Online businesses are ubiquitous in the modern economy and, as such, are at the heart of a huge amount of M&A activity across virtually every sector. Even if companies aren’t 100 per cent based online, they will most likely still have an online presence and rely on the internet for a significant amount of their business.
The prominence of online companies and the online economy has only been boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of lockdowns on consumer and business spending habits. In retail, for example, recent figures showed that over half of M&A transactions in the UK retail sector last year involved an online business.
However, despite the huge presence of online businesses across virtually the entire economy, they can be neatly categorised into three main types: SaaS (software-as-service); content and e-commerce. Of course, there are wide variations within all three categories.
SaaS businesses provide software services to remote customers via their servers. The firm maintains the software, servers and databases that users rely on, typically operating on a subscription basis with fees fluctuating based on factors such as usage, number of devices and technical support. Examples of SaaS businesses include CRM providers such as Pipedrive, social media tools such as Hootsuite or web hosting providers like Google Cloud.
Content sites provide services ranging from news and blogs to audio and video and include general interest sites and sites focused on a specific industry, sector or topic. They typically operate either through subscriptions, ad revenue or a hybrid model incorporating both.
E-commerce businesses sell products or services online, either selling to other businesses (B2B), consumers (B2C) or serving as a platform for users to sell to other consumers (consumer-to-consumer). The e-commerce sub-sector features perhaps the broadest array of business models, with five distinct types:
White label sites, which sell generic third-party products with their own branding; private label sites, which sell items directly commissioned from a third party under their own name; wholesale sites, which sell large quantities of products at a discount to other business; dropshipping sites, which market and sell products fulfilled by a third-party supplier; and subscription sites, which delivery a regular product registered subscribers.
Find out more details about the different types of online businesses and the latest M&A trends shaping each of the different subsectors in this exclusive, in-depth analysis of online business M&A in 2023.
The company is an automatic and industrial door supplier, installing a variety of systems, including but not limited to, automatic doors, fire resistant shutters, entrance barriers, roller shutters and garage doors.
Well-established company operating for over 23 years. Offers a range of driving positions, which include day runs, local runs, local shunting, nights out and tramping.
The company is a business-to-business wholesaler of cask ales, continental lagers, and craft cider. Since its establishment, the business has cultivated strong relationships with high-profile and local breweries, gaining exclusive access to their pro...
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