APN News and Media sells e-commerce site Brands Exclusive
APN News and Media has agreed to sell e-commerce business BrandsExclusive for $2m in a deal with the Aussie Commerce Group which owns group buying site Cudo.
The media company had invested $36m in an 82 per cent equity stake in the company in June 2012, and when the deal is completed tomorrow they will get $2m in cash, subject to working capital and other completion adjustments, as well as eight per cent of the equity in Aussie Commerce.
Aussie Commerce achieved sales of $18m in the six months to December 31 2012, which increased to $63m for the six months ending December 31 last year.
The move follows APN divesting its last 50 per cent stake in APN Outdoor last month, as it looks to pay down debt after a management overhaul last year.
The site co-founded by Daniel Jarosch and Rolf Weber launched in 2008, and offers consumers discounted goods from well-known brands.
It is one of seven online shopping brands operated by Aussie Commerce including The Home, Luxury Escapes and Cudo. It employs over 125 people and has more than three million members.
Michael Miller, CEO of APN, said: “Following the sale of APN Outdoor in January, the divestment of BrandsExclusive is the next important step in our ongoing strategy to consolidate the structure of APN, allowing for greater management focus on our core media and digital businesses.
“The Aussie Commerce management team has a strong track record in integrating and growing online businesses. Aussie Commerce also provides the necessary scale for BrandsExclusive to prosper in the increasingly competitive online retail environment.
“This deal is in the best interests of both BrandsExclusive and APN shareholders.”
Adam Schwab, co-founder and managing director of Aussie Commerce said: “We are excited to join forces with BrandsExclusive, which has been a key player in the Australian e-commerce industry since 2009. brandsExclusive’s premium fashion offering is highly complementary to our existing businesses and is a welcome addition to the Aussie Commerce portfolio.”
Megan Reynolds
I never knew APN still existed?
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So basically APN are reverting back to newspapers. Erm, that clears that up then…
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“allowing for greater management focus on our core media and digital businesses, Um Ok, so Outdoor and Brands exclusive are not media and digital?
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Not true macca – adshel, ARN, I Heart Radio etc are not newspapers. It obviously got out of APN Outdoor as they must be more bullish around small/med. format outdoor not large format.
Seems to me the company knows now where it’s heading – it’s getting the best scrap value it could for BE (and will do the same with CC Media/inc within 12 months) as it was a bad investment getting worse – and instead of flushing capital down the toilet propping up legacy digital baggage it can focus on the areas providing real profit growth.
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Brands Exclusive is a black-hole, APN did well to offload it for $2m… I’ve been getting their emails every day for a few years, they no longer offer any brands, their customer service is attrocious, they ALWAYS get my order wrong (I once received a luis vuitton handbag when I ordered bed linen – the wife wasn’t disappointed with that stuff-up!)… and if i google the names of the founders, I get nothing on any successful start-ups prior to Brands, so how on earth they managed to convince APN that they know how to run a successful online retail business worth $30 million… will remain a mystery.
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