STATCO, an Estonia-headquartered group of research and data companies, is building its acquisition pipeline in the Nordics and the largest European markets, CEO and owner Kaspar Jänes told Mergermarket.

The company, which anticipates revenues of around EUR 19m this year, would like to make one or two acquisitions next year, Jänes said. It is in early-stage talks with a few potential targets, but it is too early to comment on which of its business divisions could close a deal next year, he added.

The group includes Estonia-registered mystery shopping specialist Dive, market-research company RAIT, online panel company Intra, and a Lithuanian platform for customer experience management, Synopticom.

RAIT is primarily targeting players in the Nordic markets, where it is interested in acquiring companies with revenue between EUR 2m and EUR 20m, Jänes said. Intra and Synopticom would assess targets with sales of up to EUR 5m, in the Nordics, Germany, the UK, France, Spain and Italy, he added.

Dive, which has completed three acquisitions over the past 12 months in the Nordics, is primarily interested in buying peers with sales of up to EUR 10m in Germany, the UK and France, and would also assess opportunities in Spain and Italy, he said.

Jänes told this news service in October 2023 that STATCO was working on an acquisition in the Nordics. Since then, subsidiary Dive has acquired Swedish Custitude in October 2023, Danish Shoptimizer in February 2024, and Norway-based SeeYou earlier this month, according to company press releases that did not disclose the deal values.

The acquired companies each generated around EUR 1m in annual revenue, Jänes said now. The group used legal advisor RASK for all these deals, he said, adding that it also engaged law firm Eversheds Sutherland for the Custitude acquisition, and Bull & Co for the SeeYou deal.

Deal financing

STATCO expects to make larger deals than in previous years, Jänes said. To date, it has financed acquisitions using bank loans, but management is now working with an unnamed advisor to map out other funding options such as an external equity investment, in addition to loans, he said.

The company could potentially raise between EUR 3m and EUR 10m in fresh equity funding, in exchange for a minority stake in the parent holding or one of its subsidiaries, via a new share issue, Jänes said.

While a fundraising deal is likely within the next few years, STATCO’s concrete plans will depend on a specific acquisition opportunity, he added.

STATCO has already seen interest from private equity funds, but expects to target investors with a long-term commitment, such as family offices and high-net-worth individuals, he said.

The company, which generated sales of around EUR 13m in 2023, anticipates reaching EUR 21m revenue in 2025 from organic growth, Jänes said. It also remains committed to reaching sales of EUR 40m by 2027, with most of the growth coming from acquisitions, he said, adding that its EBITDA margin is in the 10% to 15% range.

STATCO has around 180 employees across its offices in eight countries in the Baltics, Nordics and Poland, Jänes said.