Levelling up again
The Storm8 Inc acquisition for USD 300m+100m is Stillfront’s largest to date and another piece of the pie on its way to becoming a free-to-play (F2P) powerhouse, and further M&A will come as the balance sheet has been restored after a successful capital raise of SEK 1.3bn. We find the acquisition value-accretive on initial multiples and deal logic as the group significantly increases its exposure to the F2P games market also through games advertising, giving even better prospects for future growth, especially if group synergies play out as planned. We raise our estimates due to Storm8 and reiterate our Buy rating with a new TP of SEK 548 (352) as growth prospects remain solid. Q4 is out 19 February.
Storm8 Inc – a highly attractive acquisition, in our view
Based on historical revenue and EBIT we calculate an initial EV/EBIT acquisition multiple of 4.8x, or 6.3x when accounting for the full earn-out, highly attractive, in our view, especially as Storm8 has recently launched casual genre mash-up games that offer higher exposure to the total F2P market but at lower risk versus traditional casual games. The additional Storm8 player base is highly complementary as it is geared (75%) to the attractive group of female players aged 20-45 years, in contrast to Stillfront’s strategy games which are centred around middle-aged males.
Q4 2019 preview – report due out 19 February
Reported Q4 player statistics showing MAU and DAU up 13% and 6% q/q indicated downside to our Q4 revenue estimate, but as UAC also seems to have been lower than we had modelled, we leave our adjusted EBITDA basically unchanged for the quarter. In total, we expect Q4 revenue of SEK 564m, +54% y/y, with EBITDA of SEK 218m (SEK 160m in Q4 2018).
Buy reiterated with a new target price of SEK 548 (352)
Our target price is based on an average 2020-21E adjusted EV/EBIT ratio of 14x (reflecting operational EBIT), in line with global gaming peers.
[Contact analyst(s)](mailto:lars-ola.hellstrom@paretosec.com ?subject=Ref: Stillfront Group AB - Levelling up again - Update&cc=)
Analyst(s):
Lars-Ola Hellstrom, +46 8 402 5277, lars-ola.hellstrom@paretosec.com
Full analyse hos Pareto