Avanquest, Claranova’s Internet Division, Finalizes the Takeover of Upclick, Lulu Software and Adaware
03 Juillet 2018 - 5:45PM
Business Wire
Scale up of the Internet division: Revenue
+78% for July to December 2017 and +108% for January to March
20181
Avanquest’s EBITDA2 multiplied
by 4 (July to December 2017):reaching €4.7
million1 pro forma compared to €1.2 million on a
stand-alone basis
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(Graphic: Claranova)
Claranova (Paris:CLA) is pleased to announce the completion of
all conditions precedent and the signature on July 1, 2018 of the
final agreement for the takeover by Avanquest of the Canadian group
holding the Upclick, Lulu Software and Adaware businesses.
This international Internet group has three areas of
expertise:
- E-commerce processing through
Upclick, one of the most modern platforms in the world;
- Document management and PDF
applications with Lulu Software, one of the world’s leading players
for PDF solutions with its SodaPDF products;
- Internet security with the
Adaware anti-virus and security solutions, known
worldwide.
This transaction fits perfectly with Claranova’s strategy and
embodies the transformation of its Avanquest division, now firmly
focused on monetizing internet traffic. With the integration of
these profitable and high-growth businesses, Avanquest will launch
a virtuous cycle generating increased revenue and profit.
For example, in the first-half of 2017-2018 (July to December
2017), the Avanquest division would have reported pro forma revenue
of €35.2 million1 (up +78% compared with
Avanquest alone) and EBITDA2 of €4.7
million1 (up +295% compared with Avanquest alone),
representing an operating margin3 of 13% (compared
with 6% currently).
July-Dec. 2017in millions of euros
Avanquestdivisionstand-alone
Upclick + SodaPDF+ Adaware4
Avanquestdivision
post-transaction1
Impact
ofacquisitions(%)
Revenue
19.7 15.5
35.2 +78% EBITDA 1.2
3.5
4.7 +295% EBITDA / Revenue (%) 6.1%
22.9%
13.5%
At the end of March 2018, pro forma 9-month revenue would
have been €53.1 million5, compared with €28.3 million
reported by the Avanquest division alone, an increase of 87.7%. If
included, the acquired Canadian businesses would have had a
positive impact on the Avanquest division’s revenue of 109% for the
last quarter.
This is also a major transaction at Group level. Based on
consolidated figures for July to December 2017, the impact on
revenue and on EBITDA would have been +17% and +125%, respectively,
increasing the operating margin from 3.1% to 6.0%.
July.-Dec. 2017in millions of euros Claranova group
Upclick + SodaPDF+ Adaware5
Claranova
grouppost-transaction5
Impact
ofacquisitions(%)
Revenue
89.9 15.5
105.4 +17.2% EBITDA
2.8 3.5
6.3 +124.9% EBITDA / Revenue (%)
3.1% 22.9%
6.0% +91.9%
Scale up in Internet division
The integration of these new businesses, from July 1st 2018,
will enable Avanquest to attain 25 million unique visitors per
month (+257%) and close to 40 million customers (+186%),
increasing the number of monthly downloads by 433%, multiplying
by 15 the number of installed software products to reach
500 million, and increasing the number of annual
transactions to 1.2 million (+300%).
Synergies expected to significantly improve the Internet
division’s profitability
The highly complementary nature of their activities, the work
experience shared by the teams and the synergies to be implemented
should generate even more improvements in the Avanquest
division’s revenue and operating margin.
As already announced, the acquisition balance of €17 million
(USD 20 million) will be financed by a loan, currently under
negotiation, and repaid in full from operating profits of the
acquired companies.
For Pierre Cesarini, CEO of the Claranova group: “The initial
operating results of these acquisitions are already excellent and
extremely encouraging going forward. The Claranova group will
continue its consolidation strategy to make its Internet
subsidiary, Avanquest, a major European player in the monetization
of internet traffic and reach the €100 million revenue milestone,
with profitability of 15% to 20%, as quickly as possible.”
Next Claranova group event:
2017-2018 annual revenue: August 8, 2018
About Claranova:
A global Internet and mobile player, Claranova is one of the few
French companies in this sector to post sales of over EUR 130
million, more than half of which is generated in the United States.
Claranova focuses its strategy on three areas of business – digital
printing through the Group’s PlanetArt division, management of the
Internet of Things (IoT) via the myDevices division and e-commerce
through the Avanquest division:
- PlanetArt: A world leader in mobile
printing, specifically via the FreePrints offer – the cheapest and
simplest way to print photos from a smartphone – FreePrints is
already a must-have for several million customers, a figure that
has grown every year since its launch;
- myDevices: A global platform for IoT
(Internet of Things) management enabling major corporations from
different business sectors to quickly develop and roll out IoT
solutions for their customers;
- Avanquest: the Group’s legacy activity
covering the distribution of third-party software, a business that
is shifting towards the monetization of Internet traffic.
For more information on the Claranova group: www.claranova.com
or www.twitter.com/claranova_group
1 Pro forma figures, not audited.2 EBITDA is used to monitor the
operating profitability of the various businesses. It is equal to
recurring operating income before depreciation, amortization and
share-based payments.3 Defined as the ratio of EBITDA to revenue.4
Figures not audited5 Figures not audited
CODES
Ticker: CLA
ISIN: FR0004026714
www.claranova.com
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74contact@claranova.comorAELIUMFINANCIAL
COMMUNICATIONSolène Kennis, +33 1 75 77 54
65skennis@aelium.fr
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