FundedByMe acquires Laika Consulting
FundedByMe today announced that they acquire 100% of the shares in the established financial company Laika Consulting AB, a leading communications agency in financial communications. As a result, the company doubles its investment network to close to 250,000 members, making it the largest in the Nordic region. The acquisition is a strategic step to further strengthen FundedByMe's range of financial services.
"Laika is a particularly well-managed company that we have partnered with since 2012 and we have seen over the years that we have similar ambitions, visions and attitudes; namely to improve and change parts of the old inefficient financial world. In our company's growth, we look at this acquisition as a very interesting step, and we estimate that the consolidation will be beneficial and feasible and lead to synergies that can be measured through cash flow, efficiency and growth." Daniel Daboczy CEO and co-founder at FundedByMe states.
The consolidation of the corporate services is expected to generate major synergies. Investor Relations is an area where Laika has a well established business. In addition, the company has an extensive knowledge in emissions and listing processes. Something FundedByMe now strengthens its digital crowdfunding business with. FundedByMe has complementary successfully worked with ambassadorship as an important part of crowdfunding. Even Laika Consulting has partly devoted itself to crowdfunding since start but neither internationally nor digitally.
"Laika Consulting was one of the first companies in Sweden to work with crowdfunding when we established the brand in 2004. I look forward to follow the company's growth closely. A combination of Laika's expertise in listed companies, together with FundedByMe with its international and digital presence, can create new opportunities for growth." says Laika's CEO, Ingmar Rentzhog, who will continue to work on strategic client projects for FundedByMe and Laika Consulting in part-time. Moreover he takes a role in the company's board. The majority of his time he will focus on climate change through the newly established company, "We Don’t Have Time", as a CEO and founder.
The acquisition is funded through a combination of cash and an issue of new shares in FundedByMe AB (publ). The parties do not wish to comment on the purchase price. FundedByMe expects to turn around 40 million in the first joint fiscal year. Furthermore, the company expects that the new network in combination with the consolidation of IR services and major IPO business will be a lucrative strategy for the company onwards. Tobias Berglund, who has been in the Laika management team since the start of 2004 and today is the COO of Laika Consulting, is appointed as CEO of Laika Consulting and the COO of FundedByMe. Peter Sundberg is appointed COO of Laika Consulting.
FundedByMe has recently presented statistics from 2017 showing that 45% of all investments made through the platform are made by women. The company has an ambition to educate and invite a greater proportion of female investors. Therefore, Feminvest, one of Laika's investment networks, is an additional strategic complement to an expanding FundedbyMe.
In 2017, FundedByMe had a loss of 5.8 million, compared to 10.5 million the previous year, a decrease of about 55 percent. The company's goal is to generate profit in 2018. The company also has a strong growth in the number of successfully closed campaigns for 2018. This year, the company has closed 14 campaigns compared with a total of 33 for 2017.
About Laika Consulting
Laika Consulting AB was founded in 2004, since then the company has experienced a strong growth. In 2017 as in 2009, the company was appointed a gasell company by Dagens Industri. Today, the company has around 150,000 investors and has raised more than SEK 5 billion in emissions. The company focuses on financial communication, tasks ranging from strategic advice to concrete services in investor relations and other financial communications.
About FundedByMe
FundedByMe is the fastest growing crowdfunding platform in Scandinavia and one of the only full-service platforms offering capital through equity crowdfunding. In the past years, some 470 companies from 25 different countries have been successfully funded with more than €51 million. The member base is a rapidly expanding network of more than 111,000 investors from nearly 200 countries around the world. FundedByMe is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with a local presence in Dubai, Finland, Malaysia, Poland and Singapore. For more information visit www.fundedbyme.com
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