The UAE-based business-to-business online floral marketplace Floranow has fully acquired Saudi Arabia’s Bloomax, a wholesale distributor of fresh flowers for an undisclosed amount.
The deal, funded by a combination of debt and equity, will help Floranow to expand its operations in Saudi Arabia, giving it a direct presence in nine cities.
Bloomax chairman Noushad Gafoor will join Floranow’s executive team and lead its operations in Saudi Arabia.
The deal will increase the number of companies in the Saudi Arabia market buying on Floranow’s platform to over 1,500, making it the largest importer and distributor of flowers in the country, the company said in a statement.
The deal comes two years after Floranow acquired the floral distribution business of Saudi Arabia-based Astra Farms in 2021.
Floranow, which says it is the region’s first floral B2B marketplace, is a portfolio company of Global Ventures, Wamda Capital, and Dash Ventures. It says it has processed over 150,000 orders till date and has a customer base of over 1,100. Floranow has raised at least $7 million in funding in four rounds since December 2017, with the latest one in April 2020.
Founded in 2016 by Charif Mzayek, Floranow’s marketplace enables direct transactions between growers and buyers by providing supply chain solutions from farm to florist, freight stages, customs clearance, quality control, and last-mile delivery. It gives growers from the Netherlands, Kenya, Thailand, Colombia, and China access to importers in over 20 markets across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Jordan.
“Saudi Arabia is the GCC’s largest market with exciting growth drivers, and one we have operated in successfully for several years now. We look forward to growing further there,” said Mzayek, founder and CEO of Floranow.
Gafoor, chairman of Bloomax, said, “Combining Bloomax’s existing footprint with Floranow’s transformative technologies is an exciting platform for growth, and will greatly improve the importer/distribution process.”