Coventry e-trading firm acquired by US tech group
A COVENTRY e-trading business has been acquired by a US group in an undisclosed deal part advised out of Birmingham.
Founded in 1999, Wesupply is a B2B service provider that enables global supply chains to exchange data efficiently and effectively. Wesupply provides a fully managed, outsourced B2B integration service that maximises supply chain collaboration between independent organisations.
It serves a range of industries including retail, construction, consumer packaged goods (CPG), energy and manufacturing with clients including Sainsbury’s, Travis Perkins, Hozelock, Screwfix, Princes and Jewson.
It has been acquired by Minneapolis-based HighJump, a global provider of supply chain management solutions.
The deal enables HighJump to expand its global footprint and its presence in trading partner connectivity and omni-channel enablement.
Wesupply’s comprehensive electronic trading platform increases HighJump TrueCommerce EDI Solutions’ global reach to over 10,000 trading partners and 130,000 trading connections.
Wesupply will join HighJump’s existing European business network, which currently operates out of Manchester, Dublin and Copenhagen.
Michael Cornell, CEO of HighJump said: “With the dynamics of today’s supply chain, retailers around the world are embracing omni-channel enablement as a top priority to remain profitable while meeting customers’ expectations across channels.
“With the addition of Wesupply’s platform, HighJump TrueCommerce will enhance its global trading network to offer a complete solution for retailers and suppliers, optimising fulfilment sources and reducing procure-to-pay cycles.”
David Grosvenor, CEO of Wesupply said: “The combination of Wesupply and HighJump will allow us to further expand our customer offerings while we continue to bring a unique approach to electronic trading and supplier onboarding.
“We are constantly looking for ways to remove complexity from the supply chain and trading partner relationships. We look forward to continuing to execute on that vision with the HighJump TrueCommerce team and furthering the growth of the offering in Europe.”
BDO provided financial and tax due diligence to Accel-KKR and HighJump Software for the acquisition.
The advisor said the transaction further strengthened BDO’s cross-border credentials, in particular the Transaction Services team’s track record of advising US corporate and private equity clients on investments in the UK and Western Europe.
