The operation will allow it to double its turnover and increase its Ebitda and profit
MADRID, 21 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Squirrel Media shares soared more than 6% at the opening of the stock market after announcing this Tuesday the purchase of the advertising agency IKI, which will allow the group to double its business volume and lead the Spanish independent advertising market.
Specifically, Squirrel shares woke up with a rise of more than 5%, but just a few minutes later, around 9:05 a.m., they extended their rise to 6.6%, which placed the price of each share at 1.69 euros.
In a communication sent this morning to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), Squirrel Media has stressed that the acquisition of IKI Group will position it as “the main independent Spanish advertising group” in terms of business volume, with a turnover that This year it will exceed, in Spain alone, 140 million euros.
Squirrel, which has defined this operation as “the most important in the Spanish advertising industry in the last decade”, explained that IKI Group, the main independent advertising agency in the Spanish market, will become part of the advertising area of the Squirrel group, where it already operates with BOM and SGM.
“This integration reflects Squirrel Media’s commitment to innovation and leadership within the advertising business area, doubles the group’s current consolidated billing figure and optimizes existing fundamentals thanks to the multiple synergies that arise from the union of capabilities. of both groups,” the company has highlighted.
Squirrel has highlighted that IKI Group has the trust of more than a hundred clients in Spain, including established brands in the beauty, automotive, finance, fashion, retail, communications, travel and education segments.
The operation, formalized this Tuesday, consists of an agreement to purchase 100% of the shares of all the companies that are part of the IKI group, which Squirrel acquires “free of any type of debt and contingency.”
Founded in 2015 by Jordi Calvet and Manuel Urquijo, the IKI group is made up of the companies IKI Group Communications, IKI Media Solutions, IKI Media Communications, Fisherman Digital Solutions and Pavlov. Squirrel has indicated that Calvet and Urquijo, along with the group’s more than 130 employees, will join Squirrel.
The companies that are part of the IKI group acquired by Squirrel had a turnover of around 93 million euros in 2023 and achieved a gross operating result of around 5.3 million euros.
Thus, Squirrel calculates that, by integrating the IKI group, its turnover in 2023 would go from 129 million euros to 222 million euros, its Ebitda would grow from 22 to 27.3 million euros, and the profit before taxes would increase from 13 .7 to 18.9 million euros.
Looking ahead to fiscal year 2024 and beyond, Squirrel emphasizes that the synergies created with this operation and “the new leadership position in the market” suggest that these joint results for 2023 “will be significantly improved.”
Squirrel has explained that the operation will be financed mostly with the company’s own funds, with plans, where appropriate, to finance up to a maximum of 30% of the operation.
The company did not want to provide the amount of the transaction “so as not to influence the various corporate operations that are currently being negotiated”, as stated in its communication to the CNMV.