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 Aluna Partners acts as buy side M&A consultant to The Cloud, on its acquisition of Kbox's IP and digital brands portfolio in the UK.

Georges Karam, CEO of The Cloud commented, “Aluna Partner’s support during the transaction in the UK has been pivotal for its successful closing. We believe this acquisition will not only boost our Series B round valuation, but also strengthen our presence in one of the largest markets in Europe”

About the Transaction

Aluna Partners, a global investment banking firm with expertise in growth technology companies, is pleased to announce its role as buy side M&A consultant to The Cloud, on the company’s acquisition of Kbox Global Limited’s intangible assets in the UK.

The transaction accelerates The Cloud’s expansion in the UK, further strengthening the already large culinary brands offering and network of kitchens.

About the Seller

Kbox operates a platform similar to The Cloud Parent in the United Kingdom. A subsidiary of KBox, Kbox Global Limited, entered administration proceedings with the appointment of an administrator on October 11, 2023. Kbox began host kitchen operations in 2019 after having begun as a restaurant operator itself. Legacy restaurant operations were placed into administration in the first quarter of 2022. While the cash burn rate of KBox was reduced over the course of 2022 and the number of kitchen sites grew over 2023 through July, the company nonetheless failed in the third quarter of 2023. 

 

In the acquisition of the U.K. assets of KBox, the Underlying Obligor will acquire food digital brands, intellectual property, websites, domains, social media channels, training material, marketing material, restaurants onboarding material, food recipes, trademarks and the brands listing pages on Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat keeping the reviews and ratings for each brand, information technology including hardware like laptops, cameras, tablets and branded packaging material. The only contracts being novated are those with the food aggregators. Most of the restaurants working with KBox in the UK have already agreed to sign a catering agreement with the Underlying Obligor. The asset purchase agreement allows the Underlying Obligor to acquire revenue-generating assets from an established company without taking on any associated liability.
 

About the Buyer

The Cloud is a business-to-business-to-consumer technology platform that utilises the idle capacity of fully-equipped kitchens to launch its bouquet of virtual brands. The company surveys the existing kitchen equipment and ingredients used by a specific host kitchen and matches the facility to one of The Cloud’s proprietary brands.

 

Host kitchens are paid an SKU-based fixed price and supplied with packaging by The Cloud, which in turn sells these dishes to food customers via online aggregators, such as Deliveroo, HungerStation, and UberEats, among others. This allows host kitchens to increase their top and bottom lines while increasing efficiency. Through its wide range of cuisine offerings, via its 50+ Brands, ~95% of which are created and developed in-house, The Cloud also adds value to end consumers, providing them with a wider variety of food offerings to choose from. By partnering with host kitchens for food production, The Cloud has created a capex free model in which the company does not buy or run its own kitchens, saving up to $1 million per kitchen.

 

The Cloud manages the end-to-end process of listing on aggregators, growing and marketing its brand on these platforms, and managing the complete customer experience. Host kitchens receive the order via The Cloud’s kitchen order dashboard, accessible via either a web link or a tablet, which combines all aggregators into a single screen. 

The transaction further highlights Aluna Partners’ unique and growing expertise in food technology and our ongoing effort to create value for global scale-ups.

Georges Karam, CEO of The Cloud commented, “Aluna Partner’s support during the transaction in the UK has been pivotal for its successful closing. We believe this acquisition will not only boost our Series B round valuation, but also strengthen our presence in one of the largest markets in Europe”

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