Jungle.com, the second largest on-line retailer in the UK, is
being sold to Great Universal Stores, the largest mail-order
company in the UK, for £37 million. Jungle.com launched last year
selling computers, music and games and has recorded sales of £75
million.
The sale price is significantly below recent valuations of
Jungle.com. The company had planned to float on the stock market
earlier in the year which analysts believed would value the company
at around £700 million. In its first year, the company has made
pre-tax losses of £11.4 million which includes its £2 million
development costs and £5 million in advertising.
In a statement, GUS said:
“Expenditure on computer peripherals,
hardware and software is forecast to grow rapidly, both through
e-commerce and other channels… The acquisition of Jungle.com will
enable GUS to participate fully in this growth.”
According to reports, Jungle.com also had approaches from
Kingfisher plc and Dixons Group plc.
