GB Group secures £74m deal for Postcode Anywhere

chris-clarkData company GB Group has acquired address validation specialist Postcode Anywhere – which now trades as PCA Predict – in a deal worth up to £74m.
PCA was launched 15 years ago and provides cloud-based address management services, processing millions of transactions for some of the largest global organisations on ecommerce sites and CRM systems.
It boasts over 10,000 customers, including Tesco, Nescafe, Hotel Chocolat and Virgin.
GBG said the businesses have a “strong strategic and cultural fit” and PCA’s suite of services will operate alongside similar GBG services GBG Matchcode360 and GBG Loqate.
To fund the deal, GBG will place 17 million shares at 340p each to raise £58m. The remainder of the £73.85m consideration will be paid in cash, of which £10m will be held by a third party.
GB Group chief executive Chris Clark (pictured) said: “There is a strong strategic and cultural fit in combining our capabilities which will bring significant benefit to our customers. PCA already serves many leading ecommerce companies who are transforming the way we shop and access services online. We are ideally placed to support their growth. Together with the fantastic team at PCA, we have the opportunity to accelerate our progress in this fast emerging market.”
PCA Predict president Guy Mucklow added: “[The deal] brings together two highly successful, growth focused, businesses with complementary skills and similar cultures to create a world class technology company. The GBG team has a long history of integrating acquisitions successfully; together we now have the very best knowledge and expertise in this sector.”
The acquisition is the company’s third major deal in recent years; in 2014 it purchased Transactis from Shop Direct for £6m, and in 2011 bought address management rival Capscan for £11.2m.

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