B2B information. The £1.7bn events and information group Ascential plc (Cannes Lions, WGSN, MediaLink, and Money 20/20) is buying the UK-based media-marketing data company WARC Ltd for an initial £19.5m plus deferred consideration of up to £4.5m in 2019. The deal is expected to complete on 2 July. WARC (formerly known as the World Advertising Research Center) is a global digital subscription business that helps brands, agencies and media platforms assess their effectiveness across all channels. Founded in 1985 by advertising guru Mike Waterson, the company offers advertising best practice, evidence and insights from the world’s leading brands and includes the Gunn Report ranking of effectiveness in advertising. The business employs some 90 people in London, Washington DC and Singapore and is said to have 1,200 customers globally. In the year to 31 March 2018, WARC had revenue of £10.8m (10% growth) and EBITDA of £2.2m. Ascential will combine WARC with Cannes Lions’ The Work, to form a digital subscription product of scale. It’s a good bolt-on deal for the UK-based ex EMAP company whose Cannes Lions (taking place this week) has been wobbling a bit. Could Ascential’s growing interest in all things media lead to an interest in the UK’s premier marketing media group Centaur – or in battered data group Ebiquity (see last week’s MediaDeals)?
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Ascential buys WARC data for up to £24m
