Future is a specialised media platform which has announced on Tuesday the acquisition of WhoWhatWear, a leading digital-only women’s lifestyle publisher based in the United States, from Clique Brands.
With a strong online footprint and a variety of revenue streams spanning from digital advertising to eCommerce, WhoWhatWear is a brand that is well-liked by both marketers and customers.
According to GoogleAnalytics, the publisher has 12m online users and 10m of social followers, with 90%of its revenue coming from the United States.
Future’s presence in the Women’s Lifestyle segment is strengthened by the acquisition, which gives the company additional size and reach in North America, allowing it to better monetise its audience.
According to ComScore, Future will become the sixth-largest Beauty and Fashion publisher in the United States when combined with the group’s existing company.
The deal will boost Future’s scale and income prospects in the US, as its content already reaches 1 in 3 adults online.
WhoWhatWear’s strong direct advertising sales abilities will assist the group’s current Women’s Lifestyle brands, while WhoWhatWear will strengthen from Future’s patented technology stack and operating model to generate the platform impact.
The purchase will be financed through the company’s existing debt facilities. Leverage is estimated to stay under 2x EBITDA following the transaction said Future.
The acquisition is subject to the expiry of the statutory waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, among other factors.
Additional financial information will be released during the Future’s interim results on May 18, 2022.
Zillah Byng-Thorne, CEO of Future, said: “We are delighted to welcome the WhoWhatWear team to Future. We look forward to working with them to further bolster our Women’s Lifestyle scale and reach, notably in the US, and are excited about leveraging its scale with our proprietary technology and operating model.”
“Since our launch in 2006, Who What Wear has been and will continue to be a pioneer in every form of digital content, from website and social media to live stream shopping, podcasts, and more. We have created a sustainable brand and are excited about the next stage in our growth trajectory as we build our scale and presence as part of Future,” added Hillary Kerr, co-founder and Chief Content Officer of WhoWhatWear.
Future shares gained 2.4% to 1,988p after the group announced the acquisition of WhoWhatWear on Tuesday.