CentralNic raises £30m to fund Codewise acquisitions

Internet domain name company CentralNic has raised £30m through its recent bookbuild, it announced on Friday, to fund the acquisition of the Codewise businesses.

The AIM-traded firm said the finds were raised via the private placing of 40 million shares, representing 20.8% of its existing issued share capital.

It said the shares were placed at a price of 75p each, representing a discount of about 6% to their last closing price, with the placing “significantly” oversubscribed.

The board said the net proceeds would be used to fund the consideration and fees for the acquisition of the Zeropark and Voluum businesses, including all material trade and assets, which together are the ‘Codewise’ businesses, from three Poland-based entities.

It said the total consideration for the acquisition was $36m (£28.06m), payable in cash on completion.

“The acquisition will expand CentralNic's monetisation segment following on from the acquisition of Team Internet in December 2019, and will both build market share in this segment and expand CentralNic's monetisation suppliers and customers,” the board said in its statement.

“It will also allow the company to provide sophisticated online marketing tools to its customers who procure domain names and other web services from CentralNic's existing businesses.”

The firm said the acquisition was expected to be “significantly” earnings enhancing immediately on completion.

“The Zeropark and Voluum businesses together serve over 6,000 customers across 190 countries.

“In the 12 months to 30 June, on an unaudited basis, Codewise generated revenue of $60.3m and pro forma adjusted EBITDA of $7.4m.”

At 1159 BST, shares in CentralNic were up 6.58% at 85p.