Singtel to sell US digital marketing unit Amobee for $331 million

Singtel is selling Amobee to Britain’s Tremor International for an enterprise valuation of US$239 million (S$331 million), above the US digital media and advertising subsidiary’s carrying value of US$160 million.

The transaction, which excludes Amobee’s e-mail solutions business, will realise about US$197 million in net proceeds and is expected to complete by September this year.

In a bourse filing on Tuesday (July 26), Singtel said the divestment is in line with the group’s move to sharpen its business focus and recycle assets and capital into growth areas with higher returns.

Amobee was reclassified as a subsidiary held for sale as at end-March 2022, with a total asset value of $449.8 million and a net asset value of $216.6 million.

“This divestment reflects our resolve in executing our strategic reset. We are actively reshaping our portfolio to ensure optimal allocation of resources towards new growth drivers, as well as to improve shareholder value,” said Singtel chief executive Yuen Kuan Moon.

News of the potential sale first emerged on June 20, when British news organisation Sky News reported that Tremor was in discussions with Singtel to purchase Amobee for £165 million (S$280.4 million).

Analysts viewed the deal as both earnings- and value-accretive for Singtel, which posted pre-tax losses of $70.2 million for financial year 2020 and $81.9 million for last year.

Shares of Singtel ended Monday three cents, or 1.1 per cent, lower at $2.62.