Portuguese company Coverflex has announced the acquisition of start-up EatsReady, a digital platform for meal vouchers and benefits for employees in Italy, as part of its commitment to “accelerate the development of supply in the Italian market.”
“With the acquisition, Coverflex intends to accelerate the development of its offer in the Italian market, to meet the growing demand from companies that intend to increase the loyalty, motivation and purchasing power of their employees,” says the Portuguese company, which provides flexible compensation solutions such as benefits, meals, discounts and insurance.
The deal, the value of which was not disclosed, comes a few weeks after Coverflex, which Luis Rocha, Miguel Santo Amaro, Nuno Pinto, Rui Carvalho and Thiago Fernandez launched in 2021 – with a €15 million investment round and launched in the Italian market.
EatsReady is presented as an “innovative start-up”, led by Olivia Borgio and Michaela Illy, “that has been transforming the meal voucher market in Italy since its launch in 2017”.
In 2022, EatsReady had “gross revenue of €1.8m, at break-even point, in an effort initiated by the CEO [presidente executivo] Nicolas Vaidi and the rest of the team, who have now been integrated into the Coverflex world,” reads the statement.
According to Coverflex, the Italian start-up “has more than 50 active business clients, such as Treatwell, Klarna and Telepass, and uses an active business network of more than 2,000 independent restaurants, restaurant chains, supermarket chains and online delivery services, including Esselunga, Poke House and Deliveroo ».
“The acquisition of the EatsReady operating license allows Coverflex to be part of the exclusive group of only 10 companies in Italy that can operate in the meal voucher (buoni pasto) market,” he notes, adding that “during 2023, Coverflex will immigrate all customers of EatsReady for your platform.’
In the statement, EatsReady co-founder and Head of Mergers, Acquisitions and Integrations at Coverflex, Olivia Borgio, considers this acquisition “a decisive step forward and an important turning point” for the Italian company.
“In recent years, we have built a solid platform that is a strategic entry point for Coverflex development in the Italian market. As an entrepreneur, I realize the potential of joining forces with a rapidly growing international team, uniting forces, skills and knowledge of the market, ”she emphasizes.
Noting that it is already working to “strengthen synergies and explore new avenues for growth,” the official considers that “this deal also symbolizes how the Italian startup ecosystem can attract the interest of international companies to open up new opportunities in the market.”
In turn, Michele Giordani, Head of Strategy, Customers and Ecosystems at GELLIFY – which, together with Copernion and Tomocana, became a Coverflex shareholder following this deal – stated: «It is a project that is going through a turning point: the relationship with the companies will be crucial in creating value for all players in the system. environmental down to the end customer, demonstrating the fact that corporate relationships [‘Business to Business’] It hides great potential for innovation, which has not yet been explored.”
After raising a €15m Series A funding round last month, Coverflex says it is “delivering on its commitment to international expansion.”
This is Coverflex’s fourth acquisition since its launch in 2021, with Italy chosen as a “first step on the path to internationalization” for the company justified by that country’s “significant potential” in the employee benefits market, an area in need of “greater flexibility and digitization”.
The Portuguese company says it has already established “a strong presence in the country, used by more than 70,000 employees from nearly 3,600 companies,” with brands such as Revolut, Santander, La Redoute, Metyis, Unbabel, and Emma – The Sleep Company.
With the deal now announced, Coverflex intends to “expand its reach into the Italian market, where compensation management experience is considered insufficient, due to a lack of flexibility and a company-oriented approach, rather than a collaborator-targeted one”.
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