Menlook, the leading European online shopping destination dedicated to men, acquires German online fashion retailer Frontlineshop.

Clipperton Finance acted as sole financial advisor to Menlook’s shareholders.

Berlin/Paris – June, 2015 – Clipperton Finance’s Berlin office is pleased to announce the closing of the acquisition of Frontlineshop, a leading German e-Commerce company focusing on men’s fashion, by Menlook, the leading European online shopping destination dedicated to men.

Founded in 1986 in Hamburg as a music mail-order company, Frontlineshop later moved towards offering fashion goods and successfully transitioned into an online pure player. Over the years, the company has built a highly recognized brand in Germany and become a leading e-Commerce destination for men, distributing over 300 brands and attracting more than one million unique visitors each month.

The transaction will allow Menlook to rapidly expand its footprint in Germany and establish a stronghold to further develop its premium offering in Eastern Europe. The Group’s total revenue is expected to exceed €100 million in the next 12-18 months, on the back of three development areas:

  • the deployment of the Company’s selective marketplace, launched in February 2015
  • the growth of its Private Label sales with brands Studio, Saint-sens and Roscoe
  • the launch of new premium services, including personal stylist service Georges launched earlier this year

Commenting on the transaction, Jens Lafrenz, CEO of Frontlineshop, said “We look forward to joining the Menlook Group and supporting its development in Germany and Eastern Europe. The two companies share the same vision on distribution and the same focus on quality content production. This will be a real asset in a market in which size and differentiation are key”.

Marc Ménasé, founder and CEO of Menlook, added “Two years after the acquisition of UK-based Oki-ni and four years after our inception, I am thrilled to welcome a new team in our entrepreneurial venture. External growth is a true accelerator when it comes to grabbing a share of sizeable, competitive and highly specific markets such as Germany. Frontlineshop and Menlook are a natural fit and our combined competences and the shared entrepreneurial mindset of our team will enable us to rapidly develop into a worldwide leader”.

This acquisition is the second transaction realized by Clipperton Finance for Menlook after the company’s €23m fundraising in July 2014. With the closing of this transaction, Clipperton Finance underline their expertise in managing cross-border transactions utilizing a team that spans three offices in Paris, Berlin and London.  With other recent closings, including Webedia’s acquisition of IDG Entertainment Media (DE), Learnship’s strategic alliance with Cartus (US), Vodeclic’s sale to Skillsoft (US) and Linxens’ acquisition of KNL Group (THA), Clipperton has established strong global coverage with a broad range of subject matter expertise, from Adtech to mobile and Digital Media as well as SaaS/ traditional software.

For more information, please contact:
Clipperton Finance

Stéphane Valorge, Partner – Berlin, svalorge@clipperton.net
Nicolas von Bülow, Partner – Paris, nvonbulow@clipperton.net
Olivier Combaudou, Associate – Paris, ocombaudou@clipperton.net
Baptiste Clair, Associate – London, bclair@clipperton.net

About Clipperton Finance

Clipperton Finance is a European independent corporate finance advisory firm exclusively dedicated to the Technology and Healthcare industries, advising high growth companies on M&A transactions, debt financings and equity offerings. With offices in London, Berlin, and Paris and an international reach,Clipperton Finance is a European leader in Technology financial advisory. Over the past 15 years, the team has successfully completed more than 150 high profile transactions globally.
For more information, visit www.clipperton.net