Scripps Says It Got A Real Good Deal

The $150 million Triton purchase by Scripps was at a revenue multiple of 3.7X ($40 million), and Scripps executives boasted on a conference call Wendesday that they “got a really good deal.” They saw Triton as a target and went after it.

Scripps CEO Adam Symson said the purchase of the digital audio technology and measurement company fits right in with what the company is doing with Stitcher & Midroll.
He said it’s impossible to find someone who is not listening to audio these days and Scripps is turning more to digitally created products. Having Triton in the Scripps family also helps the company become less reliant on ad revenue.

On the Wednesday conference call Scripps executives emphasized how Triton pretty much owned the digital audio measurement space and were the only MRC accredited company in that space. They said it would take years for a company to get to Triton’s level, especially with the number of audio publishers and ad agencies Triton already has relationships with. “Today there would be a lot of work for a company to even come clost to Triton. In measurement they are far and away the leader. Even Nielsen abandonded the effort.

Triton has two lines of business. A measurement technology platform used by agencies to buy digital audio advertising from streaming and on-demand audio companies; and infrastructure: Triton provides its clients with hosting and advertising infrastructure to deliver digital audio streams with ad insertion capabilities.

Triton’s 2018 revenue is projected to be approximately $40 million, with EBITDA projected in the mid-teen millions. Triton’s 2019 revenue is projected to grow in the low- to mid-teens percent range over 2018. The revenue multiple for the transaction is about 3.7x; the EBITDA multiple is about 9x. This is a stock acquisition, and therefore there is no step-up in the assets for tax purposes.