Houlihan Lokey Advises EMZ Partners

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that EMZ Partners, together with IK Partners and existing investor Oakley Capital, has co-invested in Wishcard Technologies Group (Wishcard), the leading player for B2C multi-brand gift vouchers and B2B gift cards in the DACH region. Houlihan Lokey acted as the debt advisor to EMZ Partners on the acquisition financing for Wishcard.

EMZ Partners and its co-investors will hold a minority stake and support Wishcard’s future growth by jointly focusing on expanding the service and product offering as well as pursuing further international expansion.

Founded in 2014, Wishcard quickly developed into the leading provider of B2C multi-brand gift vouchers and B2B gift cards in the DACH region. As of today, the company offers one of the largest brand selections on the market with a network of more than 500 highly regarded redemption partners, including Amazon, Google, Apple, IKEA, and Zalando. Wishcard distributes its cards through various sales channels, which include a network of more than 110,000 retail outlets, including Aldi, Rewe, Lidl, Edeka, Rossmann, and MediaMarkt, and its own e-commerce store. It also sells directly to its sizable B2B customer base. Since incorporation, Wishcard has sold more than 60 million vouchers to B2B and B2C customers in the DACH region and Italy.

Houlihan Lokey provided debt advice on all commercial aspects of the financing transaction and secured a highly attractive and tailor-made debt financing structure for Wishcard to support the acquisition and the company’s growth strategy.