Sale of Adverline to Mediapost Holding, a subsidiary of Groupe La Poste

goetzpartners Corporate Finance advises the founders of Adverline in the sale of their controlling stake in the company to Mediapost Holding.

The founders of Adverline have today completed the sale of their stakes in Adverline to Mediapost Holding, the holding company of the relationship marketing businesses of Groupe La Poste. goetzpartners Corporate Finance acted as exclusive financial advisor to the founders of Adverline, Loïc Audren de Kerdrel and Charles Costa de Beauregard.

Oriane Durvye, Director at goetzpartners Corporate Finance in Paris, explains: "In the summer of 2011, the founders of Adverline appointed goetzpartners to review strategic options for Adverline. Given the diversity of businesses operated by Adverline (online display advertising, micropayment, website publishing and e-mailing) and the specific dynamics of each of these markets, two options were considered: either the sale of the founders’ shares to a strategic player able to accompany the development of Adverline as a whole, or the sale of certain businesses of the group with the aim of refocusing on a single trade. goetzpartners thus held a competitive auction process regarding several disposal  perimeters, from which the offer of Mediapost Holding emerged as the most attractive."

The price paid by Mediapost Holding amounts to € 8.59 per Adverline share, which represents a premium of 42% over the last closing price before the suspension of trading. The entire share capital of Adverline is thus valued at 49.4 million euros on a fully-diluted basis, which results in an enterprise value of 55.7 million euros representing 11.7x the operating income of 2011.

In accordance with regulations, the purchaser shall file with the AMF (Autorité des Marchés Financiers) a simplified offer for the remaining shares of Adverline in late summer 2012. This will be followed by a squeeze-out procedure if the conditions are met.