22 Aug 2018 07:00
Koovs plc ("Koovs" or the "Company")
Koovs Completes Strategic Partnership Agreement with HT Media
Further to its announcement on 18 June 2018, and as also set out in the circular posted to shareholders on 16 July 2018, Koovs plc (AIM: KOOV) is pleased to announce that it has completed its agreement for a £24.0m media deal (the "Agreement") with strategic partner HT Media Limited ("HT Media"), one of India's largest media companies and owner of the Hindustan Times. The agreement has been updated to be over a four year period rather than a two year period (as previously announced), and also in regards to the mix of shares and cash used to satisfy the deal (further detail set out below).
The Agreement will, in aggregate, provide Koovs with £24.0m of media and advertising services from HT Media. Pursuant to the Agreement, HT Media has agreed to subscribe for £17.1m (previously £16.8m) of new ordinary shares of 1p each in the capital of the Company ("Ordinary Shares"), and Koovs has agreed to commission further media and advertising services from HT Media for £6.9m (previously £7.2m) in cash.
The net effect of the Agreement is that, Koovs will acquire four £6.0m tranches of media from HT Media at yearly intervals over a four-year period. £4.28m of each instalment will be satisfied by the issuance of new Ordinary Shares to HT Media, with the balance of £1.72m to be acquired by Koovs in cash.
On 21 August 2018 and under the first tranche, HT Media has subscribed for 42.84m Ordinary Shares at 10p per Ordinary Share (the "Subscription Shares") (the "Subscription"). The Subscription is conditional upon, inter alia, admission of the Subscription Shares to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange plc ("Admission"). Application for Admission will be made following receipt of the subscription monies from HT Media. The Company will release a further announcement in due course. Subsequent tranches will be conditional on, inter alia, the agreement of both parties and will be priced at the lower of:
· The average of the mid-market closing price per Ordinary Share of the Company for the three month period prior to the date of closure of such tranche; or
· The price per Ordinary Share received by the Company on the most recent cash fundraising of the Company closed during the three month period prior to the date of closure of such tranche.
Mary Turner, Chief Executive of Koovs, said:
"We are delighted to have concluded this deal with HT Media, one of India's most influential media companies. The Agreement will give us premium exposure in further building the Koovs brand and will provide us with an important platform to support our future growth in what is the world's fastest growing economy."
For further information please contact:
Media enquiries: Headland Lucy Legh / Rob Walker / Charlie Twigg
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Tel: +44 (0)20 3805 4822 |
Koovs plc Mary Turner/Robert Pursell |
Tel: +44 (0)20 7151 0170 |
Peel Hunt LLP Dan Webster / George Sellar |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7418 8900 |
About HT Media
HT Media, which has been a strategic partner and investor in Koovs since June 2016, is one of the leading media companies in India owning the Hindustan Times broadsheet newspaper along with multiple other media channels across print, radio, digital and events including leading business paper MINT (partner to the Wall Street Journal) and Fever 104 FM one of India's leading music & lifestyle radio stations airing across 13 major cities. HT Media has a strong reputation for investing in digital companies with strong growth prospects in India.
About Koovs
Koovs achievements since IPO in 2014
Koovs sells affordable western fashion in India online. In the four years since its IPO in London, the Company has succeeded in establishing:
· Significant and growing social media following and customer engagement
o 2.4 million followers including 1.9 million on Facebook and 500,000 on Instagram
· A leading brand that is fashion-forward and affordable
o Recent RedSeer survey showed that Koovs continues to outperform other platforms on product variety and quality
· A technology platform delivering seamless customer experience
o In FY17 Koovs implemented the latest modular microservices architecture to deliver scalable performance, rapid technology development and innovation
· Koovs' own label and designer collaborations already leading fashion trends in India
o 40% of FY17 sales were Koovs Private Label, and four exclusive collections were launched with Manish Arora, Hattie Stewart, Gauri & Nainika and Henry Holland
· Highly experienced Management team
o Over 125 years' combined retail and technology experience
· First class logistics and lead times
o Average 'order to delivery' time in January 2018 was 3.5 days compared to average of over 4 days amongst India e-tailers
· Industry-leading customer care metrics
o Forrester survey ranked Koovs No.1 for "Best Customer Experience" among online-only retailers in India and RedSeer awarded Koovs the highest Net Promoter Score amongst peers
o Over £70 million invested in Koovs to date establishing itself as leading affordable fashion brand in India