22 February 2018
Oakley Capital Investments Limited
Oakley agrees sale of PARSHIP ELITE Group and Verivox to ProSiebenSat.1's Commerce unit NuCom Group
· Enterprise Value: The transactions value Parship and Verivox at €440 million and €530 million, respectively
· Proceeds: Company to receive £51.1 million - a 26% premium to the December 2017 carrying value of these assets
· Uplift: The sale results in an uplift of 5 pence per share on the overall 31 December 2017 NAV range
· Returns: Approximate Fund II gross returns for Parship are 4.7x MM, 119% IRR and for Verivox are 2.5x MM, 43% IRR
Oakley Capital Investments Limited1 (AIM:OCI, the "Company") is pleased to announce that Oakley Capital Private Equity II ("Fund II") has reached an agreement to sell its 38.5% stake in PARSHIP ELITE Group ("PEG") and 9.9% stake in Verivox to NuCom Group ("NuCom"), ProSiebenSat.1's Commerce unit. The agreement is subject to approval by the responsible antitrust authorities.
The Company will realise estimated cash proceeds of approximately £51.1 million on completion of these transactions. The realisations would represent an increase of £10.6 million to the NAV range announced on 31 January 2018, lifting the NAV per share of £2.43 - £2.45 by 5 pence.
PARSHIP ELITE Group
Following increased focus on the digital consumer sector, Oakley partnered with the management of Parship, the leading German online dating site, in April 2015. A combination of strong organic growth and the synergistic acquisition of premium matchmaker ElitePartner has resulted in EBITDA increasing by more than 3x since Fund II's original investment.
In September 2016 Fund II sold a controlling stake in Parship to ProsiebenSat.1 valuing the business at €300m and returning £38.6 million to the Company. Today NuCom is acquiring Fund II's remaining 38.5% stake in PEG based on an enterprise value of €440 million. Fund II will receive further gross proceeds of c.€138 million generating overall returns of 4.7x gross money multiple and a gross IRR of approximately 119% for Fund II. This represents an uplift of approximately £6.4 million (22%) over the carrying value in the NAV of the Company at 31 December 2017.
Verivox
In a separate transaction, Oakley has also agreed to sell its remaining 9.9% stake in Verivox to NuCom at an enterprise value of €530 million marking the end of a long and successful relationship with the business.
Oakley originally partnered with Verivox, the online price comparison website, back in 2009 and sold a majority stake to ProSiebenSat.1 in August 2015. The partnership with ProSiebenSat.1 has helped drive further growth through media investment, with revenues more than doubling since 2014. Fund II will receive gross proceeds of c.€53 million, crystallising returns of approximately 2.5x gross money multiple and approximately 43% gross IRR for Fund II. This represents an uplift of approximately £4.2 million (38%) over the carrying value in the NAV of the Company at 31 December 2017.
Christopher Wetherhill, Chairman of OCI, commented:
"The Investment Adviser, Oakley Capital, has once again generated significant value for the Company. OCI continues to enjoy the return of capital from Fund II and the realisation of these digital consumer assets demonstrates Oakley's deep knowledge of online business models and their ability to identify market leaders with substantial potential for growth."
Peter Dubens, Managing Partner of Oakley Capital Private Equity, commented:
"The success of our digital consumer strategy continues. In this case we identified the lead players in developing local markets and combined with strong management teams have enjoyed impressive organic growth. In addition, Oakley facilitated ambitious and transformative M&A in combining Parship with ElitePartner shortly after our investment. Alongside ProSiebenSat.1 we have supported Verivox in their continued diversification into new product verticals and increased investment in offline advertising to drive revenue growth.
We would like to thank Tim Schiffers, Henning Rönneberg and Marc Schachtel at PARSHIP ELITE Group and Chris Öhlund at Verivox along with their respective management teams, as well as the team at ProSiebenSat.1. We wish them all the very best as they take the businesses forward to the next phase of growth.
The digital consumer sector remains a focus for Oakley and with our investments in Facile.it and Casa & atHome, we continue to build on our expertise in the area."
This announcement contains inside information.
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For further information please contact:
Oakley Capital Investments Limited
+44 20 7766 6900
Steven Tredget, Investor Relations
Oakley Capital Private Equity
+44 20 7766 6900
Peter Dubens, Managing Partner
FTI Consulting LLP
+44 20 3727 1000
Edward Bridges / Stephanie Ellis
Liberum Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser & Broker)
+44 20 3100 2000
Steve Pearce / Henry Freeman / Jill Li
1 About Oakley Capital Investments Limited ("OCI")
Oakley Capital Investments Limited is a Bermudian company listed on AIM. OCI seeks to provide investors with long term capital appreciation through its investment in Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P., Oakley Capital Private Equity II, Oakley Capital Private Equity III and through co-investment opportunities.
LEI Number: 213800KW6MZUK12CQ815
2 About Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P. ("Fund I"), Oakley Capital Private Equity II ("Fund II") and Oakley Capital Private Equity III ("Fund III")
Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P. and its successor funds, Oakley Capital Private Equity II and Oakley Capital Private Equity III, are unlisted mid-market private equity funds with the aim of providing investors with significant long term capital appreciation. The investment strategy of the funds is to focus on buy-out opportunities in industries with the potential for growth, consolidation and performance improvement.
