Stamps and collectibles specialist Stanley Gibbons is to acquire
the assets of US-based collectibles business Stampwants.com Inc,
trading as BidStart, for $1 million (approximately
£622,000).
The president and majority shareholder of Stampwants.com Mark
Rosenberg will sit on the board of Stanley Gibbons E-Commerce
Ltd, a newly formed Jersey-based subsidiary. In addition, he has
been contracted to remain with the BidStart business as the
president and chief executive of Stanley Gibbons (US), the
company’s newly formed US subsidiary.
The acquisition is one step further towards Stanley Gibbons goal
of creating an online trading platform. BidStart is an US-based
collectibles trading platform focusing on the stamp and postcards
market. Since inception it has sold 3.5 million items, with the
main source of revenues generated through commission fees,
alongside subscription fees, upgrade fees, live auctions and
advertising. For the year ended 31st December, BidStart had
revenues of $300,000 (£189,000).
In order to finance the acquisition and meet working capital
requirements, the company has placed more than 3 million shares,
raising approximately £6 million ($9.53 million).
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