Cision Pulls Out Of Email Business, Divests Assets For $49 Million

Cision, a technology provider serving the public relations and marketing communications fields, has sold its email assets to an unnamed strategic player for $49 million, the company has announced.

At the same time, Cision has acquired TrendKite, provider of a SaaS-based cloud and analytics platform, for $225 million. 

Cision, in reviewing its long-term business strategy, determined that it should focus on its communications cloud platform, the company says.

The TrendKite acquisition gives Cision clients “additional ways to demonstrate and measure the business impact of their earned media communications," states Cision CEO Kevin Akeroyd.

The cash consideration for the email marketing business could grow based on performance over the next 12 months.

The TrendKite price includes $94 million in cash and roughly 10.2 million shares of Cision stock, the latter being subject to approval by the New York Stock Exchange. 

Erik Huddleston, TrendKite’s CEO, will serve as president of Cision. 

Meanwhile, Cision’s preliminary results for the fourth quarter of 2018 exceed prior guidance, with an estimated revenue of $186 million to $187 million.

The prior guidance had been from $180 million to $184 million. 

Preliminary revenue for the full year totals from $730 million to $731 million, above the prior guidance of $724 million to $728 million. Net income for the year could range between a loss of $5 million and profit of $2 million.

The 2018 results include the firm’s email marketing assets. However, the TrendKite acquisition and the purchase of Falcon.io are not reflected in the results, as both were finalized in 2019.

The company achieved pro forma organic revenue growth of 1.6%, Akeroyd adds.

 

 

 

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