Cardpool (YC W10) acquired by BlackHawk Network
cardpool.com
cardpool.com
Congratulations to the team!
It looks like BlackHawk Network is the company behind the gift cards stands that have flourished in grocery stores, so that seems like a great match. The good news is also that it's going to be run as an independent business according to the PR, so the service shouldn't change much for now.
Which I believe is the same company that actually runs and controls the operations for these cards too (I don't have time to check + confirm).
But if that's the case, then I'd be cautious as to whether they've acquired Cardpool to shut it down or at least change it's direction. Blackhawk's customer is the retailer the gift card is for, and they may have views on whether they like people exchanging cards on the secondary market.
If they already control the underlying technology + fulfillment, then they probably could have created CardPool functionality already if they really wanted themselves.
On the other point, however, I can guarantee that Cardpool is about get a whole lot BIGGER, and won't be shutting down or changing directions anytime soon ;).
Their margin is 7-12%, and they probably spend 5% on processing fees and postage, for a net margin of about 5% which on a volume of $100k/day is roughly $5k or $1.8M. The marketplace is also highly competitive and they probably spend a large amount on ads, but still a nice business.
My guess is the founders have been eating ramen the whole time because of the working capital requirements of this business, so this looks like a well deserved payday.
Regardless congrats on the acquisition!
A interesting combo. It's almost like TicketMaster buying Craiglist.
I hope they knew what they were buying..