28 January
2025
Digitalbox plc
("Digitalbox" or the "Company")
Conclusion of the Strategic Review & End of
Offer Period
Notice of Results and Investor
Presentation
The Board
of Digitalbox plc
(AIM: DBOX), the mobile-first digital media business, which owns
leading websites, including Entertainment Daily, The Daily Mash,
The Tab, Emmerdale Insider and Royal Insider, is pleased to announce that it has
concluded its strategic review announced on 4th October 2024
("Strategic Review").
Given the
positive trading position of the Company and the expansion of the
Company's portfolio over the past 12 months, the Board felt it was
an appropriate time to deliver a Strategic Review, which may have
included a possible sale of the Company, with the objective of
maximising shareholder value. On 28 November 2024 the Company
announced that the Strategic Review had progressed to a 'root and
branch' appraisal of the existing business and the opportunities
within it.
The Board
has subsequently concluded that seeking to crystallise value
through a sale of the Company at this time is not in the best
interests of all stakeholders and the Board will continue to focus
on maximising value through the expansion of its current
model.
The key
drivers of the Board's decision are:
· After a period of significant disruption
for news media brands in general, the Company's underlying
portfolio including Entertainment Daily, The Daily Mash, The Tab,
The Poke and TV Guide continues to trade well alongside a positive
outlook fueled by forecast growth within the digital ad
market;
· The Company has diversified its revenue
sources and further expanded its portfolio over the past year,
which it expects will continue to contribute to greater operational
trading resilience in the future;
· The conclusion of the Strategic Review
does not effect the Company's established process of exploring
organic and acquisitive opportunities in the media
market that take it beyond its current operating model;
· The strengths contained within the current
business enable a faster and more assured route to growth than a
significant pivot of the business to an alternative unexplored
model at this stage of the Company's development;
· The Company will continue to develop its
business through launching new products and remains alive to
acquisition and merger opportunities that can maximise shareholder
value.
The Board's
decision is consistent with that of certain third party independent
corporate advisers consulted during the Strategic Review and was
led by Link Stone Advisory and the Company's independent
Non-Executive Directors.
Digitalbox
expects revenue for the period ending 31 December 2024 to be
approximately £3.6m further to the announcement on 10 December
2024.
The Company
is not in discussions with any party in relation to a sale and is
not in receipt of any approaches. Consequently, as the Strategic
Review has now concluded, the Company is no longer in an "offer
period" as defined by the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the
"Takeover Code") and the disclosure requirements pursuant to Rule 8
of the Takeover Code are no longer applicable from the time of this
announcement.
Marcus
Rich, Chairman, commented; "The completion of our Strategic Review marks an
important milestone for Digitalbox plc. Over the past year, we have
made significant progress in expanding and diversifying our
portfolio, demonstrating the strength and resilience of our
mobile-first digital media business. This review has provided a
comprehensive assessment of our opportunities and confirmed the
Board's belief in the potential of our current operating
model.
"The
decision not to pursue a sale of the Company at this time reflects
our confidence in the underlying performance of our business and
the considerable opportunities we believe lie ahead. Our brands,
including Entertainment Daily, The Daily Mash, The Tab, The Poke,
TV Guide, Emmerdale Insider and Royal Insider, continue to deliver
strong trading results amongst improving industry
conditions.
"By
leveraging the solid foundation we've built, we believe the Company
is well-positioned to accelerate growth through both organic
initiatives and strategic acquisitions. The Board remains committed
to exploring all avenues that will drive sustainable value creation
for our shareholders.
"As we move
forward, we will continue to focus on innovation and expansion
while maintaining our agility in responding to new market
opportunities. I would like to thank our shareholders,
stakeholders, and team for their continued support as we embark on
this next phase of development."
Notice of
Results and Investor Presentation
The Company
will announce its full year results for the 12 months ending 31
December 2024 ("FY24") on 25 March 2025.
James
Carter, CEO, Richard Spilsbury, CFO and Jim Douglas, COO, will
provide a live investor presentation relating to the Company's
results for FY24 via the Investor Meet Company platform on 25 March
2025 at 10:00am.
The
presentation is open to all existing and potential shareholders.
Questions can be submitted pre-event via your Investor Meet Company
dashboard up until 9am the day before the meeting or at any time
during the live presentation.
Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company
for free and add to meet DIGITALBOX
PLC via:
https://www.investormeetcompany.com/digitalbox-plc/register-investor
Investors who already
follow DIGITALBOX
PLC on the Investor Meet
Company platform will automatically be invited.
Market
abuse regulation: This announcement contains inside information
for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 as it
forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"). The person responsible for arranging
for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is
James Carter, Chief Executive Officer.
Enquiries:
|
Digitalbox
|
c/o SEC
Newgate
|
|
James
Carter, CEO
|
|
|
Panmure Liberum (Nominated Adviser &
Joint Broker)
|
Tel: 020
7886 2500
|
|
James
Sinclair-Ford
|
|
|
Rupert
Dearden
Dougie
McLeod
Rauf
Munir
|
|
|
Leander Capital
Partners (Joint Broker)
|
Tel: 07786150915
|
|
Alex
Davies
|
|
|
SEC Newgate (Financial
PR)
|
Tel: 07540
106 366
|
|
Robin Tozer
/ Molly Gretton
|
digitalbox@secnewgate.co.uk
|
About Digitalbox plc
Based in
the UK, Digitalbox is a 'pure-play' digital media business with the
aim of profitable publishing at scale on mobile
platforms.
Digitalbox
operates the following trading brands, "Entertainment Daily", "The
Daily Mash", "The Tab", "The Poke", "TV Guide" and "Emmerdale
Insider". Entertainment Daily produces and publishes online UK
entertainment news covering TV, showbiz and celebrity news. The
Daily Mash produces and publishes satirical news content. The Tab
is the UK's biggest youth culture site fuelled by students. The
Poke expertly curates and editorialises the funniest content from
around the web and social media. TV Guide serves as the definitive
guide to what is on TV. Emmerdale Insider charts the twists and
turns of this ever present British soap staple. Royal Insider
provides the latest information for royal family fans the world
over.
Digitalbox
primarily generates revenue from the sale of advertising in and
around the content it publishes. The Group's optimisation for
mobile enables it to achieve revenues per session significantly
ahead of market norms for publishers on mobile.
