DJ ILBE S.p.A.: Iervolino and Lady Bacardi Entertainment SPA ('ILBE') announces its admission to trading by direct listing on Euronext Growth in Paris
ILBE S.p.A. ILBE S.p.A.: Iervolino and Lady Bacardi Entertainment SPA ('ILBE') announces its admission to trading by direct listing on Euronext Growth in Paris 12-Jan-2022 / 12:24 CET/CEST Dissemination of a French Regulatory News, transmitted by EQS Group. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Iervolino and Lady Bacardi Entertainment SPA ("ILBE") announces its admission to trading by direct listing on Euronext Growth in Paris, and becomes the first Italian production company with a dual listing in Milan and Paris
The secondary listing shows ILBE's aspiration to attract new investors to participate in the future success of the group, being part of a market that has grown in importance across Europe over the last years
Rome, 11 January 2022 - ILBE (Iervolino and Lady Bacardi Entertainment SPA), a global production company listed on Euronext Growth Milan since 2019, is listing its securities on Euronext Growth in Paris via direct admission. The first listing will take place on 12 January 2022 (ISIN: IT0005380602 - Ticker: ALIE).
ILBE, an international standing production company
Founded in Rome in 2011 by Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi, Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment (ILBE) is a production and co-production company focusing on media content creation and production (including films, TV-shows, web series and more) of international standing, suitable for the young audience of Digital Platforms and attentive to human values.
Since 2018, the company, which majority shareholders are Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi, started to produce movies for the international market, based on the business model used by the main Hollywood Majors, and entered in a new phase of growth.
In 2020 ILBE recorded revenues of EUR120.7 million, EBIT of EUR22.8 million and net income of EUR19.5 million.
With a limited risk business model, and a rich pipe of films and animation under production, ILBE is well positioned to expand into foreign markets and continue its profitable growth.
Andrea Iervolino commented on the group 's strategy:
"Consumer expectations and their needs of video content continue to evolve, and technology is transforming production, from delivery to consumption of video products. The Covid crisis has been a real catalyst in this regard. OTT platforms and social media for video content have seen their audience skyrocket. This context opens new growth opportunities for the ILBE group, whose productions are mainly planned for streaming platforms, but also focused on innovative short content formats with highest quality. In addition to traditional productions, ILBE has the know-how to produce innovative audiovisual content and provide associated services to its partners. In this regard, the animated film Arctic Justice is an exemplary case. Released in US cinemas in 2019, it then became one of the three most watched titles on Netflix US during the lockdown period. Following that success of streeming we have accelerated our short content productions (spin-offs of the same film) Arctic Friends and Puffins with Johnny Depp which are from September 20, 2020 distributed in over 80 countries on Apple TV and Amazon Prime."
Regarding the operation, Andrea Iervolino added:
"As reported in the half year consolidated financial statements as of June 30th, 2021, with a backlog of around EUR44 million and projects under development of approximately EUR349 million over the next three years (2022-2024), ILBE is well positioned to accelerate its international development. This secondary listing in Paris illustrates our desire to attract new investors to participate in the future success of the group as we are now part of a market that has grown in importance in Europe over the last years. We believe that our company will benefit from a thriving French media and entertainment industry, notably by sitting next to companies that we regard as peers and by reaching a new investors' community receptive to our business. ILBE is ready to take the next step in its development by leveraging a large ecosystem of internal talent and external partners. Welcome to all our future shareholders."
Listing on Euronext Growth Paris to increase the group's visibility and international reputation
By the admission of its Ordinary Shares on Euronext Growth Paris, ILBE seeks in particular:
-- to increase its visibility towards French and international investors and gain access some investors thatare especially receptive to Entertainment & Media markets;
-- to set foot in the Paris' Entertainment & Media ecosystem to find additional business partners andsupport the company's external growth development plans;
-- to enhance the liquidity of its Ordinary Shares by setting forth a liquidity contract.
