ChannelLife Australia - Industry insider news for technology resellers
Story image
Shoply merges with Anyware in 'strategic expansion'
Thu, 3rd Mar 2016
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Online retailer Shoply is merging with online distributor of IT accessories and business technologies Anyware, enabling the online retailer to enhance its distribution scale.

Anyware, which was co-founded by managing director Garrison Huang in 1997, is the parent company of the Anyware distribution business and the Harris Technology business, which it acquired from Officeworks in 2014.

The deal will see Anyware, through an entity associated with Huang, taking a 19.99% stake for $1 million.

The companies say the Anyware/Harris Technology group is expected to deliver pro forma financial year 2016 revenue of $50 million and EBITDA of $2 million.

Huang will join the Shoply board as a non-executive director.

“The proposed merger is a natural and synergistic fit for Shoply, and represents a strategic expansion of Shoply's existing eCommerce business,” Shoply says.

It says the proposed merger will enhance the scale of Shoply's distribution platform for its main product category of business technology equipment, and generally strengthen its competitive position in the online retail industry.

“The proposed merger will allow Shoply to benefit from economies of scale advantages and create additional, complementary growth opportunities for its business,” Shoply says in an announcement to the ASX.