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Pet Media Group acquires Dutch marketplace

The acquisition is reportedly in line with the group's ongoing strategy to become the ‘dominant destination globally for pets and their caregivers’

Pet Media Group, the operator of Europe’s largest online marketplace for pets, Pets4Homes, has acquired the Netherlands’ largest pet dog classifieds site, Puppyplaats.nl. 

The acquisition is reportedly in line with the group’s ongoing strategy to become the “dominant destination globally for pets and their caregivers”, and follows its recent acquisitions of leading Italian pet marketplaces AnnunciAnimali.it and AllevamentiRazze.it. 

Puppyplaats.nl has been running since 2013, with 85% of traffic coming from the Netherlands and 15% from Belgium. 

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Alongside the operations in Pet Media Group’s other geographies, Puppyplaats has enforced strict listing rules to ensure that animal welfare standards are met, and has a “strong focus” on education and guidance for its users.

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The acquisition will see Pet Media Group significantly investing in Puppyplaats.nl, building its products and services, and rolling out the Pet Media Group technology platform to the Dutch market. 

Axel Lagercrantz, co-founder and CEO of Pet Media Group, comments: “Our latest acquisition again cements Pet Media Group’s position as the world’s leading operator of pet and equestrian related marketplaces, with the Group now helping more than 10 million people finding new animal companions each month across the UK, Sweden, Italy, and now the Netherlands. 

“Through using innovative technology and by attracting the best talent in the industry, we believe that we have swiftly assumed the lead role in the digitalisation of the European pet rehoming market.” 

Erwin van Rijn, founder of Puppyplaats.nl, added: “I am proud over the position that Puppyplaats has managed to achieve as the most trusted and safe environment to rehome puppies in the Netherlands. 

“From the very start of our conversations, I felt there was a strong alignment between Puppyplaats’s animal welfare values and those of Pet Media Group. As such, I feel comfortable about the growth and development of Puppyplaats under its new ownership.” 

Last year, Pet Media Group introduced several new solutions to facilitate a safe rehoming process, such as digital contract signing, automatic fraud detection, two-step verification of IDs, and the first-ever safe deposit functionality to be introduced for a pet marketplace in Europe. 

Its turnover has more than doubled each year since inception in 2018 and saw an increase of 200% from £0.5m in Q1 2020 to £1.5m in Q1 2021.

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