The growing digital market group Be Heard Group PLC (LON:BHRD) is branching into analytics with a £1.7mln deal.
It is handing over a mix of paper and cash for a 75% stake in a company called Freemavens as well as paying off its debts.
Be Heard also announced it is launching a £2.1mln stock placing at 3.6p a share - a modest discount to last night - to fund the transaction.
The company says the purchase of Freemavens provides it with an “entry point” in to the emerging areas of big data and analytics.
It also adds a fourth leg to the business that consists currently of digital media planning, user experience, design and build, and content and creative services.
The transaction comes just two months after it agreed to pay over £4mln for Kameleon Worldwide, a content marketing agency.
Bolt-ons ...
These ‘bolt-on’ deals are part of Be Heard’s buy-and-build strategy led by industry veteran Peter Scott who wants to create an integrated alternative to global marketing giants.
"The Freemavens team will give Be Heard industry leading analytics capability, and once bedded into our group will augment and enhance the work we do for clients,” said chairman Scott.
“Intelligent use of data underpins all decision making; our intention is to develop the analytics capability at Be Heard as a central function and resource for our clients.
“Bringing the exceptional Freemavens team into the fold is, I believe, a bold first step."
In the year just gone Freemavens delivered revenues of £1.72mln and adjusted EBITDA of £410,000.
In an update on its own trading performance, Be Heard said 2016 was in line with expectations.
Trading since the start of 2017 has begun well, it added, with the integration of Kameleon “proceeding to plan”.
“Significant new clients have been won across the group over the last six months and we are beginning to see the benefit to clients of the group's ever broadening digital expertise,” it added.