Sources inform “Globes” that Crossrider, controlled by Teddy Sagi, will tomorrow announce plans for an IPO on London’s AIM Stock Exchange at a company value of $250 million, after money. Crossrider plans to raise $75 million (no offer for sale is planned at the moment). The Shore Capital investment bank will lead the offering. The company is expected to start its roadshow next week, and become a public company by mid-September.
Crossrider will probably have one of the shortest times on record from its founding to its IPO, and Sagi is probably one of the reasons why. Only 20 months after being founded by CEO Koby Menachemi and CTO Shmueli Achdut in 2011, Sagi acquired the company for $37 million. This means that Sagi stands to make quintuple his investment (before money) in the company. Even when the fact that Crossrider made two acquisitions (Israeli companies Ajillion and Definiti Media) for $15-20 million in May this year, after Sagi’s acquisition is taken into account, Crossrider will be offered at three times the investment in it, still not bad for a start-up that did not exist until the spring of 2011.
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When it was founded, Crossrider focused on creating a platform for developing Internet browser applications. Since its acquisition by Sagi, however, and especially after completing the two above-mentioned acquisitions, Crossrider has specialized in optimization of Internet surfing traffic, primarily as a tool for analyzing the digital advertising market, which has made giant strides.
Menachemi told “Globes, ” “The company has been growing since it was founded. I believe that the IPO will ensure continued growth in the coming years, and enable us to be a leading global player. We plan to use the money raised in order to continue investing in the developing mobile segment, and to enter the Asian market. Our cooperation with the Teddy Sagi group is very successful, and has proved itself beyond our expectations.”
Menachemi knows what he is talking about. The company disclosed its financial results for the first time, showing $15 million in revenue in 2013 (before the acquisitions of the Israeli companies) and $29 million in the first half of this year (including the acquisitions). It predicts its revenue in 2014 as a whole will reach $68 million, reflecting a 2.6 revenue multiple, before money. Like many companies in its field, Crossrider is making a profit; its EBITDA was $1.5 million last year and $8 million in the first half of 2014: an EBITDA margin of 28% and an estimated EBITDA multiple of 10, or even single digit, before money.
The company also said that it has recently set a new record of 150 million active users last month, and 1.8 million new users daily. At any given moment, Crossrider has 25, 000 live campaigns by its customers. The company has 130 employees, mostly in Israel, and operates in six other countries: Cyprus, Ukraine, Romania, UK, US, and India.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news – www.globes-online.com
