M&A Deal Summary

Sterling Partners Private Equity, Permira, Banneker Partners and Hillhouse Acquire Magento

On July 16, 2015, private equity firms Sterling Partners Private Equity, Permira, Banneker Partners and Hillhouse acquired internet software and services company Magento from eBay

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Sterling Partners Private Equity’s 4th, Permira’s 5th, Banneker Partners’ 1st and Hillhouse’s 1st transaction in the Internet Software and Services sector.
  • This is Sterling Partners Private Equity’s 49th, Permira’s 17th, Banneker Partners’ 5th and Hillhouse’s 1st transaction in the United States.
  • This is Sterling Partners Private Equity’s 5th, Permira’s 6th, Banneker Partners’ 3rd and Hillhouse’s 1st transaction in California.
Investment Fate
  • Magento was sold to a publicly-traded strategic buyer in 2018 for 1.7B USD.

M&A Deal Summary

Date 2015-07-16
Target Magento
Sector Internet Software and Services
Buyer(s) Sterling Partners Private Equity
Permira
Banneker Partners
Hillhouse
Sellers(s) eBay
Deal Type Divestiture

Target

Magento

Campbell, California, United States
Magento, Inc. is a provider of cloud commerce innovation to merchants and brands across B2C and B2B industries. Magento, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is based in Campbell, California.

Search 214,877 Deals Now

SEARCH BY

  • Buyer Type (PE or Strategic)
  • Deal Size ($10M to $10B+)
  • Sector (60 Sectors)
  • Deal Type
  • Geography
  • & More

Try Free

Buyer(S) 4

Buyer
DESCRIPTION

Sterling Partners Private Equity is the private equity arm of asset management firm Sterling Partners. Sterling Partners Private Equityis focused on investing in small to medium-sized companies positioned for growth, either organically or through acquisitions. Sterling has a strong interest in businesses with differentiated products, defensible competitive positions, recurring revenues, and diversified customers. The Firm's target equity commitment size is $35 to $150 million. Broad sectors of interest include direct marketing, education, specialty distribution, specialty manufacturing, healthcare, technology, and business services. Sterling Partners was formed in 1983 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 51 of 66
Sector: Internet Software and Services M&A 4 of 6
Type: Divestiture M&A Deals 3 of 3
State: California M&A 5 of 8
Country: United States M&A 49 of 62
Year: 2015 M&A 4 of 4
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-07-16 National Underground Group

Irvine, California, United States

National Underground Group is a technology-enabled underground infrastructure service provider to municipal, utility and engineering customers across the U.S. NUG’s primary services include pipeline inspection, repair & cleaning, utility locating, and trenchless pipeline sewer and storm drain rehabilitation. National Underground Group was formed in 1947 and is based in Irvine, California.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2016-01-01 Platinum Dermatology Partners

Dallas, Texas, United States

Platinum Dermatology Partners is a management services organization that provides practice management services to dermatology groups. PDP’s differentiated model focuses on physician partnership with top-tier dermatologists, creating a platform for its affiliated physicians to share best practices and focus on care delivery, eliminating back office and regulatory burden. Platinum Dermatology Partners was formed in 2016 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

Buy -
Buyer

Permira

London, United Kingdom

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1985
PE ASSETS 80.0B EUR
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Permira is a mega-sized private equity firm that targets large company investments around the world. Permira invests to support acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, take-privates, turnarounds, and growth buyouts. Areas of interest include healthcare, financial services, chemicals, consumer products and services, industrial products and services, technology, media, and telecom. Permira will consider opportunities in Europe, Asia, and North America. Permira was formed in 1985 and has offices in Menlo Park, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, London, Hong Kong, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Stockholm, Tokyo, Guernsey and New York City.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 99 of 170
Sector: Internet Software and Services M&A 5 of 20
Type: Divestiture M&A Deals 12 of 18
State: California M&A 6 of 14
Country: United States M&A 17 of 47
Year: 2015 M&A 9 of 10
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-07-16 Pepperjam

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States

Pepperjam LLC is a performance marketing solutions provider powering growth for marketers seeking a scaled alternative to their primary sales and marketing channels. Ascend™, Pepperjam’s cloud-based affiliate marketing lifecycle platform, delivers a fully integrated partner discovery, recruitment, tracking, payment, and brand safety solution. Pepperjam was founded in 1999 and is based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-11-01 Catawiki

