Deloitte advised EMZ Partners in their investment in Wishcard Technologies Group
Deloitte advised EMZ Partners (“EMZ”) in their investment in Wishcard Technologies Group (“Wishcard”), the leading provider of B2C multi-brand gift vouchers and B2B gift cards in the DACH region.
About the transaction
A multi-disciplinary Deloitte team successfully advised EMZ in their investment in Wishcard, the leading provider of B2C multi-brand gift vouchers and B2B gift cards in the DACH region. EMZ and its Co-investors (IK Partners and existing investor Oakley Capital) will hold a minority stake and support Wishcard’s further growth with a joint focus on expanding the service and product offering as well as on further international expansion.
The team was led by David Krüger, Transaction Services partner, supported by Sébastien Catteau and Carlos Ungria working together with M&A Tax led by Clemens Petersen and supported by Axel Ortjohann. Deloitte’s industry expertise, integrated approach and focused execution strongly supported EMZ in this transaction.
Founded in 2014, the company quickly developed into the leading provider of B2C multi-brand gift vouchers and B2B gift cards in the DACH region. As of today, Wishcard offers one of the largest brand selections on the market with a network of over 500 highly-regarded redemption partners, including Amazon, Google, Apple, IKEA, and Zalando. Wishcard distributes its cards through various sales channels which include a network of more than 110,000 retail outlets, including Aldi, Rewe, Lidl, Edeka, Rossmann and MediaMarkt and its own e-commerce store. It also sells directly to its sizable B2B customer base. Since incorporation, Wishcard shipped more than 60 million vouchers to B2B and B2C customers in the DACH region and Italy.
Wishcard’s strong positioning and brand in the gifting and reward market, benefits from secular tailwinds, including a significantly underpenetrated B2C market in Europe, the growing demand for flexible incentive solutions in B2B businesses and a general trend towards sustainable gift ideas which generate little packaging waste.
About the client
EMZ is a leading European investment firm that acts as a partner for medium-sized companies and their respective management teams. Its activities focus on investments in the DACH region as well as France with a clear intention to operate and support founders, family shareholders, and managers. The core of EMZ’s philosophy is a significant reinvest of the management team to create a mutual partnership as shareholders.
EMZ is majority-owned by its own employees and has a base of European institutional investors. The current fund has a volume of more than €1.0 billion and its investment size ranges from €30m to €150 million.
About Deloitte – Financial Advisory
As leading independent M&A advisors, we provide M&A deal execution and financial advisory services to private equity firms and large and mid-market corporations globally. We offer financial advice and insight at every stage of a transaction – from consideration of the strategic options to transaction execution, be it an IPO, acquisition or divestment, restructuring or fast track disposal. We pride ourselves in our independent advice to our clients.