Euronext Acquires Majority Stake in iBabs

ACQUISITION OF AN INNOVATIVE BOARD PORTAL PLATFORM TO COMPLEMENT THE EURONEXT CORPORATE SERVICES OFFERING

 

Euronext (Paris:ENX) (Amsterdam:ENX) (Brussels:ENX) announces today the closing of the acquisition of a 60% stake in iBabs, a leading Dutch provider of dematerialised board portal solutions for corporates and public organisations , for a consideration of €30.1 million.

iBabs, based in the Netherlands, provides an efficient and secured board portal solution to close to 1,000 companies and public organisations with more than 77,000 users as of June 2017. The company reported a sustained revenue CAGR of 36% since 2014, generating €5.9 million revenue in 2016 and an EBITDA of €3.8 million (64% margin). In H1 2017, revenues grew by 29% compared to H1 2016.

The acquisition of iBabs marks the achievement of a significant milestone in the deployment of the Agility for Growth strategy announced in May 2016, particularly in the development of Euronext’s Corporate Services franchise. This transaction strengthens Euronext’s value proposition to listed companies while targeting a broader audience of private companies and public institutions. iBabs’ solutions will support governance, workflow management, efficient decision making processes and secured collaboration at board level and more generally across management teams. These solutions will be integrated into the Euronext Corporate Services offering, alongside existing services such as Euronext’s next-generation webcasting platform, investor relationship management tool and tailor-made advisory services. The founding management team of iBabs will remain in place, continuing to grow the business while benefiting from Euronext’s reach and expertise with listed companies.

The use of board portal services is expected to grow significantly over the coming years. With the acquisition of iBabs, Euronext will further accelerate its growth ambition profile while at the same time addressing the growing need of organisations for more streamlined and secure governance.

Fully consistent with Euronext’s disciplined M&A policy, this transaction will be immediately accretive to the earnings with a return on capital employed above Euronext’s cost of capital in the first full year, before taking into account any synergies. The transaction is funded through existing debt facilities.

Stéphane Boujnah, Chairman and CEO of the Managing Board of Euronext NV, commented: “The acquisition of iBabs will enable organisations, both listed and non-listed, private and public, to run more efficiently thanks to this fully digital solution. This acquisition reinforces our commitment to making corporates’ life easier, safer and more productive. It also demonstrates our commitment to deliver growth and profitability to shareholders through a strict M&A discipline. The entrepreneurial spirit and commercial drive of the iBabs team coupled with the concrete response its services provide to day-to-day corporate needs, make us extremely confident in our ability to further roll out the iBabs offering throughout all Euronext markets.”

“We are very pleased to join Euronext today”, Paul Neefjes, CEO of iBabs, added. “We want to make meetings and governance more efficient for the largest number of organisations, and together with Euronext we aim to develop a true pan-European business. Having become the leading player for board portal solutions in the Netherlands, Euronext’s support will enable us to broaden and accelerate our development.”

About iBabs

iBabs is one of the leading board portal software providers in the Netherlands, with close to 1,000 client companies and government entities, and more than 77,000 end users. The company provides full-fledged software allowing users to conduct meetings in an efficient and timely manner. The iBabs solution was launched in 2011, and has since seen a very rapid growth in its user base (http://www.ibabs.eu/).

About Euronext

Euronext is the leading pan-European exchange in the Eurozone with nearly 1,300 listed issuers worth close to €3.5 trillion in market capitalisation as of end March 2017, an unmatched blue chip franchise consisting of 25 issuers in the EURO STOXX 50® benchmark and a strong diverse domestic and international client base.

Euronext operates regulated and transparent equity and derivatives markets. Its total product offering includes Equities, Exchange Traded Funds, Warrants & Certificates, Bonds, Derivatives, Commodities and Indices. Euronext also leverages its expertise in running markets by providing technology and managed services to third parties. In addition to its main regulated market, Euronext also operates Euronext Growth^TM (formerly known as Alternext) and Euronext Access^TM (formerly known as the Free Market). For the latest news, find us on Twitter (twitter.com/euronext) and LinkedIn (linkedin.com/euronext).

Disclaimer

This press release is for information purposes only and is not a recommendation to engage in investment activities. This press release is provided “as is” without representation or warranty of any kind. While all reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the content, Euronext does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness. Euronext will not be held liable for any loss or damages of any nature ensuing from using, trusting or acting on information provided. No information set out or referred to in this publication may be regarded as creating any right or obligation. The creation of rights and obligations in respect of financial products that are traded on the exchanges operated by Euronext’s subsidiaries shall depend solely on the applicable rules of the market operator. All proprietary rights and interest in or connected with this publication shall vest in Euronext.

This press release speaks only as of this date. Euronext refers to Euronext N.V. and its affiliates. Information regarding trademarks and intellectual property rights of Euronext is located at www.euronext.com/terms-use.

© 2017, Euronext N.V. - All rights reserved.

 

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Euronext
Pauline Bucaille (Europe)
+33 1 70 48 24 41
pbucaille@euronext.com
or
Alice Jentink (Amsterdam)
+31 20 721 4488
ajentink@euronext.com
or
Pascal Brabant (Brussels)
+32 2 620 15 50
pbrabant@euronext.com
or
Sandra Machado (Lisbon)
+351 210 600 614
smachado@euronext.com
or
Aïchata Tandjigora (Paris)
+33 1 70 48 24 43
atandjigora@euronext.com