VERB Pays $8.3M for LyveCom // More Live Shopping M&A
March 14, 2025
M&A and strategy insights for creator economy. We help you build and invest better.
IMPORTANT: Starting next month, this newsletter will come from mail@wearerockwater.com. Add to your contacts to ensure future delivery!
Welcome to our 12,000+ readers!
If you're not yet a subscriber, join our community of builders and investors, and sign up here for M&A and strategy insights on all things creator economy and digital agencies.
Hi readers,
Today we discuss VERB's acquisition of LyveCom, including the deal details, valuation, strategic rationale, capital flows to livestream and social commerce since 2019, and deal closing requirements.
Other quick hits:
Next exec event is May 14 in NYC. DM me to sponsor
My analysis of Wonder’s $90M purchase of Tastemade
We’re advising below companies on M&A:
Food-focused social publisher & agency, Million+ EBITDA
YouTube channels, Million+ EBITDA, 10B annual views, 90% CPG revenue
DM me to get on buyers / investors lists. You’ll then get notifications from deals@wearerockwater.com
We’re hiring an M&A Associate. What you will and won’t do
How RockWater can help you → DM me if you’re a creator economy or digital agency co and need M&A or strategy help
Onward,
Chris, Founder of RockWater
VERB Pays $8.3M for LyveCom // More Live Shopping M&A
By Chris Erwin
Read on our blog
Let’s break it down…
–TARGET: LyveCom–
Overview
AI-driven live video commerce solutions for brands and retailers
Focus on real-time engagement, shoppable content, and checkout integration
Founded 2021 by Kevin Gould and Maxwell Drut (CEO)
11+ associated members on LinkedIn
Based in Miami
Business Lines
Enables brands to host live shopping events on Shopify stores and social media
Integrates shoppable videos through e-com sites; customers can engage with and purchase products from videos
Personalized video shopping experiences for brands of all sizes
Company Highlights
Brands using LyveCom have reported up to a 40% increase in customer engagement, 5x increase in session time, and 10x ROI
Platform partnerships incl Tapcart and Klaviyo; strong integration capabilities in e-commerce ecosystem
Clients include G-FUEL and Glamnetic
Capital Markets History
March 2025: Announced deal to be acquired by MARKET.live for $8.3M, a subsidiary of Verb
–BUYER: Verb Technology Company–
Overview
Tech-driven sales enablement company
Parent co of MARKET.live, a livestream social shopping platform
Founded 2012 by Rory Cutaia
55 associated members on LinkedIn
Content studio and corporate office in Newport, CA
Based in Lehi, UT
Business Lines
MARKET.live: Livestream shopping platform. Key revenue lines
Takes 10-20% of GMV on platform via livestreams, on-demand videos, and online stores
Produced events like Go Fund Yourself, a TV crowdfunding show similar to Shark Tank
Drop ship and creator programs (pending)
TikTok stores and affiliate programs
Sponsorships and advertising on platform
Company Highlights
MARKET.live is an official service provider for TikTok Shop and TikTok Shop Partner
Stock Price
$4.90 as of 3.13.25
Down 7.8% MoM
Down 84% YoY
Financials
(via public filings and stockanalysis.com)
2024 FY Revenue of $200K
2024 EBITDA of -$10.9M
Valuation
Mkt Cap: $4.9M
C&CE: $15.6M
Total Debt: $300k
Enterprise Value: -$10.2M
Capital Markets History
Divested Two Assets in 2023 for $6.5M
Verb Direct: SaaS platform for direct sales
Verb Acquisition: Sales SaaS platform for Life Sciences and Sports Teams
Raised $28.5M through PIPE (per Pitchbook)
December 2023: $3M
November 2022: $5M
April 2022: $11M
March 2020: $4.4M
August 2019: $5M
February 2014: Raised $95K through IPO
–DEAL DETAILS–
Overview
Announced 3.4.25
$8.225M Total Consideration
$3M upfront cash
$1.125M to SAFE investors
$100K in Lyvecom loan repayment
$1M in verb equity
$3M cash earnout over 24 months for unknown KPIs
Deal to close in 60 days pending audit
Post Deal Ops
Maxwell Drut (CEO of LyveCom) to join MARKET.live as CTO
Strategic Rationale
Integrate LyveCom’s AI tech into MARKET.live to deliver an omnichannel customer shopping experience
Allow brands and merchants to use video content and personalized shopping across their own websites, mobile apps, and social platforms
Will allow embeds of livestreams and other shoppable videos on merchant websites
Will aggregate brand marketer content from TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube into interactive shopping experiences, will minimize new content production
–WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING–
Keeping this short since I'm still catching up post SXSW. Also, VERB is a former RockWater client, so I'm limited in what I can share beyond public information.
