Tritium Partners and StepStone Group have acquired a majority equity interest in Access Technology Solutions, a provider of cross-border ecommerce services. Ocean Avenue Capital Partners also participated in the transaction.
Access Technology Solutions (ATS) is an international sales and logistics partner for retail and direct selling merchants. ATS provides merchants and cross-border ecommerce companies with a simple, turnkey solution to sell and fulfill products internationally with its cloud-based technology and end-to-end logistics network that reduces the complexity of transacting globally and lowers the overall cost. ATS currently services more than 75 merchants worldwide and has fulfilled more than 6 million cross-border transactions. In addition to its merchant services, ATS also operates consumer websites that let international shoppers purchase directly from the US and consolidate packages for forwarding directly to their door. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Provo, UT (www.accessts.com).
“International expansion is top of mind for merchants and our analysis of this market identified ATS as having the best solution for merchants looking to address consumer demand for cross-border purchases,” said David Lack, Managing Partner at Tritium. “From a feature and functionality standpoint, ATS’s technology stood out as the most robust, time-tested platform on the market, and its logistics network has the distinct advantage of providing lower, fully landed costs to the consumer than competitive offerings.”
Tritium Partners is a private equity firm focused on growth buyouts in the lower middle market. Acquired companies typically have EBITDA from $2 million to $20 million. Sectors of interest include Internet, information and media; supply chain and logistics; and business and financial services. Tritium was founded in 2013 and is based in Austin, TX (www.tritiumpartners.com).
Tritium Partners will be working closely with Chris Boyle, founder and CEO of ATS, and his management team to expand its logistics network to new markets and to invest significantly to enhance its cross-border transaction solutions and services to merchants. “This transaction positions ATS for its next phase of growth,” said Mr. Boyle. “We chose to partner with the Tritium team because of their strategic approach to building companies and their domain knowledge and track record in both Internet/ecommerce and logistics. They were a perfect fit for our organization.”
“We’re excited about our relationship with this team and the compelling opportunity we see for ATS to strengthen its position in this large and growing market. ATS’s advantaged technology offering and superior logistics network is ideally positioned to help merchants address the growing demand for cross-border ecommerce,” said Matt Bowman, Partner at Tritium.
StepStone invests in private equity funds, secondaries, co-investments, and mezzanine debt. StepStone oversees more than $50 billion of private equity allocations, including approximately $10 billion of assets under management. The firm has offices in New York, London, San Diego, Beijing, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo and Seoul (www.stepstoneglobal.com).
Ocean Avenue Capital Partners invests from $1 million to $10 million in companies with EBITDA from $1 million to $10 million. The firm is based in Santa Monica, CA (www.oceanavenuecapital.com).
Pacific Crest Securities (www.pacific-crest.com), a financial advisor headquartered in Portland, OR, acted as the exclusive financial advisor to ATS in the transaction.
2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 8-14-14
