Digital advertiser Netccentric raises $12.5m and floats on ASX

Digital media technology company, Netccentric, will look to expand its social media influencer advertising platform locally after raising $12.5 million in an IPO and listing on the Australian Stock Exchange.

The nine-year old, Singapore-based company listed on the ASX today after exceeding initial IPO capital targets by $5 million, raising $0.20 per share and utilising a $2.5 million oversubscription facility.

Netccentric has six subsidiary businesses, including three marketplaces aimed at connecting advertisers with bloggers and social media influencers. Among its digital media companies are mobile blogging platform, Dayre, along with Churp Churp, a service that matches its 230,000 social media influencers with prospective advertisers.

The group’s core product, NuffNang, is a blog advertising community that offers brands a platform to interact with online bloggers. The company has two offices in Australia in Melbourne and Sydney and claims more than 950,000 bloggers.

Read more: How to engage in influencer marketing

The other business units are Reelity.TV, which produces online video content for advertisers to distribute through social networks; Sashmi, a social media agency; and Ripplewerkz, a media production company.

According to a statement, the company now boasts of 180 employees across Asia-Pacific and the UK, and chalked up a 25 per cent increase in annual revenue to $11.1 million in the 2014 financial year. The company also claims to have increased revenues by an average of 20 per cent each year.

“Today marks and important day for the company and listing on the ASX positions us well for our next phase of growth,” said Netccentric’s CEO, Cheo Ming Shen.

“We have a focused strategy and are well-funded to deliver growth internationally across our client base in both existing markets and new markets.”

Read more: Why integrated social suites are failing marketers

According to local chairman, Martyn Thomas, the funds will see expansion of its existing NuffNang blog marketing network, as well as a number of plans for Australia ramp up. This includes launching its social media influencer advertising network, Churp Churp, towards the end of this year, as well as a new Sydney office launch supported by a half-day conference for top bloggers in July.

Thomas said it will also launch its mobile blogging platform, Dayre, to its community, as well as put more emphasis on using bloggers to produce video content for clients.

More widely, Netccentric's overarching growth strategy is to organically grow the size and number of advertisers, geographically expand into new markets, and implement a mobile device growth strategy.

A number of noted Asian investors invested, including one of Malaysia’s wealthiest businessman and chairman of property and financial group TA Enterprise, Tiah Thee Kian; CEO of Asian snackfood giant Mamee-Double Decker, Pang Tee Chew; and president of Taiwanese media company Want Want China Times Group, Kevin Shao-Chung Tsai.

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