Historical context: livestream commerce companies struggled over past few years. Between 2019-2022, the livestream commerce space was very buzzy - startups raised a lot of capital, and social media and retail incuments launched many livestream and social commerce features. But over the past few years, early stage livestream and social commerce companies from Western markets have shut down or gone through fire sales, and some incuments pulled back on features. Examples of startup challenges include CommentSold buying Popshop Live ($25M raised) in what was likely an asset sale, and integrating its technology into its marketplace. Also, Supergreat ($31M raised) shut down and directed its users, and staff, to WhatNot (our analysis). Key challenges that faced the industry included higher than expected UA costs at scale, low customer adoption behavior relative to Chinese counterparts, low customer willingness to spend, undifferentiated business models, lack of support infrastructure, limited access to brands and product inventory, and strong competition from incumbent social platforms like Meta, Google, and TikTok. RockWater covered a lot of this here, with much more on our blog if you search livestream shopping.
2025 has seen an uptick in capital flows to social commerce businesses. The top tier of companies in the social commerce space are outperforming in driving GMV, and are raising lots of funding to continue driving growth. In Jan 2025, we saw two landmark fundraises for scaled social commerce businesses; Whatnot raised $265M at a $5B valuation (our analysis here), and ShopMy raised $78M at a $410M valuation (our analysis here). And then also in January 2025, there was the $250M sale of affiliate commerce biz Mavely to Later (our analysis).
VERB is doubling down on social commerce. The LyveCom acquisition comes after the divestment of two other VERB businesses; a direct sales platform and a SaaS sales platform. VERB will now put all of its efforts into its MARKET.live platform, a strong bet on the future of the live and social commerce market.
Deal closing is contingent upon an audit. Since Verb is public and the transaction is deemed material, LyveCom must complete an audit of its 2023 and 2024 financials by the end of March. Otherwise, Verb can exit the deal and Lyvecom will need to reimburse audit fees incurred by VERB. Given these audit fees can range between $100-200K, that would be a hefty penalty for LyveCom if the audit isn't approved.
I'm the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for creator economy and digital agencies. From buy and sell-side M&A and fundraising to market research and go-to-market planning.
Reach out to me at chris@wearerockwater.com
Check out all our content here
Follow me on LinkedIn
in
Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here
© 2025 Copyright © 2024 RockWater Industries LLC, All rights reserved.
8605 Santa Monica Blvd PMB 52251
West Hollywood, CA 90069, United States of America
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March 14, 2025
M&A and strategy insights for creator economy. We help you build and invest better.
IMPORTANT: Starting next month, this newsletter will come from mail@wearerockwater.com. Add to your contacts to ensure future delivery!
Welcome to our 12,000+ readers!
If you're not yet a subscriber, join our community of builders and investors, and sign up here for M&A and strategy insights on all things creator economy and digital agencies.
Hi readers,
Today we discuss VERB's acquisition of LyveCom, including the deal details, valuation, strategic rationale, capital flows to livestream and social commerce since 2019, and deal closing requirements.
Other quick hits:
Next exec event is May 14 in NYC. DM me to sponsor
My analysis of Wonder’s $90M purchase of Tastemade
We’re advising below companies on M&A:
Food-focused social publisher & agency, Million+ EBITDA
YouTube channels, Million+ EBITDA, 10B annual views, 90% CPG revenue
DM me to get on buyers / investors lists. You’ll then get notifications from deals@wearerockwater.com
We’re hiring an M&A Associate. What you will and won’t do
How RockWater can help you → DM me if you’re a creator economy or digital agency co and need M&A or strategy help
Onward,
Chris, Founder of RockWater
VERB Pays $8.3M for LyveCom // More Live Shopping M&A
By Chris Erwin
Read on our blog
Let’s break it down…
–TARGET: LyveCom–
Overview
AI-driven live video commerce solutions for brands and retailers
Focus on real-time engagement, shoppable content, and checkout integration
Founded 2021 by Kevin Gould and Maxwell Drut (CEO)
11+ associated members on LinkedIn
Based in Miami
Business Lines
Enables brands to host live shopping events on Shopify stores and social media
Integrates shoppable videos through e-com sites; customers can engage with and purchase products from videos
Personalized video shopping experiences for brands of all sizes
Company Highlights
Brands using LyveCom have reported up to a 40% increase in customer engagement, 5x increase in session time, and 10x ROI
Platform partnerships incl Tapcart and Klaviyo; strong integration capabilities in e-commerce ecosystem
Clients include G-FUEL and Glamnetic
Capital Markets History
March 2025: Announced deal to be acquired by MARKET.live for $8.3M, a subsidiary of Verb
–BUYER: Verb Technology Company–
Overview
