Online greetings card retailer Moonpig.com has been sold to online digital photo service PhotoBox for £120 million in a merger that will create one of Europe’s largest personal publishers, the companies have announced.

Nick Jenkins, the founder and chairman of Moonpig, is set for a multi-million pound windfall after agreeing to sell the business, including some of his 35 per cent stake, to PhotoBox. The former commodities trader at Glencore founded the business in 1999.

Jenkins plans to reinvest in the new business and will continue as an adviser to the merged company’s board of directors. He comments that the deal will enable Moonpig to enter new overseas markets and offer a wider range of products.

Under the terms of the £120 million purchase, Moonpig’s existing shareholders will roll over a portion of their holdings to the share capital of the new merged group. Existing shareholders including Highland Capital Partners, Index Ventures and Harbourvest have backed the deal, which also secured the support of a group of new private equity investors led by Insight Ventures, Quilvest Ventures and Greenspring Associates.

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