Andrea Iervolino and Lady Bacardi have complementary track records united by a common ambition: "building a major production company with integrated ancillary services"
Andrea Iervolino began his career as a producer in Italy and then in the United States together with Luciano Martino (historic Italian producer, screenwriter and director), participating in the making of the film "Mercante di Venezia" (The Merchant of Venice, with avec Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes, Al Pacino) awarded at the 71st Venice Film Festival in 2004.
Lady Monika Bacardi is a successful and internationally known female entrepreneur, and the company's largest shareholder and producer of all the projects.
In 2013. Andrea Iervolino and Monika Gomez del Campo Bacardi founded AMBI Distribution in the US, which soon established itself as one of the world's leading cinema sales agents.
The Company then scaled-up in 2019 with its IPO in Milan in August 2019, a year during which the Company also launched new lines of business in digital marketing and advertising, and stars artistic management. This activity has been reinforced by the acquisition of Red Carpet Srl, a company specialising in such matters.
In 2020, the Company also made the acquisition of Arte Video Srl to reinforce its services to production component: authoring, encoding and digital delivery.
Key success factors based on proven knowledge of the international audiovisual production industry and its players
ILBE business formula relies essentially on the following main strengths:
-- a network of relationships with internationally renowned actors and directors based on Andrea Iervolinojourney who has produced over 60 films in over 15 years of business with some of the main Hollywood stars;
-- strong relationships with the Sales Agents and local distributors, which give the Issuer easy access toboth Guaranteed Minimums necessary to start production and to the international rights market;
-- regular contacts with co-producers of international standing, which increase opportunities to initiate orparticipate in international productions;
-- the many years of experience of the Company's management in the running and implementation, in practice,of international standing productions, both in Italy and at an international scale.
1 core business and 2 growth drivers supporting strong financial results
Operating mainly in the field of audiovisual works production, ILBE has launched in 2019 two businesses ancillary to its core business:
-- an in-house digital advertising department: this activity involves the development and design ofadvertising campaigns, as well as the management, marketing and sale of advertising spaces.
-- a celebrities management activity with whom ILBE has privileged relations: this activity aims to managethe image and marketing of celebrities in Italy. It does so by concluding contracts with television broadcastersfor the participation of international actors in television programmes. This activity is a growing business line onwhich ILBE invested notably through the acquisition of Red Carpet in 2020.
Key Financial Highlights
In 2020 ILBE recorded consolidated revenues of EUR120.7 million, EBIT of EUR22.8 million and net income of EUR19.5 million.
The Company's consolidated revenues as at 30 June 2021 amounted as EUR 114.2m and were distributed as follows:
* Others mainly include grants and tax credits from production
At the end of September 2021, ILBE recorded data which confirms the company's growth with consolidated revenues of EUR134.0 million as at Q3 (+77.0% compared to EUR75.7 million as at 30 September 2020) and consolidated EBIT before non-recurring net charges (EUR1.1 million of non-recurring expenses of the parent company relating to remote working), of EUR18.2 million (+6.4% compared to EUR17.1 million as at 30 September 2020).
The Group's net profit at 30 September 2021 amounted to EUR13.8 million, compared to the EUR14.3 million of the same period in 2020.
A limited risk business model with new barriers to develop in European local markets
ILBE shows a business model which bears limited risks thanks to a financing scheme typical of content production: it does not directly finance its production activities and retains full control over content rights. ILBE is thereby uniquely positioned to play in the growing media content production industry, which is expected to benefit from even more investment to come from SVOD platforms (subscription video on demand) in a near future in a European market that is now protected by quotas set forth by EU regulation.
ILBE automatically acquires, from the outset, full ownership (or a share, if it acts as a coproducer) of all the exploitation rights of the Audiovisual Works in perpetuity and for the whole world, in all languages and on all distribution channels. The Issuer exploits the Rights thus acquired both by transferring them outright and by granting distribution licenses.
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