Hyve Group PLC (LSE:HYVE) said it agreed to acquire 121 Group for up to £50mln in a move that supports its omnichannel strategy.
The global events company also updated on trading, saying like-for-like customer spend continues to increase and visitor density is improving.
In a statement, Hyve said market trends remain in line with expectations but noted that the COVID-19 situation remains fluid with international travel still in recovery.
121 Group is an omnichannel meetings programme organiser focused on the mining sector across EMEA, North America and APAC.
Hyve said the acquisition will accelerate the development of its omnichannel strategy as 121 Group moved exclusively to online meetings during the Covid-19 pandemic, achieving higher margins and remaining profitable during the pandemic.
The acquisition is expected to be “materially earnings enhancing” in the first full financial year following completion, it said.
Hyve will pay an initial US$28mln (£21mln) for 121 Group, with the total consideration after earn-out expected to be between £42mln-£50mln.
It is raising almost £28mln via a placing and direct subscription to fund the initial consideration.
The placing of over 13.8mln shares at 107p each with institutional investors will raise £14.70mln. The placing shares represent 5.21% of Hyve's existing issued share capital and the placing price is at a 0.7% discount to last night’s closing market price.
It is also raising £14.26mln by issuing 12.69mln new shares at 112.35p a piece via a direct subscription by investment funds managed by Strategic Value Partners, LLC (SVPGlobal), representing 4.79% of the company's share capital.
Mark Shashoua, CEO of Hyve, commented: "I am very pleased to announce the strategic acquisition of 121 Group, a market-leading one-on-one meeting provider for the mining sector.
“This well-established company is highly complementary to our Mining Indaba event, while further accelerating our group omnichannel offering and providing further profitable growth opportunities."
Hyve shares jumped 3.53% to 111.60p at midday.