Analysts at Berenberg raised their target price on market research agency YouGov from 1,500.0p to 1,640.0p on Thursday following the firm’s acquisition of Swiss agency LINK Marketing Services.
Berenberg stated that on a fully annualised basis, the deal will add about 10% to YouGov’s sales, as well as 3.5% and 7% to its full-year 2022 and 2023 earnings estimates, respectively.
The German bank said mergers and acquisitions had happened “quietly but regularly” at YouGov in 2021, with prior deals leading to an expansion of its geographic footprint into Australia and Canada.
While Berenberg said the acquisition of LINK followed “the same pattern”, the analysts pointed out that the addition of this particular business to the group was on “a much more meaningful scale”.
Berenberg, which reiterated its ‘buy’ rating on the stock, stated the key synergy driver will be LINK’s access to YouGov’s global panel footprint, which it think can drive additional revenue opportunities and higher margins for the unit.
