Oakley Capital invests in Seedtag

RNS Number : 6367L

Oakley Capital Investments Limited

14 September 2021

 

14 September 2021

Oakley Capital Investments Limited

Oakley Capital Investments Limited¹ ("OCI") is pleased to announce that Oakley Capital Origin Fund² ("Origin Fund") has reached an agreement to acquire Seedtag, a leader in contextual advertising in EMEA and Latin America.

OCI's indirect contribution via the Origin Fund will be £7 million.

Note that the above figure only relates to OCI's share of Origin Fund's overall investment in Seedtag.

OCI's liquid resources available for future deployment (including this transaction) are estimated to be £152 million. 

Further details on the transaction can be found in the below announcement from Oakley Capital³.

Oakley Capital invests in contextual advertising leader Seedtag

●	Seedtag is a leader in the $4.5bn contextual advertising market which is expected to experience double-digit growth to 2025
●	Seedtag combines best-in-class technology and strong partnerships with leading brands and premium publishers
●	Funding will support expansion into the US and investments in technology and product

Oakley Capital is pleased to announce that Oakley Capital Origin Fund ("Origin Fund") is investing $35 million to acquire a minority stake in Seedtag, a leader in contextual advertising in EMEA and Latin America.

Founded in Madrid in 2014, Seedtag helps brands and agencies to deliver digital advertising that is directly relevant to the content that readers are consuming. Oakley's investment will support the Company's expansion into the US and fund further investment in its contextual AI technology at a time of profound change for the advertising industry.

Over the coming years, the increasing importance of consumer privacy and GDPR rules is expected to drive a shift away from third-party cookies, and advertisers will no longer be able to reach target audiences by leveraging user browsing history. As a result, brands and agencies are searching for reliable alternatives that help them to understand consumer interests while targeting priority audiences.

Seedtag's proprietary software does not rely on the use of cookies and so is best positioned to provide a deep understanding of consumer interests, build a contextual strategy that is based on data and gather a range of insights that can help brands to market themselves more effectively. The Company's machine learning engine was developed in-house and can analyse 10,000 articles a minute, providing human-like understanding of text and images.

Seedtag has expanded rapidly across Europe and Latin America thanks to its best-in-class technology, differentiated product offering, and strong relationships, with revenues forecast to increase 60% this year to $80m. The Company's clients include blue chip brands such as Universal and Adidas, as well as agencies such as WPP and Havas. Seedtag also partners with premium publishers including the FT, The Guardian, and Sky that reach a combined audience of over 500 million unique users.

The partnership developed out of a long-standing relationship between Oakley partners and Seedtag's founders, who were attracted to Oakley's deep media expertise and strong track record in growing digital businesses organically, via M&A and across international markets.

Origin's investment in Seedtag continues Oakley's successful track record in backing digital businesses in the B2B space. Earlier this year, Origin invested in ECOMMERCE ONE, a leading provider of ecommerce software in the DACH region. Other similar investments by Oakley include leading global web hosting software provider WebPros, and ERP software providers Ekon and PRIMAVERA (both combined to create Grupo Primavera).

Peter Dubens, Managing Partner of Oakley Capital, commented:  

"Oakley's investment in Seedtag demonstrates our continuing ability to source proprietary deals from across our network and in attractive sectors. An increasing focus on consumer privacy and brand safety is driving growth in contextual advertising, and we believe Seedtag is well-placed to harness this exciting opportunity thanks to a combination of best-in-class technology, strong commercial relationships and an impressive management team."

Albert Nieto, co-CEO of Seedtag, commented:

"Oakley's investment and expertise will support our strategy to develop Seedtag into a worldwide leader in contextual advertising. We look forward to offering US brands, agencies and publishers our contextual solutions as we expand into new markets."

Jorge Poyatos, co-CEO of Seedtag, commented:

"Oakley's deep expertise and strong track record in growth, technology and media make them the best partner to support the development and rollout of Seedtag's AI technology on a global scale. Together we are fully committed to offering best-in-class advertising solutions in a privacy-first world."

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For further information please contact:

Oakley Capital Limited

[phone]

Steven Tredget, Investor Relations

Greenbrook Communications Limited

[phone]

Alex Jones / Michael Russell

Liberum Capital Limited (Financial Adviser & Broker)

[phone]

Chris Clarke / Darren Vickers / Owen Matthews

Notes:

LEI Number: 213800KW6MZUK12CQ815

¹  About Oakley Capital Investments Limited ("OCI")

OCI is a  Specialist Fund Segment ("SFS")  traded investment vehicle that aims to provide shareholders with consistent long-term capital growth in excess of the FTSE All-Share Index by providing liquid access to private equity returns through investment in the Oakley Funds.

A video introduction to OCI is available at  https://oakleycapitalinvestments.com/videos/

The contents of the OCI website are not incorporated into, and do not form part of, this announcement.

² The Oakley Funds

Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P. and its successor funds, Oakley Capital Private Equity II, Oakley Capital Private Equity III, Oakley Capital IV and Oakley Capital Origin Fund are unlisted lower-mid to mid-market private equity funds that aim to provide 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.

³ Oakley Capital, the Investment Adviser

Founded in 2002, Oakley Capital Limited has demonstrated the repeated ability to source attractive growth assets at attractive prices. To do this it relies on its sector and regional expertise, its ability to tackle transaction complexity and its deal generating entrepreneur network.

Important information

Specialist Fund Segment securities are not admitted to the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority. Therefore, the Company has not been required to satisfy the eligibility criteria for admission to listing on the Official List and is not required to comply with the Financial Conduct Authority's Listing Rules.

The Specialist Fund Segment is intended for institutional, professional, professionally advised and knowledgeable investors who understand, or who have been advised of, the potential risk from investing in companies admitted to the Specialist Fund Segment.

This announcement may include "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements are statements regarding the Company's objectives, intentions, beliefs or current expectations with respect to, amongst other things, the Company's financial position, business strategy, results of operations, liquidity, prospects and growth. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future.  Accordingly the Company's actual future financial results, operational performance and achievements may differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. Given these uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not to place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as at the date of this announcement. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect actual results or any change in the Company's expectations with regard to them or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based unless required to do so by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the Listing Rules or Prospectus Regulation Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority or other applicable laws, regulations or rules.

 

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