St Ives acquires digital marketing firm Amaze

Shares in marketing firm St Ives rose above five per cent after the company announced the acquisition of Amaze from Hasgrove.

Amaze, a digital marketing agency based in London, has about 200 employees and has clients across a range of sectors including automotive and retail.

St Ives said the acquisition would strengthen its offering to new and existing clients. The firm has agreed to purchase all of the issued share capital of Amaze, on a cash and debt free basis, for £15.3m in cash.

Start your trial of MoneyWeek today

Get unparalleled financial insight, analysis and expert opinion you can profit from.

Start your trial

Sign up for MoneyWeek’s free twice-daily newsletter.

Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.

Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.

Sign up

A further consideration of up to £9.0m may be payable depending on incremental financial performance this year.

The acquisition is subject to the approval of Hasgrove's shareholders.

"The acquisition of Amaze creates the foundation for an additional major pillar of our marketing services strategy," said St Ives Chief Executive officer Patrick Martell.

"We have strong positions in data marketing, research and consultancy services, field marketing, and now digital solutions.

"Further acquisitions will be focussed on building out these four pillars to further strengthen our integrated marketing services offering."

RD