YouGov Regulatory News (YOU)

8 Dec 2006 07:01

YouGov PLC08 December 2006 YouGov plc YouGov enters US market through strategic partnership with Polimetrix Strategic Partnership 8 December 2006 - YouGov plc ("YouGov" or the "Company"), the UK's leadingonline market research agency, announced today that it has committed to make asignificant strategic investment in Polimetrix Inc ("Polimetrix"), an onlinepolitical and social research agency founded in 2004 by Stanford ProfessorDouglas Rivers. Under the terms of the transaction, YouGov will subscribe for 5,360,000 newshares in Polimetrix, a Delaware corporation based in Palo Alto, forapproximately £3.8 million in return for a 32% shareholding. At closing, YouGovwill also have an option to purchase the remaining outstanding shares andoptions of Polimetrix, within 30 months of this announcement. The initialconsideration will be met from the Company's existing cash reserves. The Boardof Polimetrix will be made up of 5 directors including two YouGovrepresentatives Nadhim Zahawi and Stephan Shakespeare. The funds from this investment will be used to bring YouGov products to theAmerican market and to expand Polimetrix's capabilities through thecross-licensing of technology and intellectual property as well as a jointselling arrangement which will allow YouGov to sell Polimetrix's productsinternationally, excluding the USA and Canada, and Polimetrix to sell YouGov'sproducts, including BrandIndex, in the USA and Canada. The Board anticipatesthat the investment will be earnings enhancing in the first full year ofownership. Polimetrix was founded in 2004 by Stanford University Political ScienceProfessor Douglas Rivers and has offices in Palo Alto, California and Washington, D.C. Polimetrix currently has a staff of twenty experts in survey research,political science, statistics, and information technology, eight of whom havePhDs in survey methodology and political science. Polimetrix maintains thePollingPoint panel, which is comprised of 1.08 million U.S. residents. Polimetrix has distinguished itself by achieving the same high level of provenaccuracy in US elections, as YouGov has in Britain and which has made YouGov thepre-eminent polling organisation in the United Kingdom. In 2005, Polimetrixaccurately forecast the outcome of seven propositions in the California SpecialElection, surpassing all but one other traditional pollster. In 2006, Polimetrixconducted the largest ever congressional election study, covering 44 Senate andgubernatorial races. The clients for this project were 32 American Universities,including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT and UCLA. The Polimetrix forecasts had ahigh degree of quantitative accuracy, which is substantially better than otherUS Internet surveys. Commenting on the move into the American market Nadhim Zahawi, Co-founder andChief Executive of YouGov, said: "The Polimetrix team has a successful track record in the rapidly expandingonline research market and shares our strong belief in the benefits ofcompetitively priced, accurate and timely online market research. The team atPolimetrix share our passion and cultural beliefs. YouGov has already hadconsiderable interest in both BrandIndex and YGX from international companies.Acquiring this stake in Polimetrix is consistent with our prudent approach toentering new markets, such as the US, where we are looking to build ourbusiness." Stephan Shakespeare, Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of YouGov,commented: "The two companies are ideally suited to become the pre-eminentpioneers of innovative market and opinion research in America. While onlinemethodology has been widely embraced by the industry in America, the use ofinternet for public and media work lags behind the UK. The Polimetrix approachof producing large scale, accurate data for highly respected public clients,exactly mirrors that of YouGov." Commenting on the opportunity to launch BrandIndex in North America, DouglasRivers CEO of Polimetrix commented, "We are very excited about introducingBrandIndex to America, the world's largest research market. It would have beenimpossible before the existence of the Internet to provide brand owners withinstant feedback about the performance and perceptions of their companies andproducts. This promises to bring a new era to brand stewardship at a time whencorporates are increasingly focused on the value and perception of theirbrands." Current Trading At today's AGM, Peter Kellner, Chairman of the Board of YouGov, will confirmthat the current year has started well with trading in both the UK and MiddleEast in line with the Board's expectations. ENQUIRIES: YouGov plc Tel: +44 (0)207 618 3010Nadhim ZahawiKatherine Lee Polimetrix Inc Tel: +1 650 462 8002Douglas Rivers Financial Dynamics Tel: +44 (0)20 7831 3113Tim Spratt This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange