Otto wants to buy ecommerce assets of 3SI

Otto Group, one of Europe’s biggest online retailers, wants to fully acquire the ecommerce assets of Groupe 3SI, a huge online retail company in France. Otto already owns a 51% stake in the company since 1981, but now wants the whole ecommerce deal.

Last month Groupe 3SI has received the takeover bid for 100% of its business-to-consumer ecommerce activities and ecommerce services and the Otto Office brand, of which Otto would become the sole shareholder. Groupe 3SI emphasized its other brands and shareholdings would remain in the existing structure.

3SI successfully moved to ecommerce
Four years ago the third-largest ecommerce group in France began its move to the internet. A transition that went extremely well. It has more than 21 million unique visitors every month and with 3000 e-retailer clients the company is France’s leading private operator of ecommerce services. 3SI says its successful transformation was made possible thanks to its two main shareholders, the Otto Group and Fipar.

If the bid is accepted, the B2C brands of 3SI, which are baised mainly in France, Spain, Belgium and Germany, the ecommerce services and the Otto Office brand would be combined in a new French entity, which will be backed by Otto and run by a French management team.

Otto is getting bigger
And if the acquisition is a fact, it will be another big takeover for Otto. Earlier this year they acquired the brand rights and domains from Neckermann.de. Otto is now present in more than 20 countries in Europe, North and South America and Asia. The Otto Group generated turnover of 11.8 billion euros in 2012 and is known as the world’s largest online retailer for fashion and lifestyle.