Two Canadian tech-focused companies, Emerge Commerce and WeCommerce, began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) on Monday.
Toronto-based e-commerce startup Emerge Commerce initially announced plans to go public in May. Last week saw the company officially close its reverse takeover of Aumento. It began trading Monday under the symbol ‘ECOM.’
“The e-commerce sector has experienced more growth over the last three quarters than it has over the past decade.”
WeCommerce, the holding company controlled by Andrew Wilkinson’s Tiny Capital, also went public via a reverse takeover, which closed last week. It began trading under the symbol ‘WE.’
Founded in 2015, Emerge developed an e-commerce network by acquiring and operating niche, North American market leaders in the digital deals space. The company operates in a variety of categories, including groceries, essentials, golf, online subscriptions, retailer coupons and experiences, among other categories. Emerge brands include UnderPar, WagJag, JustGolfStuff, Buytopia, and Shop.ca.
Earlier this year, Emerge CEO Ghassan Halazon told BetaKit his company had seen increased growth in the first few months of 2020, more than it had experienced over the last 10 years. “As an acquirer and operator of e-commerce assets, we believe going public will assist and accelerate our profitable [merger and acquisition] consolidation strategy,” he said in May.
“Over the past few years, Emerge has risen to become one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies through strategic acquisitions, disciplined operations and consistently creating value for our members and merchant partners alike,” said Halazon as part of the announcement that Emerge was listing to the TSXV. “The e-commerce sector has experienced more growth over the last three quarters than it has over the past decade, in the process, creating thousands of proven, profitable digital brands globally.”
WeCommerce, operating in a similar space, also went public to further its acquisition strategy. WeCommerce was created by Tiny Capital in October 2019 to focus on acquiring businesses within the Shopify partner ecosystem. Tiny Capital allocated $25 million to achieve that goal. To date, WeCommerce has acquired six such companies, including Toronto-based Foursixty, PixelUnion, Out of the Sandbox, and Yopify.
Chris Sparling, CEO of WeCommerce, noted that his company believes listing to the TSXV will help it position itself as “the acquirer of choice in the Shopify partner ecosystem.”
Feature image source Emerge Commerce.