M&A Firm PIE acquires Exits
Exits is an online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers anonymously for buying and selling websites, apps, and businesses.
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Cairo-based Mergers and Acquisitions Advisory Firm PIE has acquired Exits, a regional online marketplace for buying and selling websites, apps, and traditional businesses.
Founded by Mohamed Aboulnaga, PIE has been developed with a vision to build a strong boutique, and act as a flagship for "startup/SME investment banking" services catering for this segment of the market. The vision of PIE is to serve a gap in the market overlooked by traditional investment banks that find startups and SMEs to be of little appeal in terms of deal sizes and are often very costly for startups and SMEs, whose cost structures are also often incapable of withholding high recurring retainer fees. Exits connects buyers and sellers anonymously and has 100+ profitable companies on the paltform. It also offers the option of reviewing key metrics to find the right fit.
2021 marked the year of Exits in MENA, with 35 Exits as compared to 2020’s 16 Exits. The Egyptian ecosystem observed a record-high of 7 Exits last year after a slight dip the year before with only 3 Exits, down from 6 in 2019, as recorded in our MENA Venture Investment Report 2022. The most notable Exits last year were Egypt-based logistics and fulfillment startup FWRUN acquired by KSA-based counterpart Diggipacks, and Egypt-based automotive marketplace Sa3ar acquired by local counterpart ContactCars. Egypt has continued its remarkable year of Exits into 2022 and has already recorded 4 exits with Egypt-based PropTech Milango acquiring its local counterpart Circle and US-based imaging-guided therapy provider Astute Imaging LLC acquiring Cairo-based HealthTech DilenyTech.
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The startups are in need of technical and financial advice on the M&A front, and have been unable to get this from traditional investment banks with their sophisticated operating models and high fee structures, which on certain occasions defeated the financial viability of the prospect M&A deals for both investors and target startups. PIE has acquired Exits to build the "microacquire" of the region and to make it easier for smaller companies to gain more visibility to investors and eventually list on an M&A marketplace and for buyers to be able to search for potential acquisitions online.
"PIE can act as both sell and buy side advisor or as an independent advisor that steps into a deal where both ends are unable to agree on the terms of sale, or even as bringing new options for sellers or buyers to a pending deal to enhance the numbers and bring more benefits to the founders. PIE offers not only the traditional M&A advice, but goes as much as preparing startups inside out to a takeover or an investment through a package of several support functions and business consultancy schemes." Aboulnaga said.
If someone wants to list their company or startup or buy one, they can visit exits.me and follow the listing instructions. On the other hand, if someone wants a dedicated "PIE advisor" for a customized sort of advisory for a more sophisticated deal, or an investment preparation exercise, they can call upon the services of the PIE team. PIE also plans to establish several other verticals to optimize the M&A process with the aim of being a fully fledged integrated investment boutique offering a wide array of services covering the entire M&A value chain. "If you have a startup/company/enterprise, whether it is public or private, and you want to sell whole or part of it, acquire another organization, or look for a strategic merger, we at PIE offer our services with no retainer fees and a success based scheme. According to previous MAGNiTT reports: the number of successful attempts that mena startups managed to exit are less than 10% of those who raised money. We aim to raise this figure to at least triple in the next 5 years so as to enhance the ecosystem for both investors and founders, and lead this entire market to maturity with more pathways to cash liquidity and proper exits" Aboulnaga concluded.
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