DLA Piper has advised Aonic, a global multiplatform technology and gaming group, on the acquisition of Prime Insights, an industry-leading research technology firm for a transaction value in excess of USD250 million.
The transaction marks Aonic’s most significant acquisition to date and was partly financed through a complex senior secured bond structure. The combination of the two businesses will create a unified global rewards and data platform reaching more than 50 million users. The business will operate 12 proprietary brands and is expected to generate over USD300 million in yearly revenues. The partnership enables a doubling of platform scale and offers enhanced reach, insights and user engagement for both mobile gaming developers and market researchers.
Aonic, headquartered in Stockholm, is a fast-growing global technology and video gaming group with over 600 employees across 12 companies. The group operates platforms such as Exmox and Mega Fortuna and is among the leading providers of gaming-focused user acquisition and loyalty programs.
Prime Insights is a globally active, leading research technology company specializing in programmatic sampling. It operates multiple mobile and web platforms through which users can earn money by completing online surveys.
The issuance of the secured “Nordic” bonds had a volume of EUR55 million. The bonds will be listed on the regulated market of Nasdaq Stockholm and the unregulated open market segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange based on a (11 page long) so-called “Annex IX” document as an exemption to the obligation to publish a securities prospectus introduced by the EU Listing Act. This was one of the first transactions where such a short form document has been used for purposes of a debt issuance in the EU.
A cross-border and multidisciplinary DLA Piper team from offices in Germany, Sweden, and the US, worked on the transaction led by partners Andreas Füchsel (Private Equity/M&A) and Roland Maaß (Capital Markets) and counsels Tatiana Marzoli (Private Equity/M&A) and Juliane Poss (Capital Markets) in the core team.
They were supported by partners Dr Nico Brunotte, Dr Verena Grentzenberg, Katie S. Lee (all IPT), Pascal Kremp (Employment), Semin O, Nicholas A. Klein, Paolo Morante (Lit&Reg), Dr Konrad Rohde and Erik Björkeson (both Tax), Josephine Tessmar (Finance), Peder Grandinson, Petter Kjöllerström, Oliver Olah and Christina Michelle Houston (all Corporate), counsels Sven Bischoff, Patrick Reuter, Raffaella Rusin, senior associates Ilgin Ayhan, Annika Heinz, Aleksandra Lis-Rychlinska, Damian Merks, Janina Tackmann, associates Jannik Becker, Dr Jan Eisele, Alexander Hofsepjan, Benedikt Mail, Katharina Pauls and Jonas Riesenkampff.