Global-e Acquires US Payment Solutions Firm Borderfree For $100M

Israeli ecommerce company Global-e announced last week that it will acquire Borderfree, the US-based payment solutions business,  for $100 million in cash.

The company will also partner with Borderfree’s current owners Pitney Bowes, the US shipping and mailing company, in a move that will attract more big-name retailers, Global-e said in the announcement.

As part of the agreement, Pitney Bowes clients will receive access to cross-border solutions on the Global-e platform.

Global-e partners with 650 brands worldwide, helping them to sell directly to foreign customers in what it calls a “seamless, localized shopping experience”. 

Borderfree, founded in 1999, helps retailers enter new global markets by localizing their domestic website in over 200 countries.

Current Borderfree clients will gain access to Global-e’s platform localization capabilities, in combination with Global-e’s unique data models and AI-algorithms for conversion optimization.

“This acquisition follows our strategy to support the global expansion of brands of all sizes in the most sophisticated way possible,” said Nir Debbi, president and co-founder of Global-e. He expects Borderfree to generate over $40 million by the end of this year.

“Pitney Bowes is excited to form a strategic partnership with Global-e to further extend our suite of Designed Cross-Border services,” said Gregg Zegras, executive vice president and president of global ecommerce for Pitney Bowes. 

Global-e aims to makes selling internationally as simple as selling domestically. It was founded in 2013 by three former employees of Bank Hapoalim, one of Israel’s largest banks.

Pitney Bowes bought Borderfree, its competitor, for $395 million m in May 2015. The company started life as FiftyOne Global Ecommerce and became part of the Canadian company Borderfree in 2012.

“Borderfree shares our values and aspirations to help brands become global,” said Amir Schlachet, CEO and Co-founder of Global-e. “We are delighted to welcome the Borderfree team into the Global-e family and are excited about the opportunity to partner with Pitney Bowes.”