C2B Solutions

Aug 14, 2017

Listed mobile marketing company Mobile Embrace acquires C2B Solutions August 14, 2017 4:36 Mobile Embrace Strengthens Digital Performance Marketing Business with Acquisition of C2B Solutions Mobile Embrace Limited (ASX: MBE) (MBE or Company) is pleased to announce the acquisition of C2B Solutions Pty Ltd (C2B), a profitable and growing Performance Marketing business. Favourable acquisition terms and strong financial performance MBE has acquired C2B on favourable terms with an upfront cash consideration of $2.5M. In addition to the upfront consideration and subject to achieving targeted earnings over the next 2 years, there will be additional cash consideration $2M for each year of successful achievement. The upfront consideration is funded from MBE’s cash reserves. C2B is a successful Australian Performance Marketing business that specialises in providing businesses with a highly efficient customer acquisition offering including: • The generation of high volume, permissioned consumer leads on online and mobile devices and; • Facilitating conversion from a quality digital lead to a highly-engaged customer via outbound call centres C2B’s solutions deliver increased customer conversion effectiveness, and therefore a strong return on Performance Marketing investment (ROI) for businesses. Drawing on proven expertise and Intellectual Property (IP) in call centre development and management, C2B has delivered highly successful and profitable outcomes for its clients. Client retention is high at approx. 90% and C2B is growing well. C2B’s clients span a number of industries with a growing new business development pipeline. Co-Founders Ben Carrington and Michal Fort-Williams will continue with the business and have entered into employment agreements. C2B is forecast to generate EBITDA of $2.5M for FY2018 which means the acquisition of the business will be immediately EPS accretive to MBE. The growing importance of C2B’s offering to its clients is supported by research, with 65% of all businesses finding generating traffic and leads the top marketing challenge and 74% of all businesses seeing converting leads to customers the key marketing priority. The acquisition is supported by strong strategic rationale Growth platform: Vertical integration of C2B’s proven call centre IP and expertise into MBE’s digital Performance Marketing infrastructure strengthens the Company’s capabilities and expands the addressable and contestable market for business growth. Extending MBE’s digital Performance Marketing offering further along the customer acquisition supply chain, the acquisition will enable the Company to more efficiently serve clients needs in a competitive business environment. Strategic Fit: The C2B acquisition delivers to the Company’s core strategic objective “enabling businesses to generate quality customers at scale” and is a strong EBITDA margin business. The acquisition enables greater sales reach and market growth prospects. C2B has been partnering with MBE’s The Performance Factory (TPF) for approximately 18 months. The business relationship with TPF is strong, well tested and financially successful. This enables C2B to be immediately integrated into MBE. Scale: The acquisition provides greater market reach for MBE’s existing growing digital Performance Marketing business and will contribute to the scaling of the Performance Marketing platforms and products that will deliver more sustainable growth and improved margin performance. It can also enhance growth opportunities in international markets. Product enhancement and expansion: C2B expands the Company’s Performance Marketing product offerings, with the strengthened ability to grow in large existing and new markets. Diversification of product offerings will enable MBE to better serve clients’ customer acquisition needs. Neil Wiles, CEO & Managing Director at Mobile Embrace, said: “We are pleased to welcome C2B to Mobile Embrace. It is an innovative and proven company that bolsters our digital Performance Marketing strategy to deliver more value for MBE’s shareholders. It adds soundly to MBE’s growth opportunities and competitive strength. “C2B is immediately scalable, highly complementary and will be easily integrated into our Performance Marketing operations. Given the partnership with TPF, integration will be seamless. “The acquisition of C2B also enables MBE to provide more Performance Marketing products to accurately satisfy the customer conversion demands of SME’s and major brand businesses across the greatest number of industry verticals. The value and importance of this is growing with businesses globally being in an environment where identifying reliable ROI for every digital marketing dollar spent is of increasing challenge and priority.” The acquisition is in line with MBE’s strategy of establishing a larger, more dominant digital Performance Marketing business across Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and a business that delivers improved earnings margins and predictable revenue streams. Following completion of the acquisition, MBE’s balance sheet and financial position remains strong and gives the Company further flexibility to fund and grow its now expanded Performance Marketing business. From a company media release