Eckoh PLC (LON:ECK) has announced the acquisition of Klick2Contact EU Ltd, an operator of online live help services, for an initial payment of £2.35mln.
Additional payments in the future could potentially increase the deal value up to £8mln, with up to £5.65 of deferred payments possible over the next two years.
Eckoh, which operates a secure payments business and customer contact centres, described the acquisition of Klick2Contact as an ‘attractive’ deal that brings in significant expertise in a complementary business.
The deal comes after Eckoh and Klick2Contact spent a number of months working together, and the AIM quoted company said the transaction was “a logical next step”.
It highlighted that the Klick2Contact suite of customer-contact services includes webchat, social media monitoring and email management as well as other services.
Klick2Contact’s customer base includes Next, BMW, Topshop, Volkswagen and others. In 2015, it generated £881,000 of revenue and had £219,000 of earnings.
Eckoh expects the acquisition will be immediately earnings enhancing.
Nik Philpot, Eckoh chief executive, said: “We have a focused acquisition strategy, looking to find proven, profitable and growing businesses which bring us complementary technologies or reach.
“The acquisition of Klick2Connect is absolutely in line with these criteria and we are extremely pleased to be adding its excellent product set, expertise and clients to Eckoh's portfolio.
“There is growing demand for a truly Omni-channel customer contact offering, ideally delivered by a single supplier, and by combining K2C into Eckoh's proposition we are well placed to help satisfy this demand.”
Klick2Contact chief executive Graham Pollard, meanwhile, added: “Having worked with the Eckoh team over the past few months, it is clear that their market-leading customer contact and secure payment solutions together with our cutting-edge live help and customer engagement services creates a winning combination, enabling us to take advantage of the growing demand in this area."
Some £2mln of the initial £2.35mln payment will be paid in cash, while £350,000 will be paid in Eckoh shares.
Subsequent payments are subject to the Klick2Contact businesses meeting certain earnings targets over a 24 month period from the acquisition date.