Advising Attraqt Group plc on its City Code takeover

We have advised retail e-commerce technology provider, Attraqt Group plc, on its recommended takeover offer by Aegean Bidco, a subsidiary of Crownpeak Holdings, LLC, which is a portfolio company of US private equity investor K1 Investments LLC. The acquisition values the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Attraqt at approximately £63.2 million and completed on 6 December 2022.

Attraqt powers exceptional shopping experiences for over 300 of the world’s leading brands, manufacturers and retailers by providing a set of API-enabled, algorithm-driven, intelligent SaaS services covering personalisation, search, navigation, merchandising, recommendations, and internationalisation.

Crownpeak is a leading SaaS-based Digital Experience Platform empowering over 180 enterprises such as Unilever, S&P Global, Freddie Mac, Associated Press, Prudential Insurance, and Aflac to create, deploy, and optimise omnichannel digital experiences at scale. The combination of Crownpeak’s leading Digital Experience Platform and Attraqt’s AI-powered search, merchandising and recommendation software will provide existing and future customers significant value and achieve scale that will enable continued innovation of market-leading solutions.

Commenting on the transaction, corporate partner Robert Fenner said: "It was a pleasure to support Attraqt once again, a client we have built a relationship with since advising on its admission to AIM in 2014 through its acquisitions of Fredhopper in 2017 and Early Birds in 2019. We look forward to seeing the business accelerate its existing strategy in this new chapter with Crownpeak as they combine expertise to support high-growth businesses in fulfilling their potential."

Tom Crawford, Chairman of Attraqt, added: “We are proud of the significant progress that Attraqt has made over the last few years. As a result of the acquisition, we believe the business will be both nimbler in executing its strategy and able to build a business capable of sustainable longer-term growth, with stronger operating leverage and profitability. We are very grateful to Robert, Tandeep, Tom and the Taylor Wessing team for their exceptional support and pragmatic advice which was crucial in this process."

The transaction was led by corporate partners Robert Fenner and Tandeep Minhas with support from senior associate Tom Benjamin.