Exit for Kippy, which Had Closed Two Equity Crowdfunding Rounds

Datamars, a leading global provider of identification and data management solutions for the pet, livestock, and textile markets, announced that it has acquired Kippy Srl.

This is an Italian pet care scaleup that develops and manufactures IOT devices that can locate and monitor pet health, as a natural expansion of its offering to pet owners globally.

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The exit of the Italian scaleup Kippy

The deal was coordinated by Growth Capital, a leading advisor in extraordinary finance transactions for startups and scaleups, as the sole financial advisor for Kippy.

With this partnership, Datamars strengthens its market-leading location and reunification solution, which has helped identify more than 50 million pets and reunite thousands of lost animals with their owners.

“As pet ownership increases in all major global markets, so does the demand for products and services to keep these beloved family members happy, healthy, and safe. I am excited to partner with Kippy to bring the best of our technologies to more pet owners around the world,” said Daniele Della Libera, CEO of Datamars.

Two successful campaigns on Mamacrowd

Milan-based Kippy was founded in 2013 by friends and co-CEOs Marco Brunetti and Simone Sangiorgi, who will join Datamars, along with all Kippy team members, to continue developing the pet tracking and monitoring business.

Kippy recently participated in the third batch of the A-Road acceleration and fundraising program which, through ongoing training and mentorship activities and ad hoc professional services, supported the company on its growth path.

And, last December, it raised a €2.6 million investment round, which had been led by Oltre III, the third fund launched by Oltre Impact sgr spa – EuVeca, Italy’s leading impact investor. Business angel Fabio de Concilio, the founder of Farmacosmo, also participated in the round.

Previously, Kippy had closed two equity crowdfunding rounds on Mamacrowd. The most recent, in 2021, had raised €1.16 million from 87 investors including Azimut Libera Impresa (lead investor), with a pre-money valuation of €9.5 million.

In 2019, Kippy closed its first campaign by raising €1.14 million from 242 investors, with a pre-money valuation of €6 million.

“We are proud to have supported Marco and Simone from the first investment rounds to the exit phase, supporting Kippy in the growth of the business and its consolidation in the market culminating in the merger and partnership phase with Datamars,” concludes Andrea Casati, vice president of Growth Capital.

International development

Kippy’s GPS-enabled collar device tracks the activity and location of the animal in real-time and provides detailed information and reports directly to dog and cat owners through a smartphone app.

In addition to providing the ability to geolocate, owners can thus easily check whether their pet is getting enough physical activity. Kippy is also one of the few solutions on the market that combines GPS tracking with communication and engagement features, such as personalized messaging and a dedicated social network within the app.

“We have enjoyed great success in Europe and have developed a strong and satisfied customer base of pet owners. By joining Datamars we are now in a position to take the next step to further grow Kippy and expand into other markets. Datamars’ strong presence in North America, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as Europe, combined with their global manufacturing, logistics presence, and product development, will allow us to continue to invest in and evolve Kippy’s offerings and bring these great products to even more pets and their respective owners around the world,” said Marco Brunetti and Simone Sangiorgi, Co-CEOs of Kippy.

Kippy will thus represent a significant part of Datamars’ dedicated pet ecosystem, extending from identification to health and activity monitoring to reunification solutions, enabled and supported by a digital customer environment and support services.

Datamars is controlled by Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ), which in 2017 joined Columna Capital, an investor since 2011, in the company’s capital, while in 2021 Indigo Capital also joined the capital with a minority stake.

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(Featured image by AnjaGh via Pixabay)

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