SmartMail Services signs merger agreement with Deutsche Post Global Mail USA
SmartMail Services®, the leading nationwide expeditor of flat-sized mail and lightweight parcels, has reached an agreement to be acquired by Deutsche Post Global Mail USA (DPGM), a leader in international mail services. The deal extends the existing relationship between the two companies and will offer U.S. direct mailers and merchants a single source for domestic and international shipping needs. “The Deutsche Post Global Mail acquisition is exciting for the company and our customers,” said Jim Martell, CEO of SmartMail Services, “Our relationship with Global Mail started as a partnership, so it is a very natural step that we should join forces to better serve our customers.”
Matthew Vettel, Chairman of SmartMail® and Partner at Great Hill Partners, stated, “We are very pleased to enter into this agreement with Deutsche Post Global Mail. Jim Martell and the SmartMail team built a national delivery network to service Fortune 1000 companies while achieving impressive financial results. The acquisition of SmartMail by DPGM is a real tribute to our management team.”
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, SmartMail delivers mail by utilizing the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) workshare program. The workshare program was created in 1976 and allows private companies to work with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Workshare partners do not deliver the mail, but take it from the customer to local USPS distribution centers where it is then delivered to the addressee by regular mail carriers. The U.S. General Accounting Office estimates that the workshare program saves USPS more than USD16 billion each year, which in turn is passed on to the public in the form of lower postage.
In 1999, Great Hill Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm and majority owner of SmartMail, acquired the company and provided the initial capital for expanding SmartMail’s service offering. A subsequent equity financing in September 2000 was led by Monitor Clipper Partners and included Bridge East Management, Landmark Partners and Saugatuck Capital Partners.
SmartMail Services generates in excess of USD200 million of revenue with 1000 employees across 17 locations in the U.S. The straightforward customer value proposition of cost savings and sophisticated tracking/tracing has enabled 20-25percent revenue growth per year over the past 5 years. “I am thankful to the SmartMail team of employees for what they have accomplished and I look forward to our continued success with our new partners,” stated Jim Martell, CEO of SmartMail Services.
