MySale Group plc (LON:MYSL) the leading international online retailer, has today announced the acquisition of certain trade and assets of Identity Direct, a leading international retailer of personalised products.
Founded in 1992 Identity Direct has a rich heritage in providing consumers with personalised gifts and products, including; apparel, sporting goods, labels and books and has partnered with world famous brands including; Disney, Marvel, Nickelodeon and Mattel. The acquisition includes a small, skilled workforce, stock and customer lists as well as a leasehold production centre in Auckland, New Zealand where products are personalised to the customer’s requirements and shipped globally.
The group has paid A$2.69 million to the administrators of Identity Direct Ltd and Ortega Publishing Pty Ltd for the trade and assets acquired with deferred consideration of A$0.25 million payable on the finalisation of certain post-completion matters. All consideration is being satisfied from existing cash resources.
In the year to 30 June 2016, the most recently available financial statements, the trade being acquired had revenue of circa A$10 million per annum. Included in the acquisition are assets and inventory with a net book value of approximately A$1.5 million and a valuable database of 66,000 active customers. The group estimates such an active database would represent circa A$2 million of value when compared to the group’s average acquisition cost per active customer.
The acquisition brings a number of strategic benefits as it is expected to:
· Establish the group in a growing segment with barriers to entry and unique product.
· Provide a strong fit with the group’s existing customer base and leverage sunk marketing costs.
· Improve customer data collection.
In terms of synergies the group will reduce operating costs by combining shared services, improving shipping rates and reducing payment processing costs. The Identity Direct operations will benefit significantly from the support available from the group’s resources and infrastructure which should in turn deliver an improved offer and service to customers whilst enhancing efficiency.
The group also anticipates there are substantial opportunities to drive revenue by:
· Cross marketing to the ANZ1 active customer base and targeting our South-East Asian markets (Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and The Philippines).
· Seeking to reactivate customers in our existing database who respond well to the Identity Direct range of products.
· Increasing the range of products upon which Identity Direct is able to offer personalisation.
· Development of new licences with existing and new brand partners.
Carl Jackson, MySale Group plc Chief Executive Officer, commented ‘We are delighted to welcome Identity Direct to the MySale group. This acquisition will allow us to build an additional revenue stream that is very complementary to our existing core activities.
‘We believe that MySale’s strength and expertise as an online retailer of scale will bring many benefits to Identity Direct which in turn will unlock significant opportunities and efficiencies hitherto unavailable to that business.’
Zeus Capital comments:
MySale has announced the acquisition of Identity Direct, a leading online retailer of personalised products, for a consideration of A$2.7m to be funded from existing cash resources. In the year to 30 June 2016, Identity Direct had revenues of c.A$10m. We are assuming no contribution to FY17 forecasts given the proximity to year end, and revenue contribution of A$10m in FY18. We are assuming a 5% EBITDA contribution margin in FY18, therefore our adj. EBITDA estimate increases by A$0.5m, or 4.3%, to A$11.5m. The acquisition is complimentary and adds a database of 66k active customers that is estimated to represent c.A$2m of value when compared to MySale’s average acquisition cost per active customer.
A leading international online retailer of personalised products. Founded in 1992, Identity Direct has an established track record in providing customers with personalised gifts and products, including apparel, sporting goods, labels and books, and has partnered with global brands such as Disney, Marvel and Nickelodeon. The acquisition also includes a small, skilled workforce, stock and customer lists as well as a leasehold production centre in Auckland, New Zealand, where products are personalised to the customer’s requirements and shipped globally.
Complimentary acquisition that ties in with existing customer base gives rise to growth opportunities. The acquisition gives the company exposure to well established licensing relationships, as well as a broad product range of personalised products that fits within existing customers requirements giving rise to cross merchandising opportunities. There are also opportunities to drive growth by cross marketing to the SE Asia markets, where MySale is strong, as well as reactivating customers in the existing database who may respond well to the Identity Direct product range. As part of the Group there is also scope to increase the range of products for personalisation as well as develop new licences with existing and new brand partners.
Synergy opportunities. There is scope to reduce operating costs by combining shared services, leverage lower shipping rates and reduce other back office costs. The Identity Direct operations will benefit significantly from the support available from company resources and infrastructure which should in turn deliver an improved offer and service to customers whilst enhancing efficiency.
Overall view. The acquisition gives the company a leading position in a unique product market with scope for driving growth by leveraging their size, infrastructure and existing customer base. MySale is a business that generates substantial revenues that are currently valued on an EV/Sales multiple of just 0.8x. The e-commerce peer group trades on an average FY1 EV/Sales multiple of 2.0x. If MySale traded on 1.5x it would equate to 184p.
