Digital marketer approaches stock market to pay down debt
Published:Wednesday | August 16, 2023 | 12:08 AM
The owners of One Great Studio, 1GS, are offering 20 per cent of the digital marketing company to stock market investors in an initial public offering of priced at $1 per share.
The company will utilise most of the proceeds to reconfigure its capital mix. It will pay down $220.6 million of debt owed to Barita Investments Limited, covering a loan utilised for the acquisition of a new search engine optimisation business called High Voltage SEO, last September. Another $58 million is to be pumped into expansion programmes.
Essentially, two-thirds of the gross $338.6 million of equity targeted under the IPO will eliminate nearly all of the $286 million in long-term loans on 1GS’s books as at March.
Barita Investments currently holds 9.81 per cent interest in the marketing company, but its stake will be diluted to 7.85 per cent under the offer that it arranged and is brokering on behalf of One Great Studio Company Limited.
The company founded by partners Djuvane Browne & Gina DeLisser offers digital marketing, search engine optimisation, website design and development, and mobile app design and development. Its portfolio of services generated $240 million in annual turnover last year, but One Great Studio sees itself becoming a $1-billion company by revenue by year 2027. It’s been in business since 2012 and is chaired by businessman and investor John Bailey.
Browne and DeLisser currently control over 62 per cent of One Great Studio through their separate companies, QVRFL Holdings Limited and EZ4712 Holdings Limited, respectively, but will see their stake fall to 49.98 per cent under the IPO.
The offer of shares hits the junior stock market on August 28.