TIDMFUTR
RNS Number : 9093K
Future PLC
10 May 2022
10 May 2022
Future plc
Acquisition of WhoWhatWear
Future plc (LSE: FUTR; "Future" or "the Group"), the global
platform for specialist media, today announces the acquisition of
WhoWhatWear, a leading digital-only women's lifestyle publisher
based in the US from Clique Brands Inc.
WhoWhatWear is a brand highly-regarded by both consumers and
advertisers with a strong social presence and diverse revenue
streams ranging from digital advertising to eCommerce. The
publisher has 12m online users (source: GoogleAnalytics) and 10m
social followers, with c.90% of its revenue derived from the
US.
The acquisition further strengthens Future's position in the
Women's Lifestyle vertical and gives the Group greater scale and
reach in North America to further monetise its audience. Combined
with the Group's existing business, Future will become the 6th
largest Beauty and Fashion publisher in the US (source: ComScore).
With Future's content already reaching 1 in 3 adults online in the
US, the transaction will accelerate Future's scale and revenue
opportunities in the US.
The Group's existing Women's Lifestyle brands will benefit from
WhoWhatWear's leading direct advertising sales capabilities, whilst
WhoWhatWear will benefit from Future's proprietary technology stack
and operating model to drive the platform effect.
The acquisition will be funded from the Group's existing debt
facilities. Following the acquisition, leverage is expected to
remain at under 2x EBITDA. Further financial details will be
provided at the Group's interim results on the 18 May 2022.
Zillah Byng-Thorne, Chief Executive, said: "We are delighted to
welcome the WhoWhatWear team to Future. We look forward to working
with them to further bolster our Women's Lifestyle scale and reach,
notably in the US, and are excited about leveraging its scale with
our proprietary technology and operating model."
Hillary Kerr, Co-founder and Chief Content Officer of
WhoWhatWear, said : "Since our launch in 2006, Who What Wear has
been and will continue to be a pioneer in every form of digital
content, from website and social media to live stream shopping,
podcasts, and more. We have created a sustainable brand and are
excited about the next stage in our growth trajectory as we build
our scale and presence as part of Future."
Completion of the acquisition is conditional upon, among other
things, expiration of the applicable waiting period under the U.S.
Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 ("HSR").
As previously announced, Future will publish its interim results
for the six months to 31 March 2022 on Wednesday 18 May 2022. A
video conference call for analysts and institutional investors will
be held at 9.00am on the day.
Enquiries
Future plc
Zillah Byng-Thorne, Chief Executive Officer +44 (0)1225 442244
Penny Ladkin-Brand, Chief Financial Officer
Marion Le Bot, Head of Investor Relations +44(0)7775 641509
Media
Headland +44 (0) 20 3805 4822
Stephen Malthouse, Rob Walker, Charlie Twigg
future@headlandconsultancy.com
Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) : 213800K2581YRLEXV353
About Future
Future is a global platform business for specialist media with
diversified revenue streams. Its content reaches 1 in 2 adults
online in the UK and 1 in 3 in the US.
The Media division is high-growth with complementary revenue
streams including eCommerce for products and services, events, and
digital advertising (including advertising within newsletters and
video). It operates in a number of sectors including technology,
games & entertainment, music, home & gardens, sports, TV
& film, real life, knowledge, wealth & savings, women's
lifestyle and B2B. Its brands include TechRadar, PC Gamer, Tom's
Guide, Android Central, Truly, The Week, Kiplinger, GoCompare,
Digital Camera World, Homebuilding & Renovating Show,
GamesRadar+, The Photography Show, Top Ten Reviews, Marie Claire,
Live Science, Guitar World, MusicRadar, Space.com, What to Watch,
Gardening Etc, Adventure and Tom's Hardware.
The Magazine division focuses on publishing specialist content,
with a combined global circulation of over 3 million delivered
through more than 131 magazines, and 735 bookazines published a
year. The portfolio spans technology, knowledge, games &
entertainment, sports, music, photography & design, homes &
garden, country lifestyle, TV & film and B2B. Its titles
include Country Life, Wallpaper*, Woman & Home, The Week,
Classic Rock, Decanter, Guitar Player, FourFourTwo, Homebuilding
& Renovating, Digital Camera, Guitarist, How It Works, Total
Film, What Hi-Fi? and Music Week.
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