Paris, January 9, 2024 – Lectra announces the signature of an agreement to acquire the majority of the capital and voting rights of the American company Launchmetrics.
As a major player in the fashion, automotive and furniture markets, Lectra contributes to the Industry 4.0 revolution by providing software, cutting equipment, data analytics solutions and associated services to brands, manufacturers and retailers.
Founded in 2015, Launchmetrics develops and sells an innovative cloud-based SaaS platform, composed of seven modules, dedicated to brand performance, for marketing and communications professionals in the Fashion, Lifestyle and Beauty markets.
In a complex and constantly changing environment – the boom in artificial intelligence usage, development of multi-channel distribution, emergence of new consumer behaviors, and changing regulatory and CSR constraints – brands must create a strong identity, develop a differentiating position to gain visibility, and optimize the identification and retention of consumers.
To support their customers during the launch of collections and at all key moments of communication with their ecosystem, Launchmetrics has developed a cloud-based platform which – by harnessing aggregated marketing data – enables its customers to orchestrate the launch of their brand campaigns, precisely measure their effectiveness, and maximize their return on investment.
Launchmetrics is a world-renowned technology company with an unparalleled marketing data asset in the Fashion, Lifestyle and Beauty markets, thanks to its mastery of Industry 4.0 technologies such as data, the cloud, and, in particular, artificial intelligence.
In 2023, Launchmetrics’ revenues are expected to be around 45 million dollars – including more than 40 million dollars in recurring revenues – and an adjusted EBITDA of around 5 million dollars generated from close to 1,700 customers in around 20 countries, including prestigious fashion brands.
“Launchmetrics wanted to join forces with the Lectra Group in order to accelerate the development of its offering on a global scale, alongside a fashion technology leader,” declares Michael Jaïs, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Launchmetrics. “The alliance of Launchmetrics and Lectra will enable us to enrich our respective offers with even more artificial intelligence and complementary data – both product and marketing – to provide our customers with a unique value proposition.”
“This acquisition naturally fits with Lectra’s approach to expanding its presence in the Fashion market, by covering additional strategic links of its customers’ value chain. Combining our existing solutions with those of Launchmetrics establishes the Group as the only technological actor to support its customers from product development to production, then from collection management to marketing, e-commerce, and traceability,” adds Daniel Harari, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lectra. “After seven acquisitions over the past six years, this new strategic step enables Lectra to continue to push the boundaries by defining a new framework for Industry 4.0 in Fashion and is fully aligned with the 2023-2025 strategic roadmap, presented in February 2023,” he concludes.
The transaction concerns the acquisition of about 50.3% of Launchmetrics in January 2024 for about 85 million dollars, this amount will depend on recurring revenues and EBITDA for 2023. Acquisition of the remaining capital and voting rights is planned in five stages: in 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2030. The total acquisition price should be between 200 and 240 million dollars, based on expected double-digit growth in both recurring revenues and EBITDA over the 2024-2029 period.
Bpifrance, being a shareholder of reference of Launchmetrics, will sell part of its shares during this transaction and will remain into the company’s capital until 2027.
