REG - RWS Holdings PLC - Acquisition

RWS HoldingsAnnouncement

12/07/2023 09:30

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RNS Number : 7836F  RWS Holdings PLC  12 July 2023

 

For immediate
release                                                                                                       12
July 2023

 RWS Holdings plc

Acquisition of Propylon Holdings Ltd

 

RWS Holdings plc ("RWS" or the "Group"), a unique world-leading provider of
technology-enabled language, content and intellectual property services,
announces that it has acquired Propylon Holdings Ltd ("Propylon") for €30.1
million ($33.1 million) on a cash-and-debt free basis with additional deferred
payments of €6.45 million ($7.1 million) due on each of the first and second
anniversary of completion, conditional on the Propylon management team
remaining in place.

Propylon's component content management system ("CCMS") is used by
governments, standards bodies, legal publishers and regulated firms to address
the complexities involved with drafting, managing, publishing and updating
legal and legislative content. Its unique user-friendly solution allows
authoring in its CCMS through Microsoft Word. Clients include a number of US
State legislatures and national parliaments. In addition, Propylon also
provides software to a range of standards bodies and global regulated
professional services organisations, who will benefit from RWS's integrated
localization capabilities.

The acquisition aligns with the Group's strategy to serve the regulated and
legal markets and also strengthens RWS's commitment to innovation in
structured content management.

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Propylon will continue to be managed by its
current CEO, John Harrington, who will further build on the company's strong
record of year-on-year revenue growth and strong cash generation from a
growing list of clients with multi-year contracts. In the year ended 31 Dec
2022, Propylon reported revenue of $12.7m, a 13.4% increase from the previous
year and is expected to deliver revenue growth for the year ending 31 December
2023 of approximately 30% with an EBITDA margin close to 25%. The company,
founded in 1999, has approximately 100 employees based in Ireland and the US.

The acquisition will be funded from RWS's existing cash resources and bank
facilities and is in line with the Group's strategy to actively pursue
acquisitions that have the potential to accelerate delivery of its medium-term
plans.

Ian El-Mokadem, Chief Executive Officer of RWS, commented:

"Propylon is a pioneer in its industry and has hugely helped its clients to
manage the way they author, publish and comply with laws and regulations. The
synergies between our organisations come from our ability to combine
offerings, expand our geographical reach and bring new propositions to our
global client base. Today's announcement supports our medium to long-term
growth strategy and signals our intention to remain at the forefront of the
structured content market."

For further information, please contact:

 RWS Holdings plc

 Andrew Brode, Chairman

 Ian El-Mokadem, Chief Executive Officer

 Candida Davies, Chief Financial Officer                01753 480200

 MHP (Financial PR Advisor)                             rws@mhpg (mailto:rws@mhpgroup.com) roup (mailto:rws@mhpgroup.com) .com

                                                      (mailto:rws@mhpgroup.com)
 Katie Hunt / Eleni Menikou / Catherine Chapman

                                                        020 3128 8100

                                                        07884 494112

 Numis (Nomad & Joint Broker)

 Stuart Skinner / Kevin Cruickshank / Will Baunton      020 7260 1000

 Berenberg (Joint Broker)

 Ben Wright / Toby Flaux / Alix Mecklenburg-Solodkoff   020 3207 7800

About RWS
RWS Holdings plc is a unique, world-leading provider of technology-enabled
language, content and intellectual property services. Through content
transformation and multilingual data analysis, our combination of AI-enabled
technology and human expertise helps our clients to grow by ensuring they are
understood anywhere, in any language.

 

Our purpose is unlocking global understanding. By combining cultural
understanding, client understanding and technical understanding, our services
and technology assist our clients to acquire and retain customers, deliver
engaging user experiences, maintain compliance and gain actionable insights
into their data and content.

 

Over the past 20 years we've been evolving our own AI solutions as well as
helping clients to explore, build and use multilingual AI applications. With
40+ AI-related patents and more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, we have the
experience and expertise to support clients on their AI journey.

 

We work with over 80% of the world's top 100 brands, more than three-quarters
of Fortune's 20 'Most Admired Companies' and almost all of the top
pharmaceutical companies, investment banks, law firms and patent filers. Our
client base spans Europe, Asia Pacific and North and South America. Our 65+
global locations across five continents service clients in the automotive,
chemical, financial, legal, medical, pharmaceutical, technology and
telecommunications sectors.

Founded in 1958, RWS is headquartered in the UK and publicly listed on AIM,
the London Stock Exchange regulated market (RWS.L).

For further information, please visit: www.rws.com (http://www.rws.com)

 

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