Company
Melbourne, VIC
Every investor coverage indicates participated in a round The Catch Group raised.
Every published round The Catch Group took part in, and every parcel of existing shares it bought off another holder. Deals we hold but haven't published yet are not counted.
Companies The Catch Group has backed in a published round, and companies whose existing shares it bought off another holder.
| Company | What it does | First invested | Rounds | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No portfolio companies recorded yet. | ||||
Fund closes reported for The Catch Group, as distinct from the investments it has made.
Companies The Catch Group has backed that another company then bought. An exit for the holding, not a deal The Catch Group did.
| Company | Bought by | Kind | Announced | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No portfolio company of The Catch Group is recorded as having been acquired. | ||||
The transaction that ended The Catch Group's run as a startup, per published coverage. It closes the funding history too, where it is the ladder's last rung.
| Bought by | Kind | Announced | Price | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wesfarmers | Acquisition | 13 Jun 2019 | $230m | Startup Daily, SmartCompany (Thu 30 Jan 2025), SmartCompany (Thu 13 Jun 2019) |
Companies The Catch Group acquired or merged with, per published coverage. Buying a company is not investing in one: nothing here counts in the deals column.
Stories naming The Catch Group. Where several outlets covered the same round, they are bundled under whichever ran the fullest account.
Zac Altman’s ADHD telehealth startup Kantoko has secured $3.5 million in a Side Stage Ventures-led seed round, with Andrew Forrest’s Tenmile and Go1’s founders investing; the article also recalls his earlier ventures’ sales.
Also Dealroom·Startup Daily·Business News Australia·SmartCompany·ontargetish.com
Linktree has bought Melbourne rival Fingertip and will shut it down in 2026, with its cofounders joining; the piece also recaps Linktree's earlier acquisitions and the Leibovich brothers' failed ventures.
Also Dealroom·Forbes Australia
Australia Post has acquired a quarter of Melbourne logistics startup Shiperoo, price undisclosed, backing its AI-powered fulfilment and returns platform as the founders plan overseas expansion.
Retrospective timeline of Catch's journey from its 2006 launch through Tiger Global's investment, the Menulog and Luxury Escapes deals and Wesfarmers' $230 million acquisition, to Wesfarmers' announced wind-down.
Wesfarmers is closing Catch, the online retailer it bought for $230 million in 2019, citing local ecommerce competition; the story also recalls Catch's venture backers and Little Birdie's $30m stake, pause and rescue.
Also Startup Daily
Little Birdie, a Melbourne shopping-deals marketplace from the Leibovich brothers and Jon Beros, has closed three years after a $30 million backing by Commonwealth Bank.
E-commerce firm Little Birdie has released a browser extension alerting shoppers to better prices, aiming to help small retailers compete; the Australian company launched in 2021 backed by a $30m Commonwealth Bank investment.
Australian beauty booking marketplace Bookwell is being acquired by London-based rival Fresha, with Bookwell's high-profile investors receiving Fresha shares. The piece also recalls the founders' earlier EatNow merger and Fresha's Series C extension.
Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily
Australian fintech Flux raised an oversubscribed A$800,000 seed round led by Ruslan Kogan and the Leibovich brothers, funding growth of its financial literacy app and the launch of its B2B product Flux At Work.
Also Cut Through Venture
E-commerce startup Little Birdie raised $30 million pre-launch from Commonwealth Bank, which took a 23% stake at a $130 million valuation. The article also recalls Catch.com.au's earlier $230 million sale to Wesfarmers.
Australian micro-influencer marketplace Tribe has secured $5.5 million in pre-IPO funding from Saville Capital, Cyan Capital and SG Hiscock, with chief executive Anthony Svirskis weighing an IPO amid strong public-market appetite for tech stocks.
Weekly roundup reporting Salesforce's Slack acquisition, several ASX listings, multiple Australian startup raises, OneVentures' fund tranche close, and international deals including Facebook buying Kustomer.
Also Startup Daily·Startup Daily·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·Startup Daily·SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Startup Daily
Wesfarmers has agreed to acquire e-commerce company Catch Group for $230 million, pending regulator approval, to strengthen Kmart and Target's online and fulfilment capabilities.
Impact measurement software firm Socialsuite has secured funding led by AddVenture Fund, with Salesforce Ventures also investing after a pitch competition win, and counts major retailers and charities among its clients.
Also SmartCompany·SmartCompany·Women's Agenda·Wholesale Investor