OSLO, NORWAY: Smartoptics Group, which has grown 27 percent yearly since 2017, goes public on Euronext Growth in Oslo, following a successful private placement raising gross NOK 100 million in new equity, enabling a continuation of the company’s strong organic growth.
“The IPO is a milestone in Smartoptics’ history. We have over the last year experienced tremendous traction in the market, as we have developed technology and services that are perceived as more innovative and flexible than those of our competitors. As a listed company, we now have added fuel to power our ambitions of reaching USD 100 million in revenue and 15-20 percent EBITDA margin by 2025-2026,” said CEO Magnus Grenfeldt.
In 2020, Smartoptics had a revenue of USD 34.8 million and an EBITDA margin of 6 percent. The start of 2021 has been strong, with first quarter revenues growing 52 percent to reach USD 10 million and an EBITDA margin of 13.8 percent.
The market for data traffic is growing rapidly, notably driven by video streaming, IoT, cloud computing and 5G. Forecasts indicate 29 percent annual growth in global data traffic between 2019-2024.
“We have positioned ourselves perfectly in this market. We have become a preferred vendor for many small and medium-sized operators and enterprises. Our technology, size and business culture make it possible for us to maneuver faster than the giants of the industry, and most of the other medium-sized players have been acquired. Hence, we face limited competition in our segment,” said Grenfeldt.
The Smartoptics shares were sold at NOK 10.38 per share in the private placement, equivalent to a post-money capitalization of approximately NOK 1 billion. The transaction included a secondary share sale of NOK 150 million.
Among the investors are Danske Invest, Ålandsbanken and Varner Invest.
DNB Markets, a part of DNB Bank ASA, is acting as Sole Global Coordinator and Bookrunner in connection with the Private Placement. Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS is acting as legal advisor to the Company. Corporate Communications AS is the company’s investor relations and communications advisor.