LONDON, UK: Digitalbox plc (AIM: DBOX), the mobile-first digital media business, which owns Entertainment Daily, The Daily Mash, The Tab, and The Poke, has announced that it has agreed to buy the digital assets of 99 Problems, Student Problems and The Life Network Shopping from Media Chain Group Limited (part of “Social Chain AG”) for a total consideration of $800,000.

The deal will give Digitalbox access to more than 12 million social media followers across Facebook and Tik Tok, which will more than double the number currently owned by Digitalbox at approximately 8 million Facebook followers. The acquisition will also enhance the audience reach and engagement of Digitalbox’s existing brands, especially The Tab and Entertainment Daily.

The acquisition is subject to completion of satisfactory testing by Digitalbox, which is expected to take place within two to five months from the date of exchange. The consideration will be funded from the Group’s existing cash resources and will consist of $520,000 in cash and $200,000 in Digitalbox ordinary shares. The acquisition is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing at the point of completion.

James Carter, CEO of Digitalbox, said: “The opportunity to acquire some of the Media Chain Group assets is an excellent way for us to explore significantly extending the audiences currently being served by the Digitalbox brands. With 99 Problems having started life as a social page called Student Problems, we believe there are plenty of synergies to build around The Tab whilst there is very strong common ground between Entertainment Daily’s audience and those who follow The Life Shopping Network. The management team will get to work straight away on proving this case before completion.”

Christian Grobel, CEO of Media Chain Group Limited, said: “We are pleased to be offering these assets to a great home. The audience bases we have built will complement the Digitalbox portfolio and benefit from the Company’s talented editorial departments. We wish them the best of luck with the next stage of development for their brands.”

Digitalbox is a new generation of digital media business that focuses on mobile-first publishing. It owns four popular online brands: Entertainment Daily, which covers TV and celebrity news; The Daily Mash, which is a satirical website; The Tab, which is a student-focused news and entertainment platform; and The Poke, which is another British satirical website. Digitalbox uses its proprietary technology platform Graphene to optimise content creation and distribution across its brands.

Media Chain Group Limited was previously part of the broader Social Chain business established in Manchester in 2014. Social Chain became part of The Social Chain AG business in 2019 and operated in two divisions: an agency that was sold in the spring of 2023 and the media division that houses 20+ social pages with over 60 million followers.

Digitalbox has acquired business and assets of thepoke.co.uk (The Poke)