The Snail Mail Deal Worth Billions: Stamps.com Is for Sale

Private equity firm Thoma Bravo agreed to acquire Stamps.com in a deal valued at $6.6 billion (that’s billion with a “B”). The agreement includes a 40-day “go-shop” period expiring August 18, 2021 that allows Stamps.com to consider alternative acquisition proposals from third parties.

The deal would take Stamps.com private, but it is subject to shareholder approval as well as regulatory approval.

Stamps.com owns a number of brands well known to online sellers, including Endicia, ShipStation, ShipEngine, ShippingEasy, ShipWorks, GlobalPost and Metapack. Sellers use the shipping software solutions to run their shipping operations, including printing postage and shipping labels to fulfill their orders.

Stamps.com had acquired Endicia in 2015 for $215 million after an extensive regulatory review.

According to today’s announcement:

“Under the terms of the agreement, Stamps.com stockholders will receive $330.00 per share in cash representing a premium of 67 percent over the Company’s closing share price on July 8, 2021, the last full trading day prior to the transaction announcement.

“The premium is 71 percent over the Company’s three-month volume-weighted average closing share price through July 8, 2021.

“Upon completion of the transaction, Stamps.com will become a private company with the flexibility and resources to continue to provide best-in-class global e-commerce technology solutions. Additionally, Stamps.com will benefit from the operating capabilities, capital support and deep sector expertise of Thoma Bravo – one of the most experienced and successful software and technology investors in the world.”

And some fine print regarding the deal:

“The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Stamps.com stockholders and receipt of regulatory approvals. Upon closing of the transaction, the Company’s common stock will no longer be listed on any public market. The Company will continue to be headquartered in El Segundo, California.”

The full announcement is on the Stamps.com website.

Ina Steiner

Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). She is a member of the Online News Association (Sep 2005 - present) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (Mar 2006 - present). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com. See disclosure at EcommerceBytes.com/disclosure/.