Verve Group acquires Captify, strengthening its Demand Side business and securing one of the largest onsite search datasets outside Walled Gardens

Verve Group acquires Captify, strengthening its Demand Side business and securing one of the largest onsite search datasets outside Walled Gardens 

• Acquisition of Captify will contribute revenues of about EUR 41 million on a full-year 2025e normalized proforma basis with expected EBITDA of about EUR 5 million including significant post-deal synergies
• Transaction strengthens Demand Side business with top-tier accounts and strong sales team of more than 30 employees (FTE)
• Adding one of the largest search data assets outside Walled Gardens with easy technological integration

Stockholm, 17 September 2025 – Verve Group SE (ISIN: SE0018538068), a fast-growing software platform in the advertising technology industry, is acquiring Captify Technologies Ltd, one of the largest search intelligence platforms outside the Walled Gardens, analyzing the search behavior of up to 1 billion daily searches and aggregating about 400 billion active data points per day, which continuously enhances its machine learning models. Captify has long-term, active business relations with all top-tier advertising agencies and about half of the global Top 100 advertisers and thus complements Verve’s ongoing Demand Side expansion efforts without significant operational overlap.

Captify’s unique search intelligence platform provides brands with a deep understanding of consumer interests, motivations, and intentions in real time, allowing for precise targeting and better campaign measurement without the use of third-party cookies. The underlying machine learning technology transforms real search intent into actionable marketing strategies that are used by over 800 leading global brands for programmatic activation, pre-campaign strategies, and unique measurement solutions. Captify is regularly recognized for innovation and excellence in advertising technology, for example as “Best in Search Marketing Platforms” by Adweek Reader’s Choice.

Headquartered in London, Captify has a strong presence in the UK, with its majority of revenue in Verve’s core market North America, with multiple offices in the USA, the UK and Australia. While one of Verve’s main strategic goals is to grow its sales force substantially in 2025 and 2026, this transaction adds substantially to that, adding round about 30 salespeople at the aforementioned locations. By combining the Captify and the Verve Brand as well as Agency sales teams, substantial synergies will be generated as early as 2025.

“Verve and Captify complement each other perfectly, making this acquisition a strong strategic fit. Verve’s clear US market leadership amongst programmatic advertising Sell Side Platforms on Apple iOS as well as Google Android will now receive an additional lift from the strong complementary Demand Side access and sophisticated sales team Captify adds to our Group”, underlines Remco Westermann, CEO of Verve Group SE. “With this transaction, we are clearly delivering on our strategic roadmap. We are strengthening our Demand Side, accelerating our expansion into the UK market and gaining a strong sales team, which will benefit the entire Group. At the same time, we see a broad range of measures and possibilities, which will lead to significant post-transaction synergies at a decisively reduced cost base.”

Captify is expected to contribute revenues of about EUR 41 million on a full-year 2025e normalized proforma basis with an expected EBITDA of about EUR 5 million including significant post-deal synergies. As the company has performed restructuring measures in early 2025, the financial effects of these measures have been normalized in order to present a realistic annual impact on the financial figures and increase comparability. The total purchase price of EUR 25.6 million reflects an EBITDA multiple of about 7x before synergies, respectively about 5x after synergies. The transaction is structured with a EUR 16.2 million cash consideration within 6 weeks of closing, and an additional deferred cash consideration of EUR 9.4 million 18 months after closing. Captify will be consolidated into Verve Group financials from 16 September 2025.

Captify’s technology solutions will enhance the data capabilities of Verve’s audience intelligence platform, Helix. Captify’s team will be integrated into Verve’s commercial brand and agency, technology and product teams, leading to substantial revenue and cost synergies of about EUR 1.6 million per year. Mike Welch will step down from his role as Chief Executive Officer of Captify and will assume the role of a strategic advisor.

Given the date of consolidation as well as the fact that Management expects the full synergetic benefits to unfold from January 2026 onwards, the acquisition is expected to contribute about EUR 12 - 13 million of revenues and EUR 1 - 2 million of EBITDA to Verve’s Group financials in 2025. The official guidance for the year 2025 remains unchanged, as it was stated, that it to excludes any impact from potential M&A transactions during the year.

For additional information on Verve’s further operational strategy with regard to the acquisition of Captify, the Company will host a video call for analysts, institutional investors and members of the press on Thursday, 18 September, at 9:00 CEST. To register for this event, please visit the following web link: https://live.events.inderes.com/press-conference-september-2025/register. A recoding of the video call will be made publicly available via the Investor Relations section of Verve’s corporate Website at https://investors.verve.com/investor-relations/financial-reports-and-presentations/.

Davis+Gilbert LLP and Bristows LLP acted as legal advisors to Verve, while Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor and Squire as legal advisor to Captify.

Further information about Verve Group and its subsidiaries can be found at www.verve.com.

Contact:

Ingo Middelmenne
Head of European Investor Relations
+49 174 90 911 90
ingo.middelmenne@verve.com

Sören Barz
VP Corp. Communications & Strategic Initiatives
+49 170 376 9571
soeren.barz@verve.com

About Verve

Verve Group is a fast-growing software platform in the advertising technology industry, connecting advertisers seeking to buy digital ad space with publishers monetizing their content. Driven by its mission “Let’s make media better.” Verve provides responsible, AI-driven advertising solutions that deliver superior outcomes for advertisers and publishers. The company focuses on emerging media channels like mobile in-app, connected TV and others. In anticipation of growing demand from users and advertisers for greater privacy, Verve has developed cutting-edge ID-less targeting technology that enables efficient advertising within digital media without relying on identifiers such as cookies or IDFA. Thanks to its strong differentiation and execution, Verve has achieved a revenue CAGR of 33 percent over the past four years reaching net revenues of 437 million euros in 2024 with an adj. EBITDA margin of 30 percent. Verve's main operational presence is in North America and Europe, and it is registered as a Societas Europaea in Sweden (registration number 517100-0143). Its shares - with the ISIN SE0018538068 - are listed on the regulated market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Ticker: VRV) and on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market in Stockholm (Ticker: VER). Verve has an outstanding bond with the ISIN: SE0023848429. The Companies certified advisor on the Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market is FNCA Sweden AB; contact info: info@fnca.se.

Catch-up with Verve on upcoming conferences and roadshows

22.09.2025  Berenberg & GS German Corporate Conference Munich, Germany

23./24.09.2025  Baader Investment Conference      Munich, Germany

08.10.2025  GBC 16th International Investment Forum      virtual

13.11.2025  Pareto Nordic TechSaaS Conference      Stockholm, Sweden

12./13.11.2025  MKK – Münchner Kapitalmarkt Konferenz      Munich, Germany

17./18.11.2025  Winter 1on1-Summit 2025          virtual

24./26.11.2025  Deutsches Eigenkapitalforum       Frankfurt, Germany

This information is such information that Verve Group SE is obliged to make public in accordance with the Securities Markets Act (2007:528). The information in this press release has been made public through the agency of the responsible person set out below for publication at the time stated by Verve’s news distributor EQS Newswire at the publication of this press release.