Retail marketplace Little Birdie to fly again after Cashrewards takeover

Online retail deals marketplace Little Birdie will spring back to life two months after its sudden shuttering after being acquired by cashback sales platform Cashrewards

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Little Birdie’s resurrection is undoubtedly is a big win for ANZ’s venture team, 1835i, over rival CBA.

CommBank was part of a record $30 million pre-Seed investment in Little Birdie, taking a 23% stake in 2021. The business, part-owned by Catch founders Gabby and Hezi Leibovich, was valued at $130 million before helping to sell a single product.

The Melbourne venture was cofounded by Jon Beros, a former Catch Group executive. The startup pitched itself as “shopping reimagined for the digital age. With a team of buying professionals and partnerships with the biggest and hottest stores in Australia.”

It supposedly price checked tens of millions of products for the best offers, allowing users to choose stores and brands to follow, with the power of Australia’s biggest bank and 11 million CommBank app users behind it.

But after less than three years in market an immediate “pause” was announced in mid-May.

Ten-year-old Cashrewards, founded by Andrew and Lorica Clarke, has been on its own financial adventures, listing on the ASX in December 2020 at $1.73 a share in an IPO that raised $65 million.

It was a short and sweet public life. Within 12 months ANZ’s 1835i Ventures, which already had a 19% stake in Cashrewards, lodged a takeover bid worth $72.5 million at 1.135 per share, a 35% discount, and took the company private once again.

The deal will see Cashrewards integrate Little Birdie’s product search and real-time price tracking with its cashback platform. Initially though, Cashrewards will relaunch the Little Birdie website and app to its subscriber base.

Before shutting down, Little Birdie said it had 10 million visits, helped more than 3 million shoppers and “uncovered” more than $45 million in savings for users.

CEO Anthony Seymour-Walsh said the Little Birdie acquisition is “a major win for consumers” and part of ambitions to create the ultimate shopping companion

“Cashrewards is committed to leading the way in innovation and bringing members even more value and ways to save on their everyday shopping,” he said.

“Once the integration is complete our 2-million-plus members will be able to enjoy a seamless shopping journey with Cashrewards, supercharged with Little Birdie‘s powerful product search and price comparison tools.

“This move not only strengthens our market position but will enhance our value proposition and accelerate the growth opportunities within our cashback and retail media sectors.”

Little Birdie CEO Jon Beros said the merger will deliver “the best value possible” for shoppers.

“This will not only enhance the shopping experience but also generate millions of customer referrals for retailers, adding value across the industry,” he said.