Acquisition

RWS Holdings PLC

12 July 2023

 

For immediate release                                                                                                       12 July 2023

 RWS Holdings plc

Acquisition of Propylon Holdings Ltd

RWS Holdings plc ("RWS" or the "Group"), a unique world-leading provider of technology-enabled language, content and intellectual property services, announces that it has acquired Propylon Holdings Ltd ("Propylon") for €30.1 million ($33.1 million) on a cash-and-debt free basis with additional deferred payments of €6.45 million ($7.1 million) due on each of the first and second anniversary of completion, conditional on the Propylon management team remaining in place.

Propylon's component content management system ("CCMS") is used by governments, standards bodies, legal publishers and regulated firms to address the complexities involved with drafting, managing, publishing and updating legal and legislative content. Its unique user-friendly solution allows authoring in its CCMS through Microsoft Word. Clients include a number of US State legislatures and national parliaments. In addition, Propylon also provides software to a range of standards bodies and global regulated professional services organisations, who will benefit from RWS's integrated localization capabilities.

The acquisition aligns with the Group's strategy to serve the regulated and legal markets and also strengthens RWS's commitment to innovation in structured content management.

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Propylon will continue to be managed by its current CEO, John Harrington, who will further build on the company's strong record of year-on-year revenue growth and strong cash generation from a growing list of clients with multi-year contracts. In the year ended 31 Dec 2022, Propylon reported revenue of $12.7m, a 13.4% increase from the previous year and is expected to deliver revenue growth for the year ending 31 December 2023 of approximately 30% with an EBITDA margin close to 25%. The company, founded in 1999, has approximately 100 employees based in Ireland and the US.

The acquisition will be funded from RWS's existing cash resources and bank facilities and is in line with the Group's strategy to actively pursue acquisitions that have the potential to accelerate delivery of its medium-term plans.

Ian El-Mokadem, Chief Executive Officer of RWS, commented:

"Propylon is a pioneer in its industry and has hugely helped its clients to manage the way they author, publish and comply with laws and regulations. The synergies between our organisations come from our ability to combine offerings, expand our geographical reach and bring new propositions to our global client base. Today's announcement supports our medium to long-term growth strategy and signals our intention to remain at the forefront of the structured content market."

For further information, please contact:

RWS Holdings plc Andrew Brode, Chairman Ian El-Mokadem, Chief Executive Officer Candida Davies, Chief Financial Officer	01753 480200
MHP (Financial PR Advisor) Katie Hunt / Eleni Menikou / Catherine Chapman	[e-mail] 020 3128 8100 07884 494112
Numis (Nomad & Joint Broker) Stuart Skinner / Kevin Cruickshank / Will Baunton	020 7260 1000
Berenberg (Joint Broker) Ben Wright / Toby Flaux / Alix Mecklenburg-Solodkoff	020 3207 7800

About RWS
RWS Holdings plc is a unique, world-leading provider of technology-enabled language, content and intellectual property services. Through content transformation and multilingual data analysis, our combination of AI-enabled technology and human expertise helps our clients to grow by ensuring they are understood anywhere, in any language.

Our purpose is unlocking global understanding. By combining cultural understanding, client understanding and technical understanding, our services and technology assist our clients to acquire and retain customers, deliver engaging user experiences, maintain compliance and gain actionable insights into their data and content.

Over the past 20 years we've been evolving our own AI solutions as well as helping clients to explore, build and use multilingual AI applications. With 40+ AI-related patents and more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, we have the experience and expertise to support clients on their AI journey.

We work with over 80% of the world's top 100 brands, more than three-quarters of Fortune's 20 'Most Admired Companies' and almost all of the top pharmaceutical companies, investment banks, law firms and patent filers. Our client base spans Europe, Asia Pacific and North and South America. Our 65+ global locations across five continents service clients in the automotive, chemical, financial, legal, medical, pharmaceutical, technology and telecommunications sectors.

Founded in 1958, RWS is headquartered in the UK and publicly listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange regulated market (RWS.L).

For further information, please visit: www.rws.com

 

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