Acquisition of 51% of Verivox

RNS Number : 6500D

Oakley Capital Investments Limited

07 December 2009

 



7 December 2009

Oakley Capital Investments Limited

Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P. acquisition of 51% of Verivox Holdings Limited

Oakley Capital Investments Limited (AIM: OCL, "OCIL", "the Company"), the AIM-listed company established to provide investors with access to the investment strategy being pursued by Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P. ("OCPE"), today announces that OCPE, through VVX (Bermuda) Limited ("VVX"), a newly incorporated wholly owned subsidiary, has acquired 51% of Verivox Holdings Limited ("Verivox"), one of Europe's largest independent online consumer price comparison businesses for energy and telecom services. 

VVX acquired 49% of Verivox from Independent News and Media PLC ("INM") for €16 million plus €1 million additional consideration payable in 2010 conditional on Verivox achieving targeted EBITDA for 2009. VVX acquired a further 2% of Verivox from its founding managers.  For the year ending 31 December 2009, management expect Verivox's EBITDA to exceed €10 million. Verivox was acquired with no material net debt after taking into account the repayment of a €2.3 million (gross) shareholder loan to INM from available cash resources.

At www.verivox.de, consumers can compare energy and telecom tariffs and switch to their best-suited supplier. In November 2009, there were over five million visits to Verivox's website, making it a valuable partner for suppliers, media sources and customers alike.  Verivox has earned commission on over 1.2 million electricity contracts, more than 185,000 gas contracts and over 200,000 telecommunication contracts in Germany.  

Peter Dubens, Director, commented; 

"We look forward to supporting management's growth plan for Verivox in this exciting opportunity for OCPE and the management.  The German energy price comparison market offers significant growth opportunities and we believe that Verivox, the leader in that market, is well placed to take advantage of these. This acquisition continues OCPE's strategy of supporting talented management in companies with the scope for performance improvement and in industries with strong underlying growth drivers."

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For further information please contact: 

Oakley Capital Investments Limited	[phone]
Peter Dubens (Director)
Financial Dynamics	[phone]
Juliet Clarke / Erwan Gouraud
Liberum Capital Limited (Financial Adviser & Broker)	[phone]
Steven Tredget / Steve Pearce

 

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