Aferian plc (LON:AFRN), the B2B video streaming solutions company, has announced that it has acquired 100% of the issued share capital of Exabre Limited, trading as The Filter, a UK-headquartered AI-powered video recommendation service.
Acquisition detail and rationale
The Filter’s cutting-edge data science, analysis and machine learning technologies help consumers find and watch more of the video content they love. The Filter’s customers include streaming providers Joyn in Germany, EPIX in the USA and BBC Studio owned UKTV Play in the UK.
The Filter’s technology will significantly accelerate the roadmap of 24i’s video streaming platform by adding enhanced analytics, recommendations and personalisation to its existing data analytics services. 24i will also market The Filter’s managed service solution to its existing OTT and Pay TV customers and prospects as a standalone service.
Led by The Filter’s current CEO Damien Read, who will join 24i as SVP of Data Products, The Filter’s team of data scientists will continue to be based in Bath and will work alongside 24i’s existing data analytics team.
The move represents a further supportive step along the Group’s 2025 strategy, which addresses the convergence of streaming services and traditional Pay TV. It is also in line with the Company’s objective to acquire key and emerging technologies that add value to its platform’s capabilities by making it easier for end consumers to find the video and content they love.
Consideration
The Filter generated a loss before tax of $0.5m for the year ended 31 December 2021 and had total assets of $1.0m as at 31 December 2021.
The initial consideration is £1.5m ($2.0m), satisfied in cash, of which £1.2m ($1.6m) was paid on completion and £0.3m ($0.4m) has been deferred until 18 months after the acquisition date. Additional consideration is payable, of up to £2.5m ($3.2m), subject to achieving certain annual recurring revenue (“ARR”) growth at increments of additional ARR of £0.5m ($0.6m). The additional consideration will be settled in cash and payable in two tranches, at the first and second anniversaries of the acquisition.
Damien Read, The Filter’s CEO, who now becomes 24i’s SVP of Data Products, said: “The Filter has a history of significantly improving people’s entertainment experience though using cutting edge data science. We power everything from the “recommended for you” rails in video streaming apps, to personalised recommendations in marketing and even entirely dynamic user interfaces that adapt to the individual consumer’s viewing habits. Continuously improving personalisation is enormously important to our streaming customers and our powerful insights often help to shape their strategic thinking. We are very excited to be joining the 24i family as this will help us to further develop our offering and bring this game-changing technology to a wider range of entertainment companies worldwide.”
Donald McGarva, CEO of Aferian plc, said: “With The Filter’s team expertise in personalised, data-driven analytics and recommendations, this acquisition will accelerate our vision of making it easier to connect people to the TV and video they love. As part of 24i, The Filter’s technology enhances and complements our offering, as well as opening up new opportunities to the business. I would like to welcome The Filter’s team to the Group, and we look forward to working with them over the coming years.”
