Business
Acquisition of Shopper Media Group Ltd
Acquisition of Shopper Media Group Ltd.
About this update from Next 15 Group Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \nAcquisition of Shopper Media Group Ltd\n\nNext Fifteen Communications Plc\n\n \n \n \n Next Fifteen Communications Group plc\n \n \n Acquisition of Shopper Media Group Ltd\n \n \nNext Fifteen Communications Group plc (“Next 15” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of data-led business Shopper Media Group Ltd and its subsidiaries, Capture Marketing Ltd, Lobster Agency Ltd and Threefold Agency Ltd (“Shopper Media Group” or “SMG”).\n\n \nShopper Media Group specialises in commerce marketing activation, connecting retailers and brands with shoppers at the point of purchase both online and in-store. Clients include The Co-op Group, Deliveroo, The Very Group, Pladis and McCain Foods. The business was founded in 2008 by Joel Hopwood and Matthew Lee, who were previously with Dunnhumby and who will continue in their roles following the acquisition. Sam Knights, previously with Proctor and Gamble, will continue to run the business as CEO and SMG will continue to operate as an independent brand within the Next 15 Group. The acquisition will help Next 15 deliver its strategy of using data to help its customers determine the optimum marketing spend.\n\n \nThe initial consideration for the acquisition is approximately £15.7 million, of which approximately £11.8 million is to be satisfied in cash with the balance to be satisfied by the issue of 569,181 new ordinary shares in Next 15. A Top-up payment is anticipated to be payable around February 2022 based on the EBITDA performance of SMG for the year ending 30 September 2021.\n\n \nFurther deferred consideration is anticipated to be payable around June 2023 and June 2025 based on the EBITDA performance of SMG in the 2-year periods ending 31 January 2023 and 31 January 2025 respectively. The acquisition is expected to be earnings accretive for Next 15 in the current financial year.\n\n \nFor the year ended 30 September 2020, SMG reported net revenues of £8.9 million and adjusted profit before tax of £3.5 million.\n\n \nTim Dyson, CEO of Next 15, commented: “Next 15 believes that the future of marketing is tied to the growth agenda of the organisation. As such we need to offer our customers a collection of products and services that will enable them to drive growth. As the world of retail evolves and looks for new ways to reach cu...