Admission to trading on AIM

RNS Number : 9174M

CentralNic Group PLC

02 September 2013

 



CENTRALNIC GROUP PLC

("CentralNic" or "the Company")

Admission to trading on AIM

CentralNic Group PLC, an internet registry service provider which derives revenues from the sale of internet domain names (such as avon.uk.com), is pleased to announce that dealings in its shares on AIM will commence today following a placing and vendor placing at 55p per share, raising a total of £7 million before expenses. Zeus Capital Limited is the Nominated Adviser and Broker to the Company.

Placing details

Trading will commence on AIM on 02 September 2013 (ticker symbol AIM: CNIC). The Company's admission document can be found at www.centralnic.com.

Placing price	55p
Number of new ordinary shares placed	9,090,909
Number of vendor ordinary shares placed	3,636,364
Number of ordinary shares in issue following admission	59,090,909
Gross proceeds of the placing for the Group	£5,000,000
Gross proceeds of vendor placing for Shareholders	£2,000,000
Proportion of the Enlarged Share Capital being placed	15.38%
Market capitalisation at the placing price on admission	£32,500,000

Overview of CentralNic

§ CentralNic is a registry service provider which supports top level domains ("TLDs" such as .la) and second level domains ("SLDs" such as .uk.com), distributing and powering domain names that end with those TLDs and SLDs

§ CentralNic uses its in-house developed IT platform to provide the domain name system ("DNS") infrastructure and distribute its own portfolio of domain names and for third party owners of TLDs and SLDs (also known as "registry operators")

§ CentralNic distributes to a global network or "registrars" (retailers such as GoDaddy and Network Solutions), which sell these to end users

§ The Company owns a portfolio of 24 premium domain names including .uk.com and .eu.com, which enables it to market subdomains such as avon.uk.com and bdo.uk.com to customers through its distribution network

§ CentralNic currently has contracts to provide distribution services for seven other domains including two country codes, .LA and .PW

§ CentralNic has also been awarded the exclusive distribution contracts for 60 new TLDs, 25 of which are already confirmed to launch through CentralNic, including:

.wiki, the TLD for one of the world's best known website types;

.college, for education institutions globally;

.rest, the global TLD for restaurants;

.contact, the TLD for contact forms and applications;

.reit, for real estate investment trusts;

.xyz, the most generic TLD, suitable for any use

.bar, the TLD for bars

Market Opportunity

Following recent industry developments and regulatory changes, CentralNic expects, by virtue of its contracts and existing technical and distribution infrastructure, to benefit from a major expansion in the number of generic top level domains ("gTLDs") such as .wiki and .college, which are expected to start operating from the end of 2013.

The Directors believe that the funds raised for the Group by the placing of shares will allow the Group to enhance its global distribution network, acquire interests in new gTLDs, expand its own retail business and obtain contracts from governments to operate their country code TLDs ("ccTLDs"), especially in developing markets.

The existing business has already proven to be profitable and cash-generative, as its characteristics include:

§ Revenues are received in advance, often for multiple years;

§ Most of the top 50 registrars (by domains under management) maintain a credit balance with CentralNic, which is automatically topped up;

§ The actual domain name inventory is created automatically at the time of purchase, so there are no cost of sales or inventory holding costs; and

§ To retain their domain names, website owners are required to pay periodic renewal fees, creating an annuity income for CentralNic.

Strategy

The Company has a four pronged expansion strategy:

(i)         Increasing volumes through provision of core registry services;

(ii)        Investment in new gTLDs;

(iii)       Investment in Registrar business; and,

(iv)       Developing Markets

CentralNic has also identified opportunities to add to its domain portfolio by winning government contracts to operate country codes for developing nations. These ccTLDs can be distributed globally via CentralNic's retail network, as well as serving the populations of the domestic emerging markets where internet penetration is just starting to explode.

Commenting on the Company's admission to AIM, Ben Crawford, CEO of CentralNic, said:

"The Board is delighted with the Company's successful admission to AIM. The response from investors to the IPO has reaffirmed our belief that CentralNic is a very attractive investment proposition, and the Company now has the funds in place to take advantage of additional opportunities to win new TLD contracts. We look forward to the next stage of growth and the launch of the new portfolio of TLDs which CentralNic will be servicing."

-Ends-

For further information, please contact:

CentralNic Group Plc                         Ben Crawford, Chief executive officer	[phone]
Zeus Capital                            Ross Andrews, Nick Cowles (Corporate Finance) John Goold (Institutional Sales)	[phone] [phone]
Bell Pottinger                                   David Rydell, Charles Goodwin, Guy Scarborough	[phone]

About CentralNic Limited

CentralNic Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, is a registry service provider, which derives revenues from the sale of internet domain names. CentralNic Limited uses its in-house developed IT platform to distribute its own portfolio of domain names to a global network of "registrars" (retailers such as Network Solutions LLC), which sell these to end users. It also uses this platform to sell domain names owned by third parties, normally on a revenue share basis.

Following recent industry developments and regulatory changes, CentralNic Limited expects, by virtue of its contracts and technical infrastructure, to benefit from a major expansion in the number of generic top level domains ("gTLDs") such as .wiki and .college, expected to operate from the end of 2013.

The Directors believe that the funds raised for the Group by the Placing will allow the Group to enhance its global distribution network, acquire interests in new gTLDs, expand its own retail business and obtain contracts from governments to operate their country code TLDs ("ccTLDs"), especially in developing markets.

New Top Level Domains

In early 2012, after seven years of policy making, the Governing Body ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) triggered the biggest change to the internet since its inception, by opening the application process for a new round of gTLDs, primarily to introduce more competition to the marketplace and expand customer choice. This change will also enable brands, corporations and governments to run their own domains.

Examples of gTLDs that have been applied for include .law and .wiki, as well as brand-specific TLDs such as .theguardian.

CentralNic has won contracts to act as Registry Service Provider for 60 gTLD applications, with clients including global 1000 companies, global leaders in the media and entertainment industry, and entrepreneurs in the US, Latin America, Europe and Asia.

 

END

 

 

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