Berlin Brands gets Bain Capital on board to become European unicorn

The financing follows BBG announcing a $240 million funding round to acquire emerging e-commerce brands, particularly in the US and UK, earlier this year. BBG’s capacity for acquiring and scaling successful e-commerce brands is now the largest in Europe and among the largest globally. The Berlin-based company also intends to use its fresh capital to expand its supply chain and logistics infrastructure and further develop its own tech platform, according to a press release by BBG.

BBG has access to 1.5 billion active e-commerce customers in Europe, the UK, the US, and parts of Asia. The company is on its way to become a ‘Global House of Digital Brands’. BBG brands reach customers as they search online in the brand’s own stores, on platforms and marketplaces. BBG’s tech platform serves over 100 channels in 28 countries. As BBG’s business expands into new markets, the company will continue to invest in its tech platform and its own warehousing and distribution infrastructure, which is particularly important for the integration and development of the newly acquired brands.

Bain Capital replaces Ardian as a minority shareholder. The majority of the shares are still held by Peter Chaljawski and the executive team. GCA Altium advised on the deal. Deutsche Bank advised Bain Capital on the transaction.

“With Bain Capital’s commitment and the additional funding secured, we have set our next milestone on our path to building a global house of brands. This allows us to tackle strategic goals of acquiring and developing brands globally, as well as the operational and logistical expansion. Bain Capital’s experience working with founders worldwide will help us continue our evolution as a leading e-commerce company in scaling brands,” Peter Chaljawski, CEO of BBG said in a statement.

“BBG is a disruptive leader in the rapidly changing consumer goods space. Their ability to develop and scale brands that meet current consumer trends through their highly efficient e-commerce platform gives the company tremendous growth potential in a fast-growing market. We have partnered with many founder-led management teams and look forward to helping Peter and his team achieve their goal of becoming a global leader in consumer e-commerce,” Miray Topay, managing director at Bain Capital Private Equity said.

“BBG’s management and employees have an outstanding instinct for the trends of the future in the consumer sector and build them at an early stage with brands and products that convince consumers and testers alike. As a platform for well-known e-commerce brands, BBG has also clearly demonstrated its ability to acquire and integrate new brands. As a result, the company was able to increase its sales approximately fivefold during the period of our commitment. We are proud to have accompanied BBG on this path and have enjoyed the very strong partnership with Chaljawski and his team,” Marc Abadir, managing director within the Ardian Expansion team in Germany said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)