Ascential PLC (LON:ASCL) shares rose on Thursday after the information and events firm said it has acquired ecommerce media optimisation group Perpetua Labs Inc in a deal worth up to US$250mln.
Perpetua provides a self-service software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that helps independent sellers optimise the purchase of search and display advertising on Amazon and other major marketplaces. Ascential said the merger marks new territory for its digital commerce segment, which until now has only served first party vendors.
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Under the terms of the deal, Ascential will pay an initial cash sum of US$52mln for Perpetua, with deferred payments over four years to increase this to between US$103-US$162mln. Assuming every stretching target is reached by Perpetua, this sum rises to a cap of US$250mln.
In the year ended December 2020, Perpetua reported revenue of US$3.8mln and an EBITDA loss of US$0.2mln.
"Perpetua's expertise serving third party vendors, through data-driven solutions, opens the door for Ascential to this large and fast-growing market segment. Combined with the global reach of our existing Digital Commerce businesses, that provide a full service offering to larger, First party, brands, we have the exciting opportunity, with Perpetua, to expand our offerings across further platforms and geographies", Ascential chief executive Duncan Painter said in a statement.
Shares in the company were up 2% at 362.2p in early deals.