CMS acts on £105.7m fully underwritten Rights Issue for Future plc to fund its $132.5m acquisition of the B2C business of Purch Group, Inc.

CMS is advising Numis Securities Limited (“Numis”) as financial adviser, joint underwriter and joint broker, and Nplus1 Singer Capital Markets Limited (“N+1 Singer”) as joint underwriter and joint broker on the £105.7m rights issue by main market listed Future plc (“Future”) to fund its proposed $132.5m acquisition of the B2C business of Purch Group, Inc. (“Purch B2C”), a leading US digital media publisher operating in the consumer technology and science verticals (the “Acquisition”). The rights issue has been fully underwritten by Numis and N+1 Singer.

Future is a global platform business for specialist media with diversified revenue streams, generating revenue from digital advertising, eCommerce, events, licensing, retail, subscriptions and contract publishing. It is headquartered in Bath, UK, and has operations in the UK, US and Australia. Future is the parent company of the Group and has subsidiaries in the UK, Australia, US (including, following the Acquisition), Germany, the Philippines and Guernsey.

Purch Group, Inc. is a leading US consumer online technology media publisher, with both owned and operated sites and strategic partnerships where it acts as an advertising technology provider to a network of publishers. Purch B2C’s portfolio of brands and mobile applications have strong market positions, including technology brands Tom’s Guide, Tom’s Hardware and Top Ten Reviews, and science brands Live Science and Space.com, the number one space website in the US.

The CMS team was led by Head of ECM Alasdair Steele, with assistance by corporate senior associate Nicole Gyring-Nielsen and associate Will Holder.