Etsy Snags Parisian Startup in Largest Acquisition Yet Etsy has scooped up 'A Little Market' -- a Paris-headquartered digital marketplace that also specializes in handmade crafts -- for a reported $100 million in cash and stock.
By Geoff Weiss
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Brooklyn-based Etsy is voyaging to the City of Lights.
Marking its biggest acquisition ever, Etsy announced today that it has purchased A Little Market -- a Paris-headquartered digital marketplace that also specializes in handmade crafts.
In a blog post announcing the acquisition, Etsy CEO Chad Dickerson didn't disclose terms of the deal -- though The Wall Street Journal pegged the purchase price at $100 million in cash and stock.
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"A Little Market will remain independent, led by founders Nicolas Cohen, Nicolas d'Audiffret and Loic Duvernay," Dickerson vowed, "and the buyer and seller experiences on both platforms will not change as a result of this acquisition."
The move demonstrates Etsy's push "to go deeper into local markets," Dickerson told the Journal. While the company does conduct business in France already, it is mostly between buyers and sellers of different countries. A Little Market, on the other hand, "has been focused on domestic growth among French sellers and buyers" -- an enticing community in terms of local penetration.
A Little Market is Etsy's sixth total acquisition, following its purchase of Grand St. -- another online marketplace where indie hardware makers vend their cutting-edge creations -- in April.
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