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Bango to speed up data monetisation drive with acquisition of Audiens

Last updated: 13:05 24 Jan 2018 GMT, First published: 09:09 24 Jan 2018 GMT

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Bango PLC (LON:BGO) has raised £5mln by placing shares at 180p a share and is to acquire Audiens, the data management subsidiary of Digitouch.

The mobile payments company said the placing and the acquisition are intended to enable Bango to capitalise on demand for the valuable data it generates through its existing operations and to enable the Bango platform to provide additional value to the rapidly-growing mobile advertising market.

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Bango is paying €1.48mln (£1.3mln) in cash upfront for Audiens, plus a further €630,000 (£550,000), which will be paid when the acquisition completes, for the provision of shared services for up to 12 months; Digitouch will also receive 521,803 Bango shares – valued in aggregate at £939,245 based on the share placing price – plus 738,399 warrants that can be converted in the next 10 years at the 180p placing price.

Co-founder of Audiens, Marko Mars, will retain a 1.55% stake in the company.

"The acquisition of Audiens accelerates the development of the Bango data monetisation business and opens the door to exciting new additional revenue streams from the Bango platform,” asserted Ray Anderson, the chief executive officer of Bango.

“Mobile operators are eager to find new ways to improve their monetisation of data - in ways that respect user privacy and comply with regulations. Merchants want to grow sales faster and reach new customers more efficiently. The combined platform will provide customer insights to merchants, advertising partners, and mobile network operators, to drive consumer engagement and revenue,” he added.

Anderson said the Audiens team has developed a product that is adept at making money from data, and it is proving increasingly popular with customers.

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Audiens’ technology and customers will enable Bango’s own customers to grow faster than originally planned, Anderson believes.

“Bango Boost already monetises data by delivering significant sales growth for merchants. With Audiens technology, Bango can now capitalise on the demand for data to enable more effective marketing, bringing additional revenue and scale to Bango, as mobile cements its place at the centre of global commerce," Anderson said.

In a later, separate statement, Bango also said that both Anderson and chief marketing officer, Anil Malhotra confirmed their subscription to acquire an additional 5,556 new ordinary shares each at a price of 180p per share to raise a further £20,000 for the company.

The group said Anderson now holds a total of around 6.572mln ordinary shares in Bango, representing 9.4% of the issued share capital, and Malhotra now holds a total of around 3.982 Bango ordinary shares, representing a 5.7% stake. 

Shares in Bango headed south towards the placing price of 180p, as is the norm in these situations; with the stock down around 10% at 195p in early afternoon trading.

 -- Adds second Bango statement, updates share price --

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on 23/1/24