REG - dotDigital Group plc - Acquisition of Alia

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RNS Number : 2116V  dotDigital Group plc  04 March 2026

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4 March 2026

 

Dotdigital Group plc

("Dotdigital" or the "Group")

 

Acquisition of Alia

 

Adds high-growth product functionality to Dotdigital's CXDP platform; unlocks
cross-sell opportunities

 

Dotdigital Group plc (AIM: DOTD), a leading provider of an AI-powered
customer experience and data platform for intelligent, personalised marketing
at scale, is pleased to announce the accretive acquisition of Alia Software
Inc. ("Alia"), an AI‑powered pop-up and email/SMS list-growth tool built
exclusively for Shopify merchants (the "Acquisition").

 

Acquisition Summary

 

 ·         Alia is a US-based SaaS platform that expands first- and zero-party data and
           customer reach by converting anonymous website visitors into known email and
           SMS contacts through intelligent, brand‑aligned pop‑ups and interactive
           experiences.

 ·         Strong commercial momentum, with Alia serving 2,700+ customers with a 4.7/5
           rating on the Shopify App Store, and forward-looking ARR in excess of $8m as
           at 31 December 2025 (from c.$1m at 31 December 2024).

 ·         Alia adds complementary on-site conversion capability that accelerates
           Dotdigital's product roadmap, drives differentiation and supports
           earlier‑stage customer engagement. This creates additional opportunities for
           retention, cross‑sell and upsell across the Group's customer base,
           supporting Average Revenue Per Customer ("ARPC") expansion.

 ·         The initial consideration for the Acquisition is $30m, with a total maximum
           consideration of up to $60m dependent upon future performance. All
           consideration is payable in cash, funded from existing cash reserves, and the
           Acquisition is expected to be earnings-enhancing for the first 12 months of
           consolidation. Should performance targets be achieved, the maximum
           consideration payable would equate to two times forward-looking ARR.

Alia and the lead capture market

 

Founded in 2022, Alia (www.aliapopups.com (http://www.aliapopups.com) ) helps
brands, including TOMS, Hexclad Cookware, Aviator Nation, ILIA Beauty and
Comfrt, expand their customer audiences by converting anonymous website
visitors into known email and SMS contacts through intelligent,
brand‑aligned pop‑ups and interactive experiences.

 

Using AI‑driven testing and data‑based targeting, Alia's differentiated
proposition enables it to continuously optimise when and how visitors are
engaged, enabling brands to capture high‑quality first‑ and zero‑party
data that can be activated across marketing channels. Its deep, native Shopify
integration ensures fast performance and ease of deployment, while advanced
analytics provide clear visibility into how on‑site engagement drives
subscriber growth and conversion outcomes beyond basic opt‑in metrics.

 

On‑site conversion and list‑growth are increasingly central to capturing
high‑quality first‑ and zero‑party data that underpins modern
personalisation strategies. The lead capture software market has grown
strongly in recent years, from $2.69 billion in 2024 to $2.87 billion in 2025,
and is projected to grow to $4.45 billion by 2029(1)(,) driven by demand for
AI‑powered personalisation, automation and improved customer engagement.

 

The founders of Alia will continue in leadership roles within the business
from Alia's New York headquarters.

 

For the financial year ended 31 December 2025 ("FY25"), Alia reported
recognised revenue of $4m, with forward-looking ARR at 31 December 2025 in
excess of $8m (31 December 2024: $1m). In FY25 the company reported cash
EBITDA(2) in excess of $1m. The company had net assets of $1.2m at 31 December
2025 and is being acquired debt-free. All figures are unaudited.

 

Acquisition Rationale

 

The Acquisition is expected to be earnings-enhancing for the first 12 months
of consolidation and accelerates the Group's product roadmap with a
high-growth and market‑leading on‑site conversion and list‑growth
solution that is more advanced than the Group's own pop-up capability. The
combined offering strengthens Dotdigital's ability to engage customers at the
earliest stages of the customer journey by improving visitor‑to‑subscriber
conversion, enriching customer data and increasing the effectiveness of
downstream marketing automation. This is expected to support high‑margin,
recurring revenue growth through cross‑sell, improve retention and ARPC, and
further strengthen Dotdigital's position within the Shopify ecosystem, an
important growth channel for the Group.

