Zeus is delighted to have acted as Nominated Adviser and Joint Bookrunner to London-based AIM-listed CentralNic, the global internet platform company that derives recurring revenues selling online presence and marketing services, on its €60 million acquisition of VGL and its associated £42.0 million equity fundraise.
Company information
VGL provides comparisons for 150k+ product listings, which attract more than a quarter of a billion website visits helping undecided online shoppers make the best purchase decisions in a convenient, transparent and trustworthy way.
VGL generated US$55.3 million of revenue (unaudited) and US$10.9 million of Adjusted EBITDA (unaudited) in the 12 months to 31 December 2021, which increases the CentralNic group’s unaudited pro forma revenue and EBITDA to US$470.5 million and US$57.9 million respectively for its financial year ended 31 December 2021.
The acquisition is a strategic investment into CentralNic’s growing online marketing segment, which delivered 65% organic growth in 2021, and is expected to be double digit earnings enhancing in FY22. It will increase the degree to which the Group benefits from the shift from offline to online commerce and adds large-scale monetisation partners to CentralNic’s existing customer and traffic acquisition capabilities.
The acquisition of VGL is CentralNic’s 18th acquisition, whilst the £42m equity fundraise increases total equity raised by Zeus for CentralNic to over £110m since 2013, funding four acquisitions and the Company’s IPO.
Zeus acted as nominated adviser and joint bookrunner, advising CentralNic on the acquisition and raising £42.0 million in a significantly oversubscribed placing to part finance the transaction.
In 2021, Zeus Capital advised on 22 transactions across public and private markets valued in excess of £3.3 billion.
Zeus Team
Members of the Zeus team included: Nick Cowles, Jamie Peel, James Edis and Danny Phillips (Corporate Finance); Dominic King, Rupert Woolfenden (Corporate Broking & Sales); and Bob Liao (Research).
Michael Riedl
CFO, CentralNic Group plcCurating the best assets to build our marketplace for online services is at the core of CentralNic’s strategy. Transaction speed and reliability have repeatedly secured us the pole position in the race for highly attractive assets, in this case the leading product review portal operator VGL. Having been CentralNic’s NOMAD and Joint Broker since its IPO in 2013, Zeus has yet again demonstrated its capacity to deliver funding when you need it, as you need it.
Jamie Peel
Director of Corporate Finance, ZeusWe are delighted to have advised CentralNic on another major acquisition and a significantly oversubscribed fundraising. The Company continues to grow rapidly both organically and by acquisition, and the ongoing expansion of the online marketing division is an exciting development for the Company’s existing and new investors. Zeus have advised CentralNic since its IPO in 2013 and have supported management on multiple subsequent acquisitions and fundraisings, having now raised over £110m for the company. We continue to be hugely impressed by the progress CentralNic is making and hope to assist further with its ambition to become a global leader in its industry.
Contact
If you would like further information, please get in touch with our team.
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