Healthtech startup Elvie, which develops women’s health products including a breast pump and pelvic floor trainer, has been acquired by a US rival.
Since launching in 2013, the startup had picked up more than $130m in VC funding from backers including BlackRock, Octopus Ventures and the Business Growth Fund.
On Friday, the Financial Times reported California-based Willow, which had taken legal action against the company before it fell into administration, had acquired Elvie.
In a statement shared with Sifted, Willow CEO Sarah O’Leary said: “While the transaction took shape differently than we’d initially planned together, Willow and Elvie’s commitment to joining forces allows us to accelerate innovation, continue driving the conversation in women’s health, and create a strong business platform.”
She added: “There are very few players in the Femtech space with meaningful scale, and we look forward to delivering value for women and moms through our combined product portfolio and innovation that moves the needle in women’s healthcare.”
Management consultancy firm FTI Consulting has reportedly been charged with overseeing the terms of the acquisition. One investor told the FT the deal was emblematic of the difficulties involved in scaling up a UK tech company.
“?Without serious and incentivised US backers you cannot win in their market. ?If Elvie was a USA business it would have had protections [over its intellectual property], growth capital and be a decacorn [valued at more than $10bn],” they told the paper.
London-based Elvie was once Europe’s best-funded femtech startup, with period app Flo being the next-best-funded company in the sector, having bagged $76.4m, according to data from Dealroom.
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