Ad-hoc News

Scout24 AG acquires FINANZCHECK.de, one of the leading consumer finance platforms in Germany

Scout24 AG / Key word(s): TakeoverScout24 AG acquires FINANZCHECK.de, one of the leading consumer finance platforms in Germany 17-Jul-2018 / 19:11 CET/CESTDisclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.The

Scout24 AG / Key word(s): Takeover
Scout24 AG acquires FINANZCHECK.de, one of the leading consumer finance platforms in Germany

17-Jul-2018 / 19:11 CET/CEST
Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.


Scout24 AG acquires FINANZCHECK.de, one of the leading consumer finance platforms in Germany

  • Great fit with Scout24's Consumer Services vertical and highly complementary to Scout24's market network strategy
  • Enabling Scout24 and FINANZCHECK.de to jointly connect the dots along the car and home buyer consumer journey
  • FINANZCHECK.de with high growth profile in a healthy > EUR 80 billion German consumer loan market


Berlin / Munich, 17 July 2018 - Scout24 AG ("Scout24" or "the Group"), the leading operator of digital marketplaces specializing in the real estate and automotive sectors in Germany and other selected European countries signed an agreement this evening to acquire all shares of FFG FINANZCHECK Finanzportale GmbH ("FINANZCHECK.de"), a German online comparison portal for consumer loans. Closing is subject to anti-trust approval and is expected within four to six weeks. The transaction is based on a consideration of EUR 285 million, on a cash-free and debt-free basis. The purchase price is paid fully in cash.

FINANZCHECK.de operates an online consumer finance platform, providing consumers with real-time and efficient comparison of consumer loans - in addition, the company cooperates with affiliate websites, point-of-sale finance and partner networks in Germany through its proprietary consumer financing technology platform. In terms of market share and market positioning for online comparison of consumer loans, FINANZCHECK.de is a top 3 portal in Germany.

The Scout24 Management sees significant opportunities to enhance the growth of the Consumer Services vertical through the addition of FINANZCHECK.de. This will mainly be driven by providing a more integrated service on the Scout24 platforms, thereby prolonging and enhancing Scout24's role in the consumer journey. Scout24 Management expects to realize synergies on both the automotive and the real estate side. Initial focus will be on expanding FINANZCHECK.de's presence on the AutoScout24 platform and meeting more users' needs in the car buying process. Car loans are an essential part of the car buying process, with around 40% of second hand cars being partly or fully financed. In the future, Scout24 Management plans to roll-out the integration also to the AutoScout24 platforms in the core European countries.

Through this highly strategic acquisition, Scout24 teams up with a leading player in delivering great user experience and helping users to save time and money in finding the right consumer loan for them. It furthers provides banks and finance institutions with a cost efficient and scalable way to offer their services to loan seekers. FINANZCHECK.de has built its successful business on a proprietary technology platform with machine learning capabilities and API-connections ("application programming interface") to the most relevant finance providers in Germany.

The online market for consumer loans is a strongly growing market, that benefits both from a healthy underlying development of the >EUR 80 billion newly issued consumer loans in Germany, as well as from an ongoing shift of consumer loan purchasing from offline channels to online. Between 2015 and 2022, the market share of consumer loans generated through online comparison platforms is expected to double.

FINANZCHECK.de has a proven track record of strong growth with a compounded annual growth rate of around 35% over the past three years, resulting in more than EUR 35 million in revenues in financial year ending December 2017. From Q1 2015 to Q1 2018, the company more than tripled the quarterly number of newly registered customers going through the loan application process, and more than doubled the number of loan transactions, making up for a brokered volume of more than EUR 3.5 billion since the company's inception in 2012. In addition, FINANZCHECK.de has a comprehensive market coverage in terms of relevant consumer finance providers, with more than 20 financial institutions connected via API to its technology platform.

The Scout24 Group is financing the acquisition through a credit facility.

Notifying Personand Investor Relations

Britta Schmidt
Vice President Investor Relations & Controlling
Fon: +49 89 44456 3278
Email: [email protected]
 

Media Relations

Jan Flaskamp
Vice President Communications & Marketing
Fon: +49 30 24301 0721
Email: [email protected]


Information and Explanation of the Issuer to this News:

Conference Call
On Wednesday, 18 July 2018, at 10 am CEST, Scout24 will host a conference call and webcast for financial analysts and investors. You may dial in using the following numbers:
DE: +4969222229043
UK: +442030092452
USA: +18554027766
Participant PIN code: 82438614#

The webcast, as well as a replay, will be made available at:

https://webcasts.eqs.com/scout2420180718

About Scout24

With our leading digital marketplaces ImmobilienScout24 in Germany and AutoScout24 across Europe we are inspiring people to make their best decisions on finding a home and a car. Additional services, such as credit information, the brokerage of relocation services or construction and car financing, are bundled in the Scout24 Consumer Services business division. More than 1,200 employees are working on the success of our products and services, putting the consumers' needs first in order to create a connected network for living and mobility. Scout24 is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE000A12DM80, G24). For further information, please visit www.scout24.com, our Corporate Blog and Tech Blog, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.


Investor Relations

Britta Schmidt
Vice President Investor Relations & Controlling
Fon: +49 89 44456 3278
Email: [email protected]

Media Relations

Jan Flaskamp
Vice President Communications & Marketing
Fon: +49 30 24301 0721
Email: [email protected]

Disclaimer:

All information contained in this document has been carefully prepared. However, no reliance may be placed for any purposes whatsoever on the information contained in this document or on its completeness. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by or on behalf of the Company or any of its directors, officers or employees or any other person as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this document and no liability whatsoever is accepted by the Company or any of its directors, officers or employees nor any other person for any loss howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of such information or opinions or otherwise arising in connection therewith.

The information contained in this release is subject to amendment, revision and updating. Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this document are forward-looking, which reflect the Company's or, as appropriate, senior management's current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. Statements contained in this document regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any information contained in this press release (including forward-looking statements), whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this document.

Scout24 also uses alternative performance measures, not defined by IFRS, to describe the Scout24 Group's results of operations. These should not be viewed in isolation but treated as supplementary information. The special items used to calculate some alternative performance measures arise from the integration of acquired businesses, restructuring measures, impairments, gains or losses resulting from divestitures and sales of shareholdings, and other material expenses and income that generally do not arise in conjunction with Scout24's ordinary business activities. Alternative performance measures used by Scout24 are defined in the 'Glossary' section of Scout24's Annual Report 2017 which is available at www.scout24.com/financial-reports.

Due to rounding, numbers presented throughout this statement may not add up precisely to the totals indicated, and percentages may not precisely reflect the absolute figures for the same reason.


17-Jul-2018 CET/CEST The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Archive at www.dgap.de


Language:English
Company:Scout24 AG
Bothestr. 11-15
81675 Munich
Germany
Phone:+49 89 44456 - 0
Fax:+49 89 44456 - 3000
E-mail:[email protected]
Internet:www.scout24.com
ISIN:DE000A12DM80
WKN:A12DM8
Indices:MDAX
Listed:Regulated Market in Berlin, Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange; London

 
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2018-07-17T19:11:41+02:00
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