Future plc acquires Australia and SE Asian digital shopping comparison business

Future plc, the international media group and leading digital business, has acquired Next Commerce Pty Ltd ("Next Commerce"), a digital shopping comparison business with operations in Australia and across South East Asia, for an undisclosed cash consideration.

Future has rapidly growing e-commerce revenues in its UK and US businesses. This acquisition will enable Future to accelerate its growth in this region by leveraging its leading online media brands such as techradar.com,gamesradar.com and pcgamer.com.

Next Commerce, which has revenue for year ended 30 June 2016 of AUS$3.3million (£1.9million), operates thegetprice.com.au and pricepanda.com comparison shopping websites across the Australia and South East Asia markets.

getprice.com.au, originally founded in 2005, is Australia's largest shopping comparison site with over 1,200 retailers using the site and over 2.8 million products listed. pricepanda.com was launched in Singapore in 2012 and now has sites in five countries and lists over 5.8 million products.

Zillah Byng-Thorne, Future Chief Executive, commented: 

"This acquisition further diversifies our revenue, an important element of our strategy. It will also strengthen our presence in e-commerce, which is increasingly becoming a key part of our business.  

"Over the last two years, we have demonstrated the significant value that can be created through combining high-quality content that connects with a consumer focussed e-commerce offering. 

"We see good opportunities to grow by working closely with Next Commerce, who have developed market-leading e-commerce technology and practices for retailers, publishers and consumers in the fast growing Australian and SE Asian markets."

About Future:

Future plc is an international media group and leading digital business, listed on the London Stock Exchange (symbol: FUTR). Future has operations in the UK, US and Australia creating publications, apps, websites and events.

Future holds market-leading positions in Technology, Games, Music, Film, Photography and the Creative & Design sector. Future attracts more than 50 million monthly users globally to our websites, which include techradar.com, GamesRadar.com and musicradar.com.

Future sold more than 14 million magazines last year. Our most well-known brands include T3, Total Film, Edge, MacFormat and Xbox: The Official Magazine.

Future, and its portfolio, reaches over 15 million people on social media. Future has over 200 licensing & syndication agreements in 89 countries worldwide, and exports over 55 titles.