Sale of Mercia’s largest direct investment nDreams
20/11/2023 07:00
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RNS Number : 8956T Mercia Asset Management PLC 20 November 2023
20 November
2023
Mercia Asset Management PLC
("Mercia" the "Company" or the "Group")
Profitable sale of Mercia's largest direct investment nDreams to Aonic AB
Mercia Asset Management PLC (AIM: MERC), the proactive, regionally focused
specialist asset manager with c.£1.4billion of assets under management, is
pleased to announce the profitable sale of nDreams Limited ("nDreams") to
Aonic AB ("Aonic") for an enterprise value of £90.3million ($110million).
Mercia held a 33.2% direct stake in nDreams, resulting in total consideration
of £30.2million, split £26.4million in cash proceeds and £3.8million
re-invested into Aonic itself. This exit results in a 2.7x return on invested
capital and an 18.4% IRR. The exit price represents a £4.4million (17.5%)
increase on Mercia's carrying value for nDreams as at 31 March 2023.
nDreams is a leading virtual reality ("VR") studio that specialises in
developing and publishing VR games. nDreams is headquartered in Farnborough
and was founded by Patrick O'Luanaigh in 2006. Mercia was one of the first
investors to anticipate the growth of VR, prior to Facebook buying Oculus.
Mercia's initial investment of £0.3million in nDreams was made in March 2014
through its managed funds, with the Group first investing from its own balance
sheet in December 2014.
Aonic is a diversified video gaming investment group, with a strong position
in the VR and augmented reality ("AR") industry, and made an initial
£20.0million ($35million) investment into nDreams in March 2022.
Dr Mark Payton, CEO of Mercia Asset Management PLC, said: "This trade sale
represents another profitable outcome for Mercia, realising a significant
return which is above our current holding value, predominantly in cash. This
latest successful exit further adds to our strong debt free cash position,
which now stands at c.£60million. We look forward to announcing Mercia's
Interim Results on 28 November 2023."
Julian Viggars, CIO of Mercia Asset Management PLC and nDreams' board member,
commented: "When we first invested in nDreams we had a high conviction in the
potential of VR gaming, and this realisation is a strong validation of that
thesis. We have proactively supported nDreams since 2014 and are pleased that
we will continue to benefit from their continuing growth as part of Aonic,
through our partial reinvestment. We look forward to nDreams continuing on its
exciting VR and AR journey within a larger gaming group and congratulate
Patrick O'Luanaigh and his nDreams team on all that they have achieved thus
far."
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of domestic law by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
-Ends-
For further information, please contact:
Mercia Asset Management PLC +44 (0)330 223 1430
Mark Payton, Chief Executive Officer
Martin Glanfield, Chief Financial Officer
www.mercia.co.uk (http://www.mercia.co.uk/)
Canaccord Genuity Limited (NOMAD and Joint Broker) +44 (0)20 7523 8000
Simon Bridges, Emma Gabriel
Singer Capital Markets (Joint Broker) +44 (0)20 7496 3000
Harry Gooden, James Moat
FTI Consulting +44 (0)20 3727 1051
Tom Blackwell, Jenny Boyd
mercia@fticonsulting.com
About Mercia Asset Management PLC
Mercia is a proactive, specialist asset manager focused on supporting regional
SMEs to achieve their growth aspirations. Mercia provides capital across its
four asset classes of venture, private equity, debt and proprietary capital:
the Group's 'Complete Connected Capital'. The Group initially nurtures
businesses via its third-party funds under management, then over time Mercia
can provide further funding to the most promising companies, by deploying
direct investment follow-on capital from its own balance sheet.
The Group has a strong UK footprint through its regional offices, university
partnerships and extensive personal networks, providing it with access to
high-quality deal flow.
Mercia Asset Management PLC is quoted on AIM with the EPIC "MERC".
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