Acquisition of Software Assets

RNS Number : 0819J

Pebble Group PLC (The)

18 December 2020

 

18 December 2020

The information communicated within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

THE PEBBLE GROUP PLC

("The Pebble Group," the "Company" or the "Group")

AIM: PEBB

ACQUISITION OF SOFTWARE ASSETS

To accelerate the expansion of Facilisgroup's services

The Pebble Group, a leading provider of technology, services and products to the global promotional products industry, is pleased to announce that its Facilisgroup business has acquired software assets from CoreXpand, a US based software developer, for a total cash consideration of $5.3 million (the "Acquisition").

Acquisition rationale

●	The Acquisition will expand the services offered by Facilisgroup through its ecommerce platform via another robust technology solution, allowing for the easy development of e-stores ranging from online pop-up shops through to complex inventoried online stores for its existing and potential Partners (customers)
●	The expanded suite of technologies further enhance Facilisgroup's compelling credentials, amongst entrepreneurial and growing businesses in the North American promotional products industry, as a leading provider of ecommerce platform services which help businesses manage and grow their operations effectively
●	The Board believes that the addition of such technology has the potential to significantly expand the subscription services utilised by existing Partners plus support the attraction of new Partners to the Facilisgroup platform

The software assets acquired comprise two separate products. The first, full intellectual property rights on software which supports online pop-up shops. The second, an in-perpetuity licence with exclusivity in the global promotional products industry, for software which supports the customer-facing element of complex inventory online stores. Together, these products accelerate the delivery to market a strong Facilisgroup e-stores solution.

Expected impact of the Acquisition

The cash consideration of $5.3m is being funded through cash flow generated by Facilisgroup, with $1.8m of this deferred and payable over the next 18 months. In addition to the consideration, up to $2.0m of in-house development time is expected to be capitalised in 2021 evolving the acquired assets, expanding their capabilities and building the back-office element of the complex inventory online stores.

The resultant product offering is expected to begin generating revenue by the end of H1 21 with a full suite of product capabilities expected to be in market in H1 22.

Facilisgroup's vision is to become the ecommerce leader in the promotional products industry. The growth strategy has three clear points of focus:

1.	responsibly increasing Partner numbers, ensuring Partner quality remains high and the community relationships we create with our Partners and suppliers remain strong;
2.	developing additional income streams that augment the benefits available to our existing Partners and suppliers; and
3.	developing our technology and strong industry relationships to offer an adaptation of our existing services to industry entrepreneurs in the early stage of their business development.

The Acquisition is an important step in adding value to the business through points one and two above. Our plans are advancing on point three.  We look forward to updating investors on the progress being made against these three strategies in the Group's Final Results for the year ending 31 December 2020 ("FY 20"), which we expect to announce towards the end of Q1 21.

Trading update

The Board is pleased to report that the Group continues to trade positively and in line with current market expectations for FY 20, as announced on 26 November 2020.

Enquiries

The Pebble Group plc Chris Lee, Chief Executive Officer Claire Thomson, Chief Financial Officer	[phone]
Grant Thornton UK LLP (Nominated Adviser) Samantha Harrison / Harrison Clarke	[phone]
Berenberg (Corporate Broker) Chris Bowman / Simon Cardron / Arnav Kapoor	[phone]
Belvedere Communications (Financial PR) Cat Valentine Keeley Clarke Llew Angus	[e-mail] [phone] [phone] [phone]

About The Pebble Group plc - www.thepebblegroup.com  

The Pebble Group is a provider of technology, services and products to the global promotional products industry, comprising two differentiated businesses, focused on specific areas of the promotional products market:

Brand Addition - www.brandaddition.com  

The Group's promotional product merchandise business, Brand Addition, is a leading provider of promotional products to global brands. Brand Addition utilises its global network to source and deliver complex and creative promotional product solutions to support the marketing efforts of its multi-national clients, who operate in sectors which include health & beauty, fast moving consumer goods, transport, technology, banking & finance and charity. Brand Addition's clients primarily comprise major global brands under contract.

Facilisgroup - www.facilisgroup.com

The Group's SaaS business, Facilisgroup, provides subscription-based services to SME promotional product distributors (Partners) in the United States and Canada. Facilisgroup's suite of services includes business intelligence software, buying power and community events. Through its @ease proprietary software, Facilisgroup offers a SaaS technology platform that enables its network of Partners to improve order management, CRM and sales analysis and reporting. Facilisgroup also provides its Partners with access on favourable terms to a selected group of preferred suppliers, by consolidating the purchasing power of its Partners. This attracts rebates from suppliers, who in turn benefit from efficient access to a network of high-quality distributors.

 

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