Pet-sitting powerhouse Rover has made an acquisition that will help the Seattle company build on its European expansion, first disclosed earlier this year.
Rover said it has acquired DogBuddy, a dog boarding, day care and walking platform based in London. DogBuddy is a very similar business to Rover and would have been a key competitor, but together they could supercharge Rover’s growth in Europe.
London-based DogBuddy was founded in 2013, and it has provided more than 1 million dog overnight stays with more than 25,000 dog sitters on the platform, compared to 200,000 sitters on Rover. The 50-person company, which also has an office in Barcelona, will remain independent, Rover CFO Tracy Knox said in interview with GeekWire.
“Rover and DogBuddy are the leaders I think in the world, and so combining the top players in the United States and Europe gives us a really strong position to continue to pursue global leadership here,” Knox said.
Source: geekwire.
Other sources: VentureBeat.