Unilever Sells Final Stake in BrainJuicer

Unilever has sold its remaining 13.5% stake in online research specialist BrainJuicer, offloading c.1.68m BrainJuicer shares for £2.35 each, and raising around £3.9m in the process.

BrainJuicer was founded in 1999 by John Kearon (pictured), who began his career as a researcher with Unilever. The sale represents a phenomenal rate of return for the home products giant, which initially invested £550k in Kearon's firm in 2003, for an equity stake of approximately 40%.

Unilever sold nearly half its shares in the firm in October, and further tranches in November, December and January.

Last month, BrainJuicer reported a 38% revenue rise to £16.36m for the 12 months ended 31 December 2010 (2009: £11.81m). Growth was driven primarily by its UK and North America teams, which represent 48% and 25% of the business respectively.

Web site: www.brainjuicer.com .