LONDON, UK: Vianet Group plc (AIM: VNET), the international provider of actionable data and business insight through devices connected to its Internet of Things platform (“IOT”), today announced that it has acquired the trade and assets of Beverage Metrics Inc (“BMI”), a Denver, USA based provider of inventory software solutions to the USA hospitality sector, a wholly owned subsidiary of Identec Group AG.
The acquisition consists of customers, an established operating platform, software IP, patents for barcode 3D scanning and advanced technology for point-of-sale data integration. BMI’s five employees will be incorporated into Vianet’s USA subsidiary Vianet Americas Inc. (“VAI”) which has worked closely with BMI over the past couple of years.
The initial consideration payable to BMI is £577,500 and will be satisfied in the form of the issue of 700,000 new ordinary Vianet shares at a price of 82.5p each with deferred consideration payable dependent on revenue performance metrics. The deferred consideration is 7% of net revenue of VAI for the period 01 April 2024 through 31 December 2028, payable in cash and capped at a maximum of £4 million.
For the year ended 31 December 2022 the loss attributable to the acquired trade and assets was approximately £0.76 million and the independent valuation of the acquired trade and assets was approximately £1.22 million.
The combination of Vianet’s SmartDraught draft beer management solution with BMI’s inventory platform provides a comprehensive one stop drinks management solution which enables operators to reduce costs, improve productivity and maximise sales, thereby driving improved profitability across the entire drinks category. SmartDraught integration with the inventory platform will also enable Vianet to provide a more cost effective and competitive brand monitoring and market insight solution for the brewers.
Together with our recent investment in SmartDraught this acquisition positions Vianet’s hospitality operations firmly on the path to growth in the UK and to establishing a profitable footprint in the USA. The management looks forward to elaborating further at the time of our FY 2023 results announcement on Tuesday 13 June 2023.
Application has been made for a total of 700,000 new ordinary shares to be admitted to trading on AIM (“Admission”). Admission is expected to occur on 19 May 2023. Following Admission the total number of voting rights in the Company is 29,508,914. This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change of interest in, the Company under the FCA’s Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
James Dickson, Chairman of Vianet, commented: “We are delighted to acquire the trade and assets of BMI. Having worked alongside the team for some years we understand both the quality of the people and the excellence of the software and we believe that combining their products and skillset into the Vianet business will give us a truly market leading offering.
This increased presence in the USA together with our evolving strategic relationships will give us a significant boost in growing our presence in what is a huge market, as well as providing us with increased opportunities in our UK hospitality operations.
Vianet has had an encouraging start to FY2024 and looks forward to the future with great confidence.”
Vianet Group PLC is a leading provider of real time monitoring systems and data management services that transform business performance through devices connected to its IOT platform. The company was established in 1995 and has been an AIM listed business since 20062. With over 300 customers including a number of global blue chip companies and more than 230,000 devices connected to its platform3, Vianet’s experience and knowledge combine to form a powerful technology and insight capability that few can match.
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