19 Dec 2022 07:00
19 December 2022
CentralNic Group plc
("CentralNic" or "the Company" or "the Group")
Acquisition Announcement
CentralNic Group plc (AIM: CNIC), the global internet platform company that derives revenue from the sales of online presence and marketing services, is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a portfolio of revenue generating niche websites ("Publishing Network") for a consideration of USD 5.2m in cash and assumed working capital liabilities ("Acquisition") in an asset deal from multiple sellers. The Acquisition is expected to complete immediately and will be financed from available liquidity.
The acquisition will be immediately earnings accretive. On a standalone basis, the websites are expected to generate at least USD 1.9m in annualised revenue and USD 1.4m in annualised EBITDA post-acquisition. As CentralNic is already today monetising a part of the websites' traffic, this is expected to translate into c.USD 1.2m of additional revenue, c.USD 0.5m of reduced COGS and c.USD 1.4m of EBITDA as of financial year 2023. The Acquisition is part of a vertical integration strategy, providing the Group's Online Marketing segment with proprietary, exclusive special interest traffic to monetise.
As the company articulated in its RNS on 12 December 2022, it is intended that in the future, the emphasis of cashflow generated will be a more balanced approach of returns to shareholders, deleverage and complementary bolt-on acquisitions.
Michael Riedl, CEO of CentralNic, said "Exclusive access to proprietary website traffic is a pillar of our Online Marketing segment's sustainable competitive advantage. This acquisition will give us more exclusive direct navigation traffic, augment margins for our fast-growing Online Marketing business and generate attractive cashflow returns."
For further information:
CentralNic Group Plc Michael Riedl, Chief Executive Officer Don Baladasan, Group Managing Director
| +44 (0) 203 388 0600 |
Zeus (NOMAD and Joint Broker) Nick Cowles / Jamie Peel / James Edis (Investment Banking) Dominic King (Corporate Broking) |
+44 (0) 161 831 1512 +44 (0) 203 829 5000 |
Berenberg (Joint Broker) Mark Whitmore / Richard Andrews / Alix Mecklenburg-Solodkoff |
+44 (0) 20 3207 7800 |
SEC Newgate (for Media) Bob Huxford / Isabelle Smurfit / Harry Handyside
| +44 (0) 203 757 6880 centralnic@secnewgate.co.uk |
About CentralNic Group Plc
CentralNic (AIM: CNIC) is a London-based AIM-listed company which drives the growth of the global digital economy by developing and managing online marketplaces allowing businesses globally to buy subscriptions to domain names for websites and email, monetise their websites, and acquire customers online. Its core growth strategy is identifying and acquiring cash-generative businesses in its industry with annuity revenue streams and exposure to growth markets and migrating them onto the CentralNic software and operating platforms. For more information please visit: www.centralnicgroup.com