SingPost acquires US e-Commerce provider for SG$239 million

Singapore Post (SingPost) is acquiring 96.3% of TradeGlobal Holdings (TradeGlobal), from TradeGlobal Parent LLC, which is owned by the private equity firm, Bregal Sagemount for approximately SG$236 million.TradeGlobal is a U.S. end-to-end e-Commerce provider that offers services to the world’s premier fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands.In June, SingPost acquired Australian e-Commerce Hubbed in a move to ramp up its scale in the Australasia region. Just before that, in May, SingPost and Chinese tech giants Alibaba Group entered into an investment agreement under which Alibaba Investment will invest S$312.5 million and have a 10.35% stake in SingPost upon completion of the deal.Following this American acquisition, SingPost’s clients in Asia Pacific can now expand their businesses into the U.S. Likewise, TradeGlobal’s clients will have access to the fast growing e-Commerce landscape in Asia Pacific.As SingPost’s and TradeGlobal’s e-Commerce platforms and warehouse networks are complementary, their clients can expect to leverage integrated technology and fulfilment capabilities. This combination creates a one-stop global solution.Lim Ho Kee, chairman of SingPost, said the company needs to take a “one world” approach towards e-commerce to drive larger business footprint. “Together with TradeGlobal, SingPost can establish stronger market leadership and have a larger talent pool to drive a global e-Commerce strategy.”Marcelo Wesseler, chief executive officer, SingPost e-Commerce, added, “Full service e-Commerce solutions have traditionally been geographically confined.”This acquisition will offer a one-stop solution for brands to grow their businesses globally by tapping localised capabilities in Asia Pacific and North America.“This acquisition strengthens our e-commerce logistics platform by enhancing our scalability and capabilities, for instance to handle major surges in traffic and transactions during peak shopping seasons,” Wesseler added.The founders of TradeGlobal, Dave Cook, executive chairman, and Dave Eckley, chief executive officer, will continue in their current positions as executives and shareholders.Lim added, “We found that both management teams share the same vision and similar values. The focus is on how to best serve clients innovatively and have a common goal of offering best-in-class eCommerce solutions for global brands.”“Our acquisition of TradeGlobal will further accelerate SingPost’s transformation, which began more than a decade ago to survive the steep decline of letter mail.”