Tech-driven sales enablement company
Parent co of MARKET.live, a livestream social shopping platform
Founded 2012 by Rory Cutaia
55 associated members on LinkedIn
Content studio and corporate office in Newport, CA
Based in Lehi, UT
Business Lines
MARKET.live: Livestream shopping platform. Key revenue lines
Takes 10-20% of GMV on platform via livestreams, on-demand videos, and online stores
Produced events like Go Fund Yourself, a TV crowdfunding show similar to Shark Tank
Drop ship and creator programs (pending)
TikTok stores and affiliate programs
Sponsorships and advertising on platform
Company Highlights
MARKET.live is an official service provider for TikTok Shop and TikTok Shop Partner
Stock Price
$4.90 as of 3.13.25
Down 7.8% MoM
Down 84% YoY
Financials
(via public filings and stockanalysis.com)
2024 FY Revenue of $200K
2024 EBITDA of -$10.9M
Valuation
Mkt Cap: $4.9M
C&CE: $15.6M
Total Debt: $300k
Enterprise Value: -$10.2M
Capital Markets History
Divested Two Assets in 2023 for $6.5M
Verb Direct: SaaS platform for direct sales
Verb Acquisition: Sales SaaS platform for Life Sciences and Sports Teams
Raised $28.5M through PIPE (per Pitchbook)
December 2023: $3M
November 2022: $5M
April 2022: $11M
March 2020: $4.4M
August 2019: $5M
February 2014: Raised $95K through IPO
–DEAL DETAILS–
Overview
Announced 3.4.25
$8.225M Total Consideration
$3M upfront cash
$1.125M to SAFE investors
$100K in Lyvecom loan repayment
$1M in verb equity
$3M cash earnout over 24 months for unknown KPIs
Deal to close in 60 days pending audit
Post Deal Ops
Maxwell Drut (CEO of LyveCom) to join MARKET.live as CTO
Strategic Rationale
Integrate LyveCom’s AI tech into MARKET.live to deliver an omnichannel customer shopping experience
Allow brands and merchants to use video content and personalized shopping across their own websites, mobile apps, and social platforms
Will allow embeds of livestreams and other shoppable videos on merchant websites
Will aggregate brand marketer content from TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube into interactive shopping experiences, will minimize new content production
–WHAT ELSE I FIND INTERESTING–
Keeping this short since I'm still catching up post SXSW. Also, VERB is a former RockWater client, so I'm limited in what I can share beyond public information.
Historical context: livestream commerce companies struggled over past few years. Between 2019-2022, the livestream commerce space was very buzzy - startups raised a lot of capital, and social media and retail incuments launched many livestream and social commerce features. But over the past few years, early stage livestream and social commerce companies from Western markets have shut down or gone through fire sales, and some incuments pulled back on features. Examples of startup challenges include CommentSold buying Popshop Live ($25M raised) in what was likely an asset sale, and integrating its technology into its marketplace. Also, Supergreat ($31M raised) shut down and directed its users, and staff, to WhatNot (our analysis). Key challenges that faced the industry included higher than expected UA costs at scale, low customer adoption behavior relative to Chinese counterparts, low customer willingness to spend, undifferentiated business models, lack of support infrastructure, limited access to brands and product inventory, and strong competition from incumbent social platforms like Meta, Google, and TikTok. RockWater covered a lot of this here, with much more on our blog if you search livestream shopping.
2025 has seen an uptick in capital flows to social commerce businesses. The top tier of companies in the social commerce space are outperforming in driving GMV, and are raising lots of funding to continue driving growth. In Jan 2025, we saw two landmark fundraises for scaled social commerce businesses; Whatnot raised $265M at a $5B valuation (our analysis here), and ShopMy raised $78M at a $410M valuation (our analysis here). And then also in January 2025, there was the $250M sale of affiliate commerce biz Mavely to Later (our analysis).
VERB is doubling down on social commerce. The LyveCom acquisition comes after the divestment of two other VERB businesses; a direct sales platform and a SaaS sales platform. VERB will now put all of its efforts into its MARKET.live platform, a strong bet on the future of the live and social commerce market.
Deal closing is contingent upon an audit. Since Verb is public and the transaction is deemed material, LyveCom must complete an audit of its 2023 and 2024 financials by the end of March. Otherwise, Verb can exit the deal and Lyvecom will need to reimburse audit fees incurred by VERB. Given these audit fees can range between $100-200K, that would be a hefty penalty for LyveCom if the audit isn't approved.
I'm the founder of RockWater Industries. We do M&A and strategy advisory for creator economy and digital agencies. From buy and sell-side M&A and fundraising to market research and go-to-market planning.
Reach out to me at chris@wearerockwater.com
Check out all our content here
Follow me on LinkedIn
in
Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here
© 2025 Copyright © 2024 RockWater Industries LLC, All rights reserved.
8605 Santa Monica Blvd PMB 52251
West Hollywood, CA 90069, United States of America
beehiiv logoPowered by beehiiv
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