 

Alia will be integrated into the CXDP through a phased approach and
Dotdigital's core and ancillary capability, including messaging, will be
embedded into and bundled with Alia's offering, allowing the Group to deliver
incremental product benefits while maintaining service continuity for existing
customers.

 

The acquisition supports the Group's transformation into a multi‑product
business with a strengthened partner network, building on the acquisitions of
Fresh Relevance and Social Snowball. This combined impact is reflected in the
Group's partner‑connected ARR, international revenue mix and overall scale
relative to its pre-pandemic position. Since FY23, partner‑connected ARR has
increased from approximately 50% to well over 60% and US‑originated
forward‑looking ARR has grown from approximately 15% to more than 30%, while
the full proportion of ARR generated outside the UK now stands at
approximately 40% of Group ARR. The Group entered FY23 with £48.9m of
forward‑looking ARR and, following the completion of the acquisition of
Alia, ARR now exceeds £81m, with the Group consistently delivering adjusted
PBT margins in excess of 20% per annum.

 

Consideration

 

The total consideration for the acquisition is up to $60m, comprising an
initial cash payment of $30m and up to $30m in contingent cash consideration
over two years, payable if Alia maintains its historical growth rate at
sufficiently accretive margins for the Group. Should performance targets be
achieved, resulting in the maximum total consideration being paid, the revenue
multiple will equate to a maximum of two times forward-looking ARR. The
initial cash payment and contingent consideration will be funded through the
Group's existing cash reserves. In addition, the Group plans to put in place a
modest overdraft facility to provide support for mid-month working capital
needs, should it be required.

 

Milan Patel, Chief Executive Officer of Dotdigital, commented: "The
acquisition of Alia further advances our CXDP vision by strengthening our
on‑site conversion and first and zero‑party data capture capabilities.
These are increasingly important areas for marketers as customer acquisition
costs rise and privacy standards evolve. We're delighted to welcome Shaan and
the team to the Group. Importantly, Alia represents our continued pace of
acquisition execution which has collectively transformed the Group's
capability, scale and market position across all three of our strategic
pillars, while consistently maintaining strong profitability. This positions
us well to capitalise on the opportunities ahead as the markets we serve
continue to navigate and evolve."

 

Shaan Arora, Co-Founder and CEO of Alia, commented: "Dotdigital shares our
belief that the earliest moments of the customer journey are critical to
long‑term value creation. By combining Alia's AI‑powered on‑site
conversion technology with Dotdigital's CXDP, we can help merchants capture
richer customer data, improve conversion rates, and drive more meaningful
customer relationships."

 

(1) Sourced from: Lead Capture Software Market Report 2025 from The Business
Research Company

(2) Cash EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and
amortisation; excluding share-based payment charge, exceptional costs and
amortisation of acquired intangibles; and less the cash cost of capitalised
R&D spend

For further information please contact:

 Dotdigital Group plc                                    Tel: 020 3953 3072

Milan Patel, CEO

Tom Mullan, CFO                                        investorrelations@dotdigital.com (mailto:investorrelations@dotdigital.com)

 Alma Strategic Communications                           Tel: 020 3405 0210

 Hilary Buchanan                                         dotdigital@almastrategic.com

 David Ison

 Will Merison

 Canaccord Genuity (Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker)  Tel: 020 7523 8000

Bobbie Hilliam

 Elizabeth Halley-Stott

 Cavendish Capital Markets Limited (Joint Broker)        Tel: 020 7220 0500

Jonny Franklin Adams, Corporate Finance

 Sunila de Silva, Equity Capital Markets

 Singer Capital Markets (Joint Broker)                   Tel: 020 7496 3000

Shaun Dobson

 Jen Boorer

 

About Dotdigital

Dotdigital Group plc (AIM: DOTD) is a leading provider of cross-channel
marketing automation technology to marketing professionals. Dotdigital's
customer experience and data platform (CXDP) combines the power of automation
and AI to help businesses deliver hyper-relevant customer experiences at
scale. With Dotdigital, marketing teams can unify and enrich their customer
data, identify valuable customer segments, and deliver personalised
cross-channel customer journeys that result in engagements, conversions, and
loyalty.

Founded in 1999, Dotdigital is headquartered in London with offices in
Manchester, Southampton, New York, Melbourne, Sydney, Singapore, Tokyo, Warsaw
and Cape Town. Dotdigital's solutions empower over 4,000 brands across 150
countries.

 

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