PFSweb Completes Sale of LiveArea Business to Merkle

ALLEN, Texas, Aug. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – PFSweb, Inc. (NASDAQ: PFSW), a global trading services company, announced the completion of the sale of LiveArea, its global customer experience and trading agency business, to Merkle, Inc ., a leading technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company within the international business of the Dentsu Group, Dentsu International (Tokyo: 4324).

Merkle acquired LiveArea for a total gross price of $ 250 million which, after accounting for estimated taxes and transaction-related expenses, will result in net proceeds of approximately $ 185 million to $ 200 million. PFSweb used a portion of the net proceeds to repay its senior financing facilities in full.

“Under Jim Butler’s leadership, the LiveArea team has made tremendous strides in returning the company to growth over the past two years,” said Mike Willoughby, CEO of PFSweb. “We are confident that they will accelerate their momentum if they integrate into the Merkle team and continue to support their customers with an even more comprehensive range of digital business functions. I would like to thank Jim and his team for their contribution to our company and our customers. “

Willoughby concluded, “Having successfully completed the LiveArea sale, we will continue to work to maximize PFS growth through continued quality customer service and operational efficiency. We are proud of the strong foundation we have built and expect to provide more information on our performance in the second quarter and the outlook for business for the remainder of the year, including the important holiday spike ahead. “

As announced on August 9, 2021, PFSweb will account for the sale of LiveArea in its upcoming earnings report for the second quarter as a discontinued operation that has been delayed by the work required to complete this transaction and prepare the required financial reports and other related issues Requirements are required for this sale, including NASDAQ listing requirements. The company is working toward completion of the accounting process with an aim to file Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission prior to the NASDAQ due date October 11, 2021 in order to file the company’s actions and plan for compliance with listing requirements .

Raymond James acted as exclusive financial advisor to PFSweb on the transaction. FisherBroyles, LLP acted as legal advisor to PFSweb on the transaction.

Exploring strategic alternatives
As announced on July 6, 2021, PFSweb has appointed Raymond James to lead the exploration of a full range of strategic alternatives for its remaining business, PFS. This broader exploration process is still ongoing.

“The completion of this LiveArea transaction is an important step in our strategic alternative process,” said Monica Luchtefeld, CEO of PFSweb. “We will continue to work with our advisors to evaluate a wide range of alternatives to optimize shareholder value.”

The Company has not established a schedule for the completion of this strategic review process and does not intend to comment further on the review process unless or until a particular transaction is approved by its board of directors or shareholders, the review process is completed or it has otherwise determined that further disclosure is appropriate or required by law.

Forward-looking information
This press release contains forward-looking information under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. You can identify these forward-looking statements by words such as “could”, “will”, “would”, “should”, “could”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “intend”, “plan” “, “Potential,” “project,” “seek,” “aim,” “predict,” “continue,” “aim,” “estimate,” and other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and may involve assumptions about our future performance, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, our results of operations and the global economy. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that these expectations will actually be met. The company’s amended Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and any subsequent amendments or quarterly reports on Form 10-Q identify certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the future Any statements made and investors are advised to review the company’s regular reports and the risk factors described therein. The company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason, even as new information becomes available or other future events occur. There may be additional risks that we do not currently consider to be material or that are currently unknown.

About PFS
PFS, the business unit of PFSweb, Inc. (NASDAQ: PFSW), is a leading provider of e-commerce order fulfillment. We support every operational step of an e-commerce order in support of DTC and B2B retail brands, specializing in health and beauty, fashion and apparel, jewelry and consumer goods. Our scalable solutions support tailor-made pick / pack / ship services that comply with the brand ethos with every order. A proven order management platform and sociable customer service strengthen our operations. With over 20 years of experience as an industry leader, PFS is the BPO of choice for branded companies and household brands such as L’Oréal USA, Champion, Pandora, Shiseido Americas, Kendra Scott, the United States Mint and many more. The company is headquartered in Allen, TX with additional locations around the globe. For more information, please visit www.pfscommerce.com or ir.pfsweb.com for investor information.

Investor Relations:
Cody Slach and Jackie Keshner
Gateway Investor Relations
1-949-574-3860
PFSW@gatewayir.com