Verve Group substantially expands its market reach in Europe via acquisition of Acardo Group AG
- Acquisition of leading digital consumer activation solution provider with consumer reach of 85 percent of German households, being integrated with POS systems in more than 5,600 retail stores and scaled branded retailer apps
- Acardo enables Verve to run shoppable campaigns across mobile, CTV, and DOOH, turning impressions into direct consumer response and measurable outcomes for Verve’s Demand Side clients
- Expected contribution of about EUR 15 million of revenues on a full-year 2025e normalized proforma basis with expected EBITDA of about EUR 6 million including significant post-deal synergies
Stockholm, 16 September 2025 – Verve Group SE (ISIN: SE0018538068), a fast-growing software platform in the advertising technology industry, today signed an agreement to acquire Acardo Group AG, a leading digital consumer activation solution in Germany. Being integrated into the Point of Sales (POS) systems of more than 5,600 retail stores and into scaled branded retailer apps, Acardo achieves a consumer reach of 85 percent of all households in Germany. The company’s platform focuses on couponing and cashback solutions for leading retailers such as Edeka, Kaufland, and Rewe, while processing transaction data in real time and ensuring fully automated clearing in the background.
Through Acardo’s strong network, which includes over 200 international Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands such as Unilever, Nestlé, and Mars, as well as customers in the entertainment and health verticals, including Bayer, Warner Brothers, and Beiersdorf, Verve gains substantially stronger traction in European markets. With 120 total employees, Acardo brings a high-caliber team of 14 senior sales experts for the German region into Verve Group, who have executed several thousand consumer activation campaigns in recent years.
Following the acquisition, Verve will introduce Acardo‘s consumer activation capabilities, including coupon functionality, into all of its advertising channels of operation - mobile, CTV, and DOOH – thus furthermore leveraging the technology transfer. In a showcase scenario, a consumer is being displayed a mobile advertisement for a new product in an app, clicks the ad, and instantly saves an offer into a mobile wallet or retailer loyalty app. Later, when shopping, they can redeem it with a single scan, either in-store for an offline purchase or automatically at checkout online. This frictionless consumer journey not only drives measurable conversions and direct consumer response but also strengthens brand engagement across key channels, particularly mobile in-app, connecting seamlessly to both e-commerce and physical retail. The German region is a key growth market with a strong retail and CPG ecosystem. Through this acquisition, Verve gains access to established retailer networks, strengthens its local sales force and adds a proven performance driver in consumer activation - a capability that enhances Verve’s value proposition, particularly in CPG and retail, where the Company is doubling down, as well as in health and entertainment verticals. This combination positions Verve to deliver measurable outcomes at scale for its Demand Side clients and provides a strong launchpad for further expansion into other key regions.
“With the acquisition of the Acardo Group, we are expanding Verve with a technologically leading partner in the field of consumer activation that fits perfectly with our strategy. Acardo significantly strengthens our international growth in Europe by expanding our portfolio with innovative retail media solutions and broadening our offering for emerging channels”, underlines Remco Westermann, CEO of Verve Group SE. “Acardo's strong sales team is a particularly valuable addition to Verve, as it has excellent connections to major brands and agencies and will thus further expand our market position in Europe. In addition, Acardo provides us with a high-quality data asset that will help us deliver our services in an even more targeted and efficient manner. This is an important step toward further consolidating Verve's position as the leading platform for data-driven programmatic advertising in Europe.”
Acardo is expected to contribute revenues of about EUR 15 million on a full-year 2025e normalized proforma basis with an expected EBITDA of about EUR 6 million. The total purchase price of EUR 24.5 million reflects an EBITDA multiple of about 6 x EBITDA before synergies, respectively about 4 x EBITDA after synergies. Given the technological setup of Acardo, the seamless integration of the company’s technology under the existing management structure will not lead to the requirement of a technological integration. The transaction is expected to close 1 October 2025 and structured with a EUR 17.2 million cash consideration at closing as well as an additional EUR 7.3 million differed cash consideration 12 months after closing.
Given the date of consolidation as well as the fact that Management expects the full synergetic benefits to unfold from January 2026 onwards, the acquisition is expected to contribute about EUR 3.5 – 4.5 million of revenues and EUR 0.9 – 1.2 million of EBITDA to Verve’s Group financials in 2025. The official guidance for the year 2025 remains unchanged, as it was stated, that it excluds any impact from potential M&A transactions during the year.
For additional information on Verve’s further operational strategy with regard to the acquisition of Acardo Group AG, the Company will host a video call for analysts, institutional investors and members of the press on Thursday, 18 September, at 9:00 CEST. To register for this event, please visit the following web link: https://live.events.inderes.com/press-conference-september-2025/register. A recoding of the video call will be made publicly available via the Investor Relations section of Verve’s corporate Website at https://investors.verve.com/investor-relations/financial-reports-and-presentations/.
Further information about Verve Group and its subsidiaries can be found at www.verve.com.
For further information, please contact:
Ingo Middelmenne
Head of European Investor Relations
+49 174 90 911 90
ingo.middelmenne@verve.com
Sören Barz
VP Corp. Communications & Strategic Initiatives
+49 170 376 9571
soeren.barz@verve.com
About Verve:
Verve Group is a fast-growing software platform in the advertising technology industry, connecting advertisers seeking to buy digital ad space with publishers monetizing their content. Driven by its mission “Let’s make media better.” Verve provides responsible, AI-driven advertising solutions that deliver superior outcomes for advertisers and publishers. The company focuses on emerging media channels like mobile in-app, connected TV and others. In anticipation of growing demand from users and advertisers for greater privacy, Verve has developed cutting-edge ID-less targeting technology that enables efficient advertising within digital media without relying on identifiers such as cookies or IDFA. Thanks to its strong differentiation and execution, Verve has achieved a revenue CAGR of 33 percent over the past four years reaching net revenues of 437 million euros in 2024 with an adj. EBITDA margin of 30 percent. Verve's main operational presence is in North America and Europe, and it is registered as a Societas Europaea in Sweden (registration number 517100-0143). Its shares - with the ISIN SE0018538068 - are listed on the regulated market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Ticker: VRV) and on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market in Stockholm (Ticker: VER). Verve has an outstanding bond with the ISIN: SE0023848429. The Companies certified advisor on the Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market is FNCA Sweden AB; contact info: info@fnca.se
Catch-up with Verve on upcoming conferences and roadshows
22.09.2025 Berenberg & GS German Corporate Conference Munich, Germany
23./25.09.2025 Baader Investment Conference Munich, Germany
08.10.2025 GBC 16th International Investment Forum virtual
13.11.2025 Pareto Nordic TechSaaS Conference Stockholm, Sweden
12./13.11.2025 MKK – Münchner Kapitalmarkt Konferenz Munich, Germany
17./18.11.2025 Winter 1on1-Summit 2025 virtual
24./26.11.2025 Deutsches Eigenkapitalforum Frankfurt, Germany
This information is such information that Verve Group SE is obliged to make public in accordance with the Securities Markets Act (2007:528). The information in this press release has been made public through the agency of the responsible person set out below for publication at the time stated by Verve’s news distributor EQS Newswire at the publication of this press release.