Interactive Prospect to buy UK Postal Preference Service for 4.3 mln stg

Interactive Prospect Targeting Holdings PLC, the online direct marketing company, said it will buy Postal Preference Service Ltd, an offline and online direct marketing firm, from Royal Mail and the Dutch Post Office in a deal valuing PPS at 4.3 mln stg.

IPT also said it has made a confident start to trading in the current year and announced that it has raised 3 mln stg via a share placing.

The group is paying 0.675 mln stg in cash for the acquisition and is also repaying PPS’s debt of 3.6 mln stg. PPS recorded an operating loss of 0.2 mln stg on sales of 6.8 mln in 2004.

Lionel Thain, chief executive officer of IPT, said the acquisition opens an established channel to direct marketers to introduce email marketing.

‘Growth of the enlarged group will continue to be driven by the accelerating shift of direct marketing from offline to online. PPS will be earnings enhancing from 2006 through utilizing online data collection techniques alone,’ he said.

IPT said it has raised 3 mln stg through a placing of 2.61 mln shares with institutions at 115 pence each. In addition, 1 mln IPT shares have been placed on behalf of Atrium Venture Partners LP, one of IPT’s original venture capital investors, at 115 pence in order to satisfy institutional demand.