Packable, a Leading Technology-Led E-Commerce Marketplace Enablement Platform, Announces Merger With Highland Transcend Partners I Corp.

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By AIT News Desk On Sep 9, 2021

Combined Company Expected to Have a Pro Forma Enterprise Value of $1.550 Billion, with an Implied Pro Forma Equity Value of $1.909 Billion
$180 Million Significantly Oversubscribed and Upsized Pipe Offering and Pre-IPO Convertible Investment Anchored by Top Tier Institutional Investors Including Fidelity Management & Research Company, Lugard Road Capital and Luxor Capital, Park West Asset Management and Morningside
Pharmapacks Announces New Holding Company Brand Name “Packable”
Transaction Proceeds Will Be Used to Continue Market Leadership and Enable Opportunities to Enhance Growth, Profitability and Geographic and Multi-Marketplace Expansion
Company Also Confirms Expansion of World-Class Leadership Team to Drive Next Phase of Growth
Packable Is a Leading Data-Driven Platform Providing Brands with the Connections, Data Insights, and Services to Enable Marketplace Sales

Packable, the holding company for Pharmapacks, a leading technology-led e-commerce marketplace enablement platform, announced that the Company has entered into a definitive agreement to merge with Highland Transcend Partners I Corp (HTPA), a special purpose acquisition company formed to partner with a disruptive company in the commerce, digital media and services, and enterprise software sector. This transaction will help the Company as it enters its next phase of growth following its recent partnership with lead investor Carlyle (CG) in November 2020. Upon completion of the transaction, Packable is expected to be listed on NYSE under the new ticker symbol “PKBL.”

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“Additional Information About the Proposed Business Combination and Where to Find It”

Founded in 2010 as Pharmapacks, Packable is a leading multi-marketplace e-commerce enablement platform providing category-leading brands with the connections, data insights, and services needed to enable accelerated online marketplace sales. Packable operates in the third-party (“3P”) space across 7 online marketplaces in North America, including Amazon — where Pharmapacks is the largest 3P seller in the US by number of reviews — Walmart, eBay, Target, Kroger, and Google Shopping, among others, and also manages several direct-to-consumer (“DTC”) sites on behalf of brands.

Over the past eleven years, Pharmapacks has established itself as a leader in e-commerce buying, storing, marketing, selling and fulfilling orders, driving strong customer and revenue growth through proprietary software and data, unparalleled expertise and first-class customer service. The Company is well positioned to continue its momentum by deepening relationships with blue-chip companies through organic and inorganic growth, broadening its geographic footprint with new distribution centers, increasing investments in Digitally Native Brands through majority and minority ownership stakes, and strengthening its additional verticals including: Data Science, Marketing & Media Services and “DTC-in-a-box” solutions. To reflect this evolution, the Company will operate under the new holding company name Packable but will continue to operate on marketplaces as Pharmapacks.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for our team, and we are thrilled to partner with Highland Transcend as we plan to enter our next chapter as a public company,” said Packable Co-Founder and CEO Andrew Vagenas. “While we’ve become a market leader in our industry, there is significant runway ahead of us in multiple avenues: from the continued proliferation of online marketplaces and geographic opportunities to our ability to invest in and grow Digitally Native Brands, while providing new data and technology services, as well as marketing options for our brand partners. Given the breadth of opportunity ahead of us, we felt that this was the perfect time to unveil our new Packable branding, which reflects these new avenues for growth.”

“While we believe that third-party marketplaces will contribute more than 40% of all ecommerce revenues by 2025, brands find themselves challenged to manage the complexity of executing across these platforms. Packable has a leading software-driven offering enabling brands to grow their businesses across multiple online marketplaces,” said Ian Friedman, CEO of Highland Transcend. “Andrew and the entire team have built an incredibly strong competitive platform; with approximately 75 million customer transactions to-date, we believe that Packable has one of the largest sets of third-party marketplace transaction data, outside of the marketplaces themselves. This data enables Packable’s competitive pricing, merchandising, and marketing decisions and will allow the company to launch a Software-as-a-Service offerings in the future. We’re excited to support the Packable team as they reach new heights, bringing expanded and improved product offerings to customers.”

Going forward, Packable will continue to serve as a launchpad for young brands across its new verticals. The Company has always supported talented entrepreneurs and founders from differing cultural and geographical backgrounds and is excited to accelerate this work as a public company; setting entrepreneurs up for success and growing brands, creating new employment opportunities across industries.

Leadership Team Update

Packable recently confirmed the expansion of its world-class leadership led by Co-Founder and CEO Andrew Vagenas, to drive its next phase of growth. These new additions to the team bring a wide range of additional professional experience from a variety of backgrounds, including from large CPGs, some of which are existing customers.

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Full biographies and experience for the team can be found at Packable’s website, Packable.com. Highlights include the addition of:

Adam Rodgers, Chief Growth Officer (Reckitt)
Ash Mehra, Chief Information Officer (Mondelēz International, P&G)
Andreas Schulmeyer, Chief Financial Officer (Walmart, L Brands, Pepsico)
Daniel Bennett, Chief Marketing Officer (WPP)
Leanna Bautista, Chief People Officer (Pfizer, Pepsico)
Chris Pfeiffer, Chief Operating Officer (Cardinal Health, Pepsico)

Additionally, following consummation of the transaction, Ian Friedman and Dan Nova from Highland Transcend are expected to join Packable’s Board of Directors.

Transaction Overview

The combined company will have a pro forma enterprise value of $1.550 billion, with an implied pro forma equity value of $1.909 billion, assuming a $10.00 per share PIPE price and no shareholder redemptions.

As a result of the transaction, Packable expects to add approximately $434 million in cash on its balance sheet to support the Company’s current market leadership and enable opportunities to enhance growth, profitability and geographic and multi-marketplace expansion assuming no shareholder redemptions. This includes a $180 million significantly oversubscribed PIPE and convertible offering that was upsized due to strong investor interest, anchored by Fidelity Management & Research Company; Lugard Road Capital and Luxor Capital; Park West Asset Management and Morningside.

The combined company will have a pro forma ownership of approximately 71% existing shareholders, 19% SPAC and founder shares and 11% PIPE and convert investors. As part of the transaction, existing Packable shareholders will be eligible to receive up to 12 million additional earnout shares, based on Packable’s future stock performance.

The transaction, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both Packable and Highland Transcend, is expected to close in several months, subject to shareholder approvals, and other customary closing conditions.

Advisors

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Packable, with Cooley LLP acting as legal advisor to Packable.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Highland Transcend. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is serving as legal advisor to Highland Transcend.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and BofA Securities are serving as joint private placement agents to Highland Transcend and Packable for the PIPE offering and pre-IPO convertible investment and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is also serving as joint placement agent to Highland Transcend for the PIPE offering.