Stored Value Solutions announced on February 19, 2019 that it had completed the acquisition of Vancouver-based Buyatab. The transaction combined merchant gift-card ecommerce and digital distribution with the processing and programme-management business owned by FLEETCOR Technologies. The announcement did not disclose a purchase price. [1] [2]
Buyatab enabled retailers to sell gift cards online to consumers and business buyers, deliver them by email or text message, and distribute merchant cards through incentive and loyalty programmes. Its clients operated in the United States, Canada and Europe. Those capabilities explain the commercial rationale for combining a digital storefront with an established processor. [1] [2]
Gift revenue provides context for the buyer’s expansion
FLEETCOR’s subsequently filed 2019 annual report gives a measurable view of the wider Gift product business: revenue fell from USD 186.646 million in 2018 to USD 180.236 million in 2019, a decline of approximately 3.4%. These are annual product-category figures from the parent’s financial statements, not Buyatab’s standalone revenue and not the face value of gift cards sold. [3]
FLEETCOR Gift product revenue around the announcement
Reported revenue for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2019, from the later 2019 annual report.
USD million
Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table.
Source
The parent’s entire Gift product category includes physical and digital cards and related services. Values are reported revenue, not card balances or sales value, and do not isolate Buyatab’s contribution. The source table is in USD thousands, converted to millions.
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| Category | Gift product revenue |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 186.6 USD million |
| 2019 | 180.2 USD million |
The accounting policy matters. FLEETCOR recognised revenue from cards when control passed to the merchant, generally on shipment, with the underlying card cost recorded separately. Processing and reporting services were recognised over the estimated service period. The Gift total therefore combines different revenue streams; it cannot be read as a measure of online gift-card demand alone. [3]
Buyatab president Matias Marquez said combining commerce and delivery technology with SVS processing and data resources could improve the retailer offering. That was the strategic case stated at the announcement. The annual report does not isolate an acquisition-related sales uplift, margin benefit or return on the Buyatab purchase. [2] [3]
Processing volumes are distinct from digital sales claims
The same annual report recorded 1.384 billion Gift transactions in 2018 and 1.274 billion in 2019, approximately 7.9% fewer. The chart uses the report’s actual reported series. Its separate pro forma and macro-adjusted comparison is excluded, so acquired-business adjustments are not silently mixed with observed totals. [3]
Reported Gift transactions declined in 2019
FLEETCOR’s Gift product transaction counts for complete calendar years, reported in millions.
Million transactions
Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table.
Source
Product-category transactions are not unique recipients, individual gift cards, or redemption rates. These totals include the broader Gift business and do not establish Buyatab’s acquisition effect. They are the as-reported series, not the pro forma adjusted figures.
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| Category | Gift transactions |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 1,384 Million transactions |
| 2019 | 1,274 Million transactions |
SVS president Mark Schatz said in the February announcement that digital gift-card sales had more than doubled over the preceding three years. The release did not supply the underlying sales values, measurement population or exact comparison dates. That statement cannot be reconciled directly with the parent’s broader Gift transaction series, which covers both physical and digital programmes. [2] [3]
SVS also described annual processing above 1.5 billion transactions in its announcement, without specifying the period or reconciling it with the later financial report. These measures should remain separate. The reported annual series is the basis for the chart, rather than an inferred starting point for the executive’s digital-growth statement. [2] [3]
Blake, Cassels & Graydon advised SVS; Portico Capital Securities was Buyatab’s exclusive financial adviser and Lawson Lundell its legal adviser. The announcement described SVS as headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. These details refer to the historical transaction. [1] [2]
In this article
Suzie Elis
Suzie Elis covers gift card products, digital gifting and distribution for Gift Card News.