E-commerce Startup Mirakl Raises Funds at $1.5 Billion Value
Mirakl raised $300 million in a funding round led by private equity firm Permira valuing the e-commerce startup at $1.5 billion
(Bloomberg) -- Paris-based Mirakl has raised $300 million in a funding round led by private equity firm Permira valuing the e-commerce startup at $1.5 billion, the company’s U.S. chief executive officer and co-founder said in an interview.
The round makes Mirakl, which also has offices in Boston, a newly minted unicorn with a valuation of more than $1 billion. The company makes software that helps build marketplaces and online stores for customers including Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., Kroger Co. and Siemens AG, its website showed.
An initial public offering is one of “the very serious options on this table and one of the drivers of this round,” Adrien Nussenbaum, Mirakl’s U.S. CEO and co-founder, said in an interview. “We think within a couple years we would be in a position to IPO,” he said.
Companies that power e-commerce have been boosted by the Covid-19 pandemic when consumers have shifted their shopping habits to the home. Large e-commerce provider Shopify Inc. has seen its shares more than double since March.
Nussenbaum added that the company partners with Shopify and Adobe Inc.’s Magento Commerce on connecting their platforms to third-party sellers. Permira was an investor in Magento Commerce before it sold to Adobe for $1.68 billion in 2018.
He added that Mirakl would use the investment to hire 300 engineers over the next three years.
The funding round won the attention of French President Emmanuel Macron, who lauded it in a tweet as the biggest ever for a French startup.
Permira Partner Alexandre Margoline said in a statement that Mirakl can become the “central hub and platform for digital marketplace operators, sellers and partners.” Permira is investing through its growth opportunities fund that makes minority investments in growth-stage companies.
Bruce Chizen, a former CEO of Adobe and current director at Oracle Corp., will be an adviser to Mirakl’s board. He said in an interview that Mirakl being headquartered in France is an advantage for hiring compared to Silicon Valley.
“It’s less competitive in terms of recruiting great talent,” said Chizen, who is also a growth partner at Permira.
Other investors in the round include 83North, Bain Capital Ventures, Elaia Partners and Felix Capital, bringing total capital raised by the company to $400 million, according to a statement.
Allen & Co. advised Mirakl and Royal Bank of Canada and Eurvad Finance advised Permira.
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