The e-commerce
company Shopify has recently concluded a business deal that will help it expand
its services and products. It has acquired Handshake. This is a commerce
platform for merchants selling wholesale goods.
The firm has already confirmed this information. It released
an announcement which said, “Handshake
is now a part of Shopify. We
consider acquisitions in the normal course of business as we focus on making
commerce better for everyone”. While the value has not been revealed, there are
rumours that it was less than $100 million. Another speculation advanced that
staff were already aware of this acquisition since before the announcement and
the team is working as a part of the company’s extended service tier, Shopify
Plus.
According to Pitchbook, Handshake, which was valued
in 2016 at slightly under $54 million, has raised about $23.5 million.
Investors included Boldstart Ventures, Emergence Capital, SoftTech VC, Point
Nine and others. The firm identified a huge opportunity in the e-commerce
market: brands and merchants selling items wholesale and focusing on consumers.
Handshake’s platform gives sellers the capabiliy to handle sales directly,
rather than relying on third-party marketplaces. This is enormous business: a
recent report revealed that e-commerce
sales in the U.S. alone passed $1 trillion for the first time in 2018.
Shopify
acquires Handshake
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