REV Asia enters into US$24mil deal with Media Prima Digital

• Acquisition part of aggressive digital initiatives to reduce dependency on traditional revenue base
• Media Prima to establish position as largest Malaysian digital media company

REV Asia Bhd (REV Asia), Malaysia’s leading digital media group, announced on May 8 it has entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Youth Asia Sdn Bhd and Media Prima Digital Sdn Bhd (Media Prima Digital), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Media Prima Bhd (Media Prima) for the proposed sale of REV Asia Holdings Sdn Bhd (REV Asia Holdings), subject to the conditions precedent set out in the SPA to be fulfilled.

The sale is valued at US$24.2 million (RM105 million) and will fully incorporate REV Asia Holding’s portfolio into Media Prima’s integrated media platforms.

Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur and formed in June 2013, REV Asia Holdings is a digital media group that connects over 500 brands to engage with their intended audience via the approximate 5 million people that REV Asia Holdings reaches each month.

Post the acquisition, REV Asia Holdings will be supporting Media Prima’s strategy focusing on its expansion in digital content and digital media platforms. As one of Southeast Asia’s leading digital media groups, REV Asia Holdings has a strong track record in social media and online marketing through an established portfolio of well-known online consumer brands that cover a wide variety of segments including entertainment, lifestyle and social-millennial English, Malay and Chinese news.

A major milestone for both parties, it will see the combined group reach up to 10.4 million visitors (5 million pre-acquisition). The union will enable Media Prima to establish its position as the largest Malaysian digital media company and third overall in Malaysia after Google and Facebook with 15.7 million and 14.1 million visitors respectively.

REV Asia Holding’s managing director, Voon Tze Khay commented: “We are excited to be joining the Media Prima family and working together to transform the media landscape in Malaysia. Media Prima are true leaders in Malaysia’s media and television industry with a strong track record of success. Together, we are confident in our ability to expand our reach whilst solidifying our combined position as the number one digital media group in the country”.

Tze Khay added that he is looking forward to working closely with Media Prima Digital as both companies share the same vision and is confident that the integration of all REV Asia Holding’s employees will occur smoothly.

10 years ago, Malaysia’s leading traditional print magazine business, Catcha Media, recognised an emerging trend towards digital and online media. Catcha Media then started its strategic move towards becoming an online business, eventually forming REV Asia Holdings through a RM60 million merger with SAYS.com in 2013. Co-founder and Director of REV Asia, Patrick Grove, adds “The sale is a testimony to the strong leadership of Tze Khay and his team. REV Asia Holdings and Media Prima Digital are highly complementary businesses and there is strong strategic rationale underpinning the sale. I look forward to watching REV Asia Holdings grow exponentially together with Media Prima.”

Mohamaad Ariff Ibrahim, Group Chief Financial Officer of Media Prima said the acquisition is timely as the Group has embarked aggressively on digital based initiatives to reduce dependency over traditional revenue base.

“At Media Prima, we are big believers in digital content and its growth prospects for the future. The strategic acquisition of REV Asia Holdings demonstrates our firm commitment to capitalise on the growing demand for digital content amongst consumers by expanding our reach and further enhancing the Group’s competencies in digital content marketing, digital content curation and digital native marketing ads. REV Asia Holdings has significant reach amongst consumers aged 18 – 35 years given their strong expertise in curating content for this lucrative market segment. The acquisition is expected to result in the growth of revenue contributions from Media Prima’s digital platform exponentially,” he said.

Rafiq Razali, CEO of Media Prima Digital said “Media Prima is expected to derive potential synergistic benefits as the Group can expand its media offerings to general consumers, media buyers, advertisers and premium publishers. REV Asia Holdings is a profitable company that recorded significant digital revenue growth from the company’s Social News segments since 2015. The company specialises in native content-based advertising which garners higher margins and their deep expertise in producing content for the18 – 35 years age group is an additional value to Media Prima. This bodes well for the Group as we capitalise on the increasing importance of digital amongst advertisers”.

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