Bregal explores growth options for MEDIA Central

The process kicked off in late May, four sources familiar with the situation said, with two adding that information memoranda have been distributed, and initial offers are set to be collected later this month.

MEDIA Central is being marketed off around EUR 25m-30m EBITDA, three of the sources said, with one noting that it posts around EUR 400m in sales. It is on track to generate more than EUR 30m EBITDA this year given the current trading, another said.

The vendors are approaching both financial and strategic investors, this source continued, adding that there are a number of strategic players who would benefit from the "massive" synergistic potential here.

The structure of the transaction is flexible at present and could range from a minority to a majority stake, the same source said. Other possible outcomes of the process could include refinancing MEDIA Central or entering it into a strategic partnership for further growth, this source added.

Bregal acquired MEDIA Central in 2019 in a primary deal for an undisclosed sum, according to Mergermarket data.

Under Bregal's ownership, the company acquired German digital trade-marketing group Offerista to move into the digital marketing space, one of the sources said. MEDIA Central is now both channel- and media-agnostic, with digital marketing accounting for around 50% of its business, the source added.

MEDIA Central also recently completed a second acquisition in the field of data analytics to further expand its service offerings, the same source continued. In addition to distributing print mailings, MEDIA Central also advises retailers on where to spend marketing budgets in light of the ongoing shift to digital, the source added.

The company is currently the only 360-degree "drive-to-store" marketing provider with a data analytics platform in Germany, and there is further scope to scale up to "conquer" Europe, including through add-on M&As, as the space lacks a trans-European player, the source added. MEDIA Central has posted around 15% CAGR for the past 20 years and has never had a down year, growing even through the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the source said.

Still, growth in its core market for unaddressed household advertising might be limited as the space is already well covered, another source said.

Founded in 1997, MEDIA Central is the "market leader" in unaddressed household advertising and manages more than 15bn brochures annually, while Offerista is Europe's largest network for digital trade marketing, according to MEDIA Central's website. It has nearly 500 employees in six countries and customers from all industries in 24 countries.

Bregal and Houlihan Lokey declined to comment. MEDIA Central did not respond to requests for comment.

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• Topics
• Exits
• DACH
• Media
• Mergermarket
• Houlihan Lokey
• Bregal Capital