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Catawiki is a platform for collectables, art, design, jewellery, watches, classic cars and more. Every week, its 240+ in-house experts carefully select over 65,000 special objects to put up in auction. Through its protected marketplace, users are assured of an exciting, safe and hassle-free buying experience. Catawiki was founded in 2008 and is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Buy -
Buyer

Banneker Partners

San Francisco, California, United States

Investor


Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 2010
PE ASSETS 1.0B USD
Size Large
Type Sector Focused
DESCRIPTION

Banneker Partners is a West Coast based private equity firm focused on investing in software/SaaS, internet, and business services companies. Banneker looks to partner with management when making acquisitions. Firm principals have experience investing in high growth as well as mature/legacy businesses. Banneker Partners was formed in 2010 and is based in San Francisco.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 5 of 21
Sector: Internet Software and Services M&A 1 of 5
Type: Divestiture M&A Deals 4 of 4
State: California M&A 3 of 6
Country: United States M&A 5 of 17
Year: 2015 M&A 2 of 3
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-07-16 Pepperjam

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States

Pepperjam LLC is a performance marketing solutions provider powering growth for marketers seeking a scaled alternative to their primary sales and marketing channels. Ascend™, Pepperjam’s cloud-based affiliate marketing lifecycle platform, delivers a fully integrated partner discovery, recruitment, tracking, payment, and brand safety solution. Pepperjam was founded in 1999 and is based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-12-01 SMRT Systems

San Francisco, California, United States

SMRT Systems is a provider of cloud based enterprise software solution company.

Buy -
DESCRIPTION

Hillhouse Capital Management is a private investment firm focused on opportunities throughout Asia. The Firm will invest at all company stages, including seed investments, buyouts, and listed equities. Areas of interest include consumer and health. Hillhouse Capital Management is based in Hong Kong.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 1 of 12
Sector: Internet Software and Services M&A 1 of 1
Type: Divestiture M&A Deals 1 of 2
State: California M&A 1 of 1
Country: United States M&A 1 of 1
Year: 2015 M&A 1 of 1
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2016-10-05 Gimborn

Emmerich am Rhein, Germany

Gimborn is a manufacturer and retailer of pet foods and pet care products. It owns two production facilities in Germany and a chain of more than 100 retail shops, which operate under the brand Pet Center in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Baltic states and Romania. Gimborn was founded in 1855 and is based in Emmerich am Rhein, Germany.

Buy -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

eBay

San Jose, California, United States

Category Company
Founded 1995
Sector Internet Software and Services
Employees11,500
Revenue 10.3B USD (2024)
DESCRIPTION
Entrance to eBay's corporate headquarters in San Jose, California.
Entrance to eBay's corporate headquarters in San Jose, California.

eBay is an online retailer and provider of auction tools and services. eBay enables global commerce and payments on behalf of users, merchants, retailers and brands of all sizes. The technologies and services eBay provides are designed to enable users and merchants worldwide to organize and offer their inventory for sale and buyers to find, buy and pay for it virtually anytime and anywhere. eBay was founded in 1995 and is based in San Jose, California.


DEAL STATS #
Overall 7 of 15
Sector: Internet Software and Services M&A 6 of 11
Type: Divestiture M&A Deals 5 of 10
State: California M&A 3 of 6
Country: United States M&A 5 of 8
Year: 2015 M&A 4 of 5
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-07-16 Pepperjam

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States

Pepperjam LLC is a performance marketing solutions provider powering growth for marketers seeking a scaled alternative to their primary sales and marketing channels. Ascend™, Pepperjam’s cloud-based affiliate marketing lifecycle platform, delivers a fully integrated partner discovery, recruitment, tracking, payment, and brand safety solution. Pepperjam was founded in 1999 and is based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-07-20 PayPal

San Jose, California, United States

PayPal enables any business or consumer with email to send and receive online payments securely, conveniently and cost-effectively. The Company's network builds on the existing financial infrastructure of bank accounts and credit cards to create a global payment system and delivers a product well suited for small businesses, online merchants, individuals and others underserved by traditional payment mechanisms. PayPal was founded in 1998 and is based in San Jose, California.

Sell -