Canada's Emerge Commerce closes C$16.8M acquisition of startup truLOCAL

Canadian e-commerce company Emerge Commerce Ltd. on Jan. 4 said it completed its C$16.8 million acquisition of marketplace startup truLOCAL on Dec. 31, 2020.

Based in Ontario, truLOCAL connects health-conscious consumers to local suppliers in Canada and the U.S. The company has offices and facilities in Vancouver, Calgary and Chicago.

truLOCAL generated revenue of about C$19.8 million in 2020, surging 130% year over year. The company's brand and its founding team will remain in place post-acquisition.

Emerge paid C$6.5 million in cash upon the transaction's close and issued 4,666,667 of its common shares. The company funded the transaction with cash on hand and by drawing C$3 million from its debt facility.

Vancouver-based Emerge also agreed to pay a deferred C$1.5 million two years from the date of the deal if key employees, including truLOCAL founder and CEO Marc Lafleur, remain with the company. Emerge said it could also pay up to C$4.5 million based on truLOCAL's operating performance over the next two years following the deal's completion.

"We're excited to leverage Emerge's acquisition engine and gain access to their full suite of shared services, data insights, and cross-selling with their extensive member database," said Lafleur.