Cint to Buy Lucid for $1.1 billion

Insight exchange and sample management platform Cint is to acquire rival firm Lucid for approximately $1.1 billion, of which c.$470m will be payable in newly issued Cint shares and c.$580m in cash. The deal should close by the end of the year.

Headquartered in New Orleans and founded in 2010 as Federated Sample, by former OTX Research exec Patrick Comer (pictured), Lucid also has offices across the US, Europe and Asia, and has more than 230 employees. The firm provides programmatic access to first-party data, allowing users to survey online audiences and uncover the sentiment, motivations and behavior of target demographics - respondents are in more than 100 countries.

Cint itself made its debut on the Nasdaq Stockholm in February, and was valued at just over EUR 1bn - since then the share price has risen about 20%. The firm bought tech-driven sample provider P2Sample around two years ago, while Lucid earlier this year announced it would integrate its platform with that of research automation specialist PureSpectrum.

The latest announcement continues this process of consolidation and integration in the buoyant sector, and the price represents a very substantial multiple. During the nine-month period ending 30th September 2021, Lucid reached net revenue of $85m, gross profit of $62m, and adjusted EBITDA of $7m; and for the full year 2021, Cint estimates that Lucid will contribute to the group pro forma net sales of $124m, gross profit of $97m, and adjusted EBITDA of $13m. Cint says it expects 'run-rate synergies' from the transaction of approximately EUR 40m within 24 months from closing the deal. Current shareholders of Lucid will hold approximately 17% of the total number of outstanding shares and votes in Cint; and to finance the cash part of the consideration, Cint's Board of Directors intends to carry out a share issue of up to $510m.

Comer will become a Board member and Chairman of Cint, while Cint's current CEO Tom Buehlmann will continue in post. Buehlmann comments: 'Cint and Lucid are complementary leaders in the insights industry, helping insights-driven companies unlock substantial efficiencies across their value chains. The combined organisation will be a global leader in technology-enabled insights, and further strengthen Cint's current proven business model. I am thrilled to welcome Patrick Comer and the entire team at Lucid to the Cint family'.

Cint also says the transaction will give it access to 'a highly competitive audience-tracking technology and offering'.

Web sites: www.cint.com and www.luc.id .