Digital media, marketing and technology giant Brave Bison has confirmed that it has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire MiniMBA from Centaur Media plc for an enterprise value of £19m.
London-based eLearning business MiniMBA provides MBA-level tuition through an online learning platform to around 6,000 delegates every year and has trained almost 40,000 professionals since inception.
The firm sells directly to marketers, as well as to major brand advertisers looking to train their marketing teams, including John Lewis, Tesco, Google, Nestle and Carlsberg.
It is led by its founder, ex-London Business School marketing professor, Mark Ritson, and CEO Tim Plyming.
In a statement posted to the London Stock Exchange, Brave Bison said: “MiniMBA would form the cornerstone of a new eLearning & business intelligence division for Brave Bison.
“The new division’s products will be cross sold to Brave Bison’s existing base of over 120 clients, many of which employ alumni of MiniMBA.
“As part of the group, MiniMBA would also leverage Brave Bison’s expertise in artificial intelligence, digital marketing and technology services, including near-shore hubs for product development.”
The London-based marketing firm intends to fund the acquisition by way of existing group balance sheet cash, totalling £5m at 31 March 2025; a new group bank facility of up to £10m; a strategic investment of £4 million from MiniMBA founder Mark Ritson who would, on completion, become a top 5 shareholder; and a placing of new ordinary Brave Bison shares to existing and new investors.
In the year ending 31st December 2024, MiniMBA generated a net revenue of £10.7m. Should the acquisition complete, it would be expected to contribute a minimum of £3.5m in adjusted EBITDA.
Brave Bison currently has a share price of 2.62p and a market cap of £31.24m.
The company said further announcements will be made in due course and there can be no certainty that the acquisition will conclude.