International legal practice Osborne Clarke has advised Maple Syrup Media Limited (trading as Quidco) on its proposed sale for a total consideration of £101M to Moneysupermarket.com Financial Group Limited, a subsidiary of Moneysupermarket.com Group plc. Quidco is a leading cashback business in the UK, with around one million transacting users. It offers cashback at over 4,500 merchants including retail, travel and switching services.
Quidco was co-founded by Paul and Jennifer Nikkel whilst studying at the University of Sheffield in 2005 as a way of saving students money as they shopped online. Since then, Quidco has grown to around 100 employees, nearly £60m in revenues, and £7.9m of EBITDA.
Moneysupermarket.com Group plc is a FTSE 250 listed operator of leading UK price comparison sites for insurance, money, home services and other products. The acquisition strengthens Moneysupermarket's purpose of helping households save money.
Tim Gibson, co-CEO at Quidco with Paul Nikkel commented: "MSM has worked with Osborne Clarke for over a decade. During this time Ken and the wider teams at Osborne Clarke have always been very responsive and have provided practical and pragmatic solutions to sometimes complex issues. The support of Ken and Osborne Clarke was crucial to achieving the successful sale of Quidco in a very short timeframe."
Ken Wilkinson, Corporate Partner at Osborne Clarke commented: "It has been a pleasure to support Quidco and its shareholders over the years, and to see the company reach this landmark transaction – a great result for the founders and the business."
The Osborne Clarke team was led by Partner Ken Wilkinson with assistance from Senior Associate Will Carlyle from the Corporate team. Partner Mathew Oliver, Senior Associate Jonny Musty and Associate Ben Doeh advised on tax matters.
Osborne Clarke’s Corporate team is considered a go-to practice for many companies in the technology and retail sector, working with global businesses to fast-growth start-ups and market challengers. The team advises at every stage of company development across all corporate issues, from equity and debt fundraisings to M&A, IPOs and JVs.
