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22 Dec 2008 15:30
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22Β December 2008
Communisis plc
("Communisis" or the "Company")
Acquisition of Absolute Intuistic Limited ("Absolute Intuistic" or "Ai")
The Board of Communisis plcΒ (the "Board")Β (RIC:Β CMS.L), the leading provider ofΒ print andΒ marketing communication services, announces that it has acquired the share capital ofΒ Absolute Intuistic, aΒ value-added data services company, for aΒ totalΒ consideration of up to Β£12.6Β million in cash.
For the past two years Communisis has been following a strategy to develop and increase its range of value-added services for customer communication. Technology andΒ Services are providing strong growing profit streams,Β increasing competitive advantage andΒ replacing more commoditised offerings associated withΒ traditional print.Β This acquisitionΒ is a logical step inΒ this investment stream, bringingΒ extensive,Β high quality data services into the Company.
Ai'sΒ proprietary technologyΒ enhancesΒ clients' direct marketing, helping them to target the most attractive prospects and build relationships with the most profitableΒ and lowest credit riskΒ customers.Β Ai'sΒ servicesΒ includeΒ customer list creation, combination and cleansing, analysis of campaign effectivenessΒ and credit checking.Β ItsΒ clients,Β includingΒ RBS, BT and LloydsΒ TSB,Β choose Ai because itsΒ services improve the quality and return on investment from marketing activities.Β Ai'sΒ founders andΒ senior management will remain with the Company.
Ai has grown rapidlyΒ in the past few years, and has now begun to win large long-term contracts with key customers to provide all their data analysis requirements. The groupΒ reportedΒ revenue of Β£6.7Β million, EBITDA of Β£0.9mΒ andΒ profitΒ before taxΒ of Β£0.75Β millionΒ inΒ its audited accounts forΒ the financial year ended 31 August 2008.Β As atΒ thatΒ date, Ai had gross assets of Β£2.8Β million,Β and nil net debt.
Communisis is paying a consideration of up to Β£12.6Β million in cash, consisting ofΒ up toΒ Β£4.6Β millionΒ at or shortly afterΒ completion,Β (subject to downwards adjustment in respect of working capital)Β and deferred consideration of up to a maximum of Β£8.0Β million payable based on Ai's financial performance over the period from 1 September 2008 to 31 August 2010. Any deferred consideration is expected to be paid inΒ early 2011. The consideration is being funded from a combination of cash balances and existing debt facilities. Communisis expects the acquisition to be earnings accretive for the financial year to 31 December 2009 and beyond.
Commenting on the acquisition,Β Steve Vaughan, Chief Executive Officer of Communisis, stated:Β
"We are delighted to be acquiring Ai. It is an attractive and high quality business, with strong management that has a track record of building long-term contractual relationships with clients.Β
Customer data is the thread that runs through all of our services.Β The team atΒ Ai isΒ excellent at providing high quality analysis and segmentation to drive smarter campaigns. These services will be a great fit withΒ ourΒ recent investments in sophisticated campaign deliveryΒ andΒ willΒ complement our scale in direct marketing. We share lots of customers, and expect to be able to begin cross-selling between our client bases once integration is complete.Β
In the past six months we have disposed of the Bath Business Forms business, the most commoditised of our offerings, and recycled some of the proceeds into the very top end of our value proposition - data intelligence. It's a perfect fit with our strategy."
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Enquiries: |
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Communisis plc |
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Steve VaughanΒ (Chief Executive) |
+44 (0)113 222 6515 |
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Financial Dynamics |
+44 (0)20 7831 3113 |
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Edward Bridges |
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James Melville-Ross |
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Matt Dixon |
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Close Brothers Corporate Finance Limited |
+44 (0)20 7655 3100 |
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Simon Willis (Managing Director) |
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Guy Ballantine (Director) |
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