Perch Continues European Expansion With M&A Head, Acquisition Plans

Tech-based marketing platform Perch has hired former Amazon exec Rahul Shewakramani as its head of M&A in Europe and committed 300 million euros (more than $416 million) to acquire third-party sellers across Europe, the company announced in a Wednesday (July 28) press release.

More than 35 percent of the 70-plus brands in Perch’s portfolio sell across Europe and other international markets, and that number is expected to top 50 percent soon.

Shewakramani will focus on acquiring brands in new geographies for Perch. He built a team in Europe that focused on growth across Amazon’s U.S. Third-Party Marketplace.

“The entrepreneurs of the 2020s are on Amazon,” said Shewakramani. “I know because my wife and I built our own business there from scratch. What really resonated with me about joining Perch was giving small business owners a chance to get liquidity in a field where there haven’t traditionally been options.”

Perch acquires and operates brands that sell on Amazon, similar to health and wellness purveyor Intrinsic and Acquco.

Intrinsic recently wrapped up a $113 million fundraising round led by Define Ventures, with participation from Link Ventures and others. The Amazon-focused company was founded earlier this year in partnership with Redesign Health, a healthcare innovation company.

Intrinsic will be “partnering” with health and wellness celebrities Dr. Mehmet Oz and Tony Robbins to assist with marketing and strategy. Oz and Robbins are investors in Intrinsic.

Intrinsic said earlier this year that with the overall surge in eCommerce, it would focus on the health and wellness category — in particular, pregnancy, aging, orthopedics, digestive health and immune support, along with eye care and skin care. “Intrinsic is building the consumer health products business of tomorrow,” said Yadin Shemmer, Intrinsic co-founder and CEO.

In May, Acquco, which is focused on acquiring third-party sellers on Amazon, collected $160 million from investors. Acquco said it planned to use the cash to build up its technology and portfolio, with a goal of having $500 million in revenues by 2022.