Porta Communications acquires ICAS holdings in £2,808,000 deal
International marketing and communications group, Porta Communications has acquired ICAS Holdings and its subsidiary, Publicasity in a deal valued at £2,808,000.
As a result of the deal, the company's 28 staff will transfer over to Porta Communications to work with its existing consumer PR company, Thirteen Communications.
The deal will be satisfied through £702,000 in cash and the same in local notes, as well as 14,040,000 ordinary shares at 10p each. A further 2,457,000 ordinary shares may also be issued as an additional consideration at a future date.
David Wright, chief executive of Porta, explained: "Publicasity will work alongside Thirteen Communications to create a far bigger and more diversified consumer PR offering within Porta. This acquisition along with the previous acquisitions of WSM Print & Design and Digital, Redleaf Polhill and PPS made in 2014, mean that Porta is successfully progressing its acquisition strategy to supplement the strong organic growth in our existing dynamic businesses. The acquisition of Publicasity should greatly enhance our ability to build a successful leading international brand given the quality of both teams and is expected to be earnings enhancing in 2015."
Last year, Publicasity recorded ore-tax profits of £527,567.