16 Aug 2018 14:08
RNS ANNOUNCEMENT: The information communicated in this announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 596/2014.
For immediate release
16 August 2018
Kin Group Plc ("Kin" or "the Company")
Bidstack Limited ("Bidstack") - Transaction update
The Directors of Kin are pleased to provide an update, further to the announcement on 5 June 2018, on the proposed reverse takeover ("RTO") of Bidstack by the Company.
Update
Kin and Bidstack continue to work towards a RTO. Negotiations are at a very advanced stage and the Company hopes to make a further announcement in relation to the posting of a circular to shareholders, comprising an admission document in relation the RTO, in the near future.
The directors believe that Bidstack is a dynamic young business in a sector which they believe is capable of significant growth, and that the RTO will present the Company and its shareholders with an exciting opportunity to invest in a business with significant potential in a developing technology sector.
Information about Bidstack
Bidstack is a provider of native in-game advertising that is dynamic, targeted and automated, serving the global video games industry across multiple platforms. Its proprietary technology is capable of inserting adverts into natural advertising space within video games.
The key benefit of native in-game advertising over non-native variants (e.g. video rolls and banner ads) is that it appears authentic and ''natural'' to the environment and does not adversely affect the gamer's experience and cannot be excluded with ad-blocking software.
Using Bidstack's technology, advertisers can rapidly change their campaigns in real time, in response to market trends and business needs.
Advertisers can target the users they want to reach based on age, gender and location. Bidstack is able to display different advertisements to different users playing the same game so that adverts are delivered to the most relevant players to the advert. Bidstack is able to provide detailed campaign analytics to advertisers and gaming data to publishers. Bidstack's platform is connected to the operators of a number of on-line advertising platforms, known as ''programmatic advertising'' platforms. Brand owners allocate programmatic advertising spend to such global trading desks (DSPs) and Bidstack makes its advertising opportunities available on these DSP platforms.
Bidstack's proprietary API technology integrates across multiple video games platforms (mobile, PC and console), opening up in-game advertising opportunities at scale.
Bidstack's customers are games publishers and developers (on the supply side), and advertising agencies, brands and programmatic advertising platforms (on the demand side). Bidstack secures exclusive access to the native in-game advertising space within video games from their developers or publishers. Bidstack sells that advertising space either direct to specific brands or programmatic advertising platforms. Bidstack receives advertising revenues and pays an agreed share to relevant video game publishers and/or developers.
Bidstack currently has exclusive rights to place direct digital advertising into seven games, including Football Manager 2018, Cricket Captain, and Sociable Soccer.
Football Manager is a football management simulation game developed by Sports Interactive and published by Sega. It is one of the most successful games franchises in UK games history having sold over 1m copies of each of its five most recent annual versions including Football Manager 2017. Football Manager 2018 was published in November 2017 and topped the PC software charts for Christmas of that year. Bidstack is the sole digital dynamic advertising agency platform for Football Manager 2018, Football Manager 2019 and Football Manager 2020.
Bidstack is in discussions with a number of other games publishers with a view to agreeing further exclusive contracts to place advertising in their games.
The RTO
The RTO remains subject to contract, additional fundraising and satisfactory completion of the necessary due diligence and, at this stage, there is no guarantee that the RTO will complete. Trading in the Company's ordinary shares will remain suspended until such time as the RTO is completed.
Further announcements will be made as appropriate.
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For further information please contact:
Donald Stewart | Kin Group Plc | 07786 575 372 |
Mark Brady/Neil Baldwin | SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (nominated adviser) | 020 3368 3551 |
Eran Zucker | Peterhouse Capital Limited | 020 7469 0930 |