Earth’s Biggest Shoe Store?
by John Paczkowski
Posted on July 22, 2009 at 1:40 PM PT
Well, this is unexpected. Amazon has agreed to purchase online shoe retailer Zappos.com in a deal valued at about $850 million.
Under the terms of the deal, the retailer will acquire all outstanding Zappos shares in exchange for roughly 10 million shares of Amazon common stock, valued at about $807 million, and some $40 million in cash and restricted stock. Amazon (AMZN) says the deal should be completed by fall.
“This morning, our board approved and we signed what’s known as a ‘definitive agreement,’ in which all of the existing shareholders and investors of Zappos (there are over 100) will be exchanging their Zappos stock for Amazon stock,” Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh said in a post to the company blog. “Once the exchange is done, Amazon will become the only shareholder of Zappos stock….
“We think that there is a huge opportunity for us to really accelerate the growth of the Zappos brand and culture,” Hsieh continued, “and we believe that Amazon is the best partner to help us get there faster. Amazon supports us in continuing to grow our vision as an independent entity, under the Zappos brand and with our unique culture.”
“Zappos is a customer focused company,” said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in a statement. “We see great opportunities for both companies to learn from each other and create even better experiences for our customers.”
If the shoe fits, right?
Below, Bezos announces the acquisition in person.
