Borderfree acquired by Global-e; co-founders (r-l) Amir Schlachet, Shahar Tamari and Nir Debbi (company photo)
Borderfree, a provider of cross-border shipping acquired by Pitney Bowes in 2015, is being acquired by Israeli cross-border and fintech firm Global-e for $100 million in cash, about a quarter of its original price, the companies announced, adding the two will enter into a strategic partnership.
Founded in 2013, Global-e has 650 brand and retailer clients in the United States, Europe and Asia. Its services include localization, business intelligence tools and logistics that cover shoppers in more than 200 cities worldwide. It acquired cross-border ecommerce firm Flow Commerce for $500 million in January. This past April, Global-e extended a partnership with buy now pay later (BNPL) provider Klarna into Canada.
In 2012, FiftyOne purchased Borderfree from Canada Post and adopted the Borderfree name. Pitney Bowes acquired its competitor in May 2015 for about $395 million, rolling it into a newly created global ecommerce unit.
Through the partnership, Pitney Bowes will provide cross-border ecommerce logistics services to Global-e clients, while the former’s clients can access Global-e’s cross-border platform and tools, the companies said.
“This acquisition follows our strategy to support the global expansion of brands of all sizes in the most sophisticated way possible,” said Nir Debbi, President and Co-founder of Global-e in a release. “By partnering with Pitney Bowes and utilizing Borderfree’s demand generation capabilities, Global-e will continue to enhance the value it brings to global brands looking to fully capitalize on their cross-border DTC channel.”
“Pitney Bowes is excited to form a strategic partnership with Global-e to further extend our suite of Designed Cross-Border services as Pitney Bowes continues to grow and invest in our advanced suite of ecommerce logistics services for delivery and returns,” said Gregg Zegras, Executive Vice President and President of Global Ecommerce for Pitney Bowes.
Global-e said Borderfree is expected to generate about $40 million in 2022 revenue, with the acquisition to close in Q3 of this year.
Global ecommerce is projected to reach at least $1 trillion in merchandise value by 2030, with some scenarios pegging it at $2 trillion if ecommerce adoption reaches 30%, according to Euromonitor as cited by McKinsey. It’s at about $300 billion currently.
There were 9.3 billion cross-border orders in 2020, accelerated by the pandemic, with 60% of them intercontinental, McKinsey reports. Increased international regulations, as well as well-documented logistics and fuel spikes, have driven cross-border shipping costs dramatically higher. This could skew international commerce toward higher-priced goods as the economics of cheaper goods don’t make sense.