Private Equity Firm Thoma Bravo to Buy Stamps.com

On Friday, Chicago-based private equity firm Thoma Bravo announced a deal to buy Stamps.com and take the postage giant private. Shortly after the deal was announced, Stamps.com shareholders responded by sending the stock price up to roughly $323 by Friday’s close. Despite the stock market activity, the sale means virtually nothing for everyday Stamps.com users, who rely on the software to purchase shipping labels and fulfill orders for their eCommerce businesses.

Stamps.com Owns Much More than Just Stamps.com

When people think of Stamps.com, most think about the ability to buy stamps for letters. However, Stamps.com went on a wild acquisition spree in the past decade, buying out several other competitors and postage providers. Since 2013, Stamps.com acquired ShipStation, ShipWorks, Endicia, and ShippingEasy. All continued to operate independently under the Stamps.com umbrella. After the Thoma Bravo acquisition becomes final, they will continue to do so.

More recently, the biggest news out of the Stamps.com camp was the decision to move away from US Postal Service exclusivity in 2019 to diversify with other carriers. This provided users with the ability to buy discounted shipping labels online from other carriers like UPS and FedEx.

Does Thoma Bravo’s Buying Stamps.com Prove Shipping and Logistics is the Next Hot Sector?

The Stamps.com acquisition is one of the largest ever buyouts in the online shipping software space. As eCommerce continues to heat up due to online consumer demand that seems to show no signs of slowing down, the Thoma Bravo buyout of Stamps.com begs the question of whether or not other shipping software companies will start to become attractive targets for big money firms in the future.

Thoma Bravo is based in Chicago, and is one of the world’s leading private equity firms. Per the deal announcement, they will pay a significant premium (near 67%) to take Stamps.com private at $320 per share. The deal will finalize in the third quarter of 2021.