CentralNic Group - Acquisition of Aporia for up to US$19m

As part of a broader vertical integration strategy, disintermediating its value chain to create a more efficient ecosystem, CentralNic has announced the acquisition of MA Aporia, a media and native advertising company. CentralNic is paying an initial cash consideration of US$11.2m, together with performance payments of up to US$7.8m for FY22–24. This implies an initial FY21 EV/EBITDA multiple of 5.6x. The acquisition will be immediately earnings accretive. As Aporia is already an exclusive supplier to CentralNic, the transaction will increase CentralNic’s margins but will have no impact on revenue. Aporia generated FY21 revenue of US$35m, gross profit of US$3.5m and EBITDA of US$2.0m. Despite CentralNic’s continuing momentum (H122 organic growth of 62%), the group trades on c 5.9x FY22 EV/EBITDA and a P/E of 8.0x.