Accesso Technology Group plc (LON:ACSO) has completed a £58.8m fund raise to pay for its latest expansion, US theme park software specialist The Experience Engine (TE2) .
TE2’s software uses heuristic analysis to model customer behaviour at the parks both during their stay and also before and after the visit to predict and give insights into patterns of checking-in, booking ride times and mobile shopping trends.
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Based in San Diego, California and Orlando, TE2 was only founded in founded in 2013 but boasts an impressive customer list including Cedar Fair, SeaWorld, Merlin Entertainments, and cruise operator Carnival Corporation.
Cost of the acquisition including debt is £62.3 million (US$80mln), which includes US$14.4mln worth of shares for TE2’s owners as well as cash from the £58.8mlm placing, which was priced at 1,620p.
Accesso, which has long-standing relationships with Six Flags and Merlin in areas such as virtual quieting and ticketing, believes its scale will speed up adoption of TE2's solution among its customer base. While giving a modest boost to earnings in the first full year, the full benefits will be felt in 2019.
TE2 founder and chief executive Scott Sahadi will stay with the company and report to Steve Brown, accesso’s chief executive.
Sahadi said: “We're delighted to be joining accesso, which provides a fantastic platform for us to continue our growth. Our businesses are highly complementary; both are passionate about providing outstanding customer experiences and know this is the ultimate differentiator in our industry. “
Separately, accesso said trading in the first part of the 2017 financial year had started strongly.
"The integration of the Ingresso acquisition made in March 2017 continues to progress well and in line with management's expectations, while the Merlin Entertainment roll-out also continues to plan.
"TE2 also continues to trade strongly as expected for a high growth business, with underlying revenue growing significantly during the first 5 months of 2017."
Tom Burnet, accesso’s executive chairman added: "Our central aim at Accesso is to help operators drive revenue by improving the experience they provide for their guests.
“The addition of TE2 is the latest example of our commitment to that aim. In acquiring TE2, we further our technology leadership in this area, and enhance our ability to benefit fully from the scale we've achieved. "