Dods Group to Acquire B2B Data Firm Merit

UK political information provider Dods Group is to acquire B2B data services provider Meritgroup (Merit) for a total consideration of £22.4m, payable in a mixture of cash and shares.

Established in 2004 and led by CEO Cornelius Conlon (pictured), UK and India-based Merit has developed software to collect millions of data points from around 3,000 sources across multiple industries. The firm uses artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to categorise and enhance high volume and high frequency data, including unstructured. In the financial year ended 31st December 2018, Merit generated revenue of approximately £9.2m and reported adjusted EBITDA of approximately £1.9m.

Dods says it is currently concluding an equity fundraising process to part fund the cash element of the consideration, and will also enter into a new debt facility. Lord Ashcroft, a 44% shareholder in Dods, is fully supportive of the acquisition.

Web sites: www.dodsgroup.com and www.meritgroup.co.uk .