Europe. The firm, which was founded in 2007, currently operates in Austria, Switzerland and Germany, where it employs 30 staff.

In 2012, Retailo began the development of an in-house payment system for prepaid credit cards that will allow the company to add rechargeable credit cards to its portfolio.

People
Bill Tauscher is Blackhawk Network's CEO. Christian Linder is Retailo's CEO and founder.

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• Topics
• DACH
• Consumer
• Exits
• Germany
• Seventure (SPEF)
• Trade sale