ProSiebenSat.1, Aspermont, Facebook - Winning with highly scalable business models

PROSIEBENSAT.1 MEDIA SE - IPO of subsidiaries?

Most recently, ProSiebenSat.1's share certificates benefited from media reports in "Manager Magazin". According to these, the media company is said to be planning to list its most important subsidiaries on the stock exchange by 2022 at the latest. With leading entertainment brands, a production business and a fast-growing commerce portfolio, the MDAX-listed Group is one of the most diversified media companies in Europe. NuCom Group is a fast-growing e-commerce player with well-known portfolio companies in consumer advice, dating, experiences and beauty & lifestyle.

Should the IPO come, the stock would undoubtedly benefit. Perhaps the probability of a merger with the major Italian shareholder Mediaset, which holds 12% of the Bavarians, would then also increase. So far, the ProSiebenSat.1 board has rejected a merger with former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's media company.

Meanwhile, operating performance is pointing upward again. As the Group reported, advertising revenues are back "to the level before the start of the Corona pandemic". For the full year, the Group is forecasting revenues of at least EUR 4.25 billion. That corresponds to an increase of 5% and more compared to the previous year. In addition, the Company aims to achieve an operating profit of at least EUR 750 million, adjusted for special effects.

ASPERMONT LIMITED - Favorable entry opportunity

A relatively unknown small-cap pearl from Down Under is Aspermont. The Company is the leading media service provider for the global resources industry and publishes the two longest-serving regular publications for the mining sector, Mining Journal and Mining Magazine. The transition from print to media took a long time and proved to be quite tricky.

In the end, the digital transformation strategy led to success. The Company operates in the B2B market. That is, enterprise customers can purchase high-quality content for a fee under a XaaS (Anything as a Service) model. As a result of scaling, Aspermont's cash register is ringing. More and more customers are requesting Aspermont's services. The Australians also plan to expand the versatile model to include new business units and countries. The Company has a tremendous asset with a database of more than 7 million selected contacts in executive positions. The aim is to turn the data into cash, i.e. monetize it!

"Content" is indeed the focus of the XaaS model, but great potentials also arise from cross-selling. In addition, during the Corona pandemic, the Company created the new Virtual Event & Exhibition (VEE) division and hit the bull's eye. Within a very short period, Aspermont scored points for its VEE platforms away from the mining sector, winning more than 100 new business customers.

The share price has been consolidating for some time. Given the enormous potential to scale the profitable business even more, the Company, currently valued at AUD 70 million, is an exciting investment. Moreover, the Australians are debt-free.

FACEBOOK INC - Simply impressive

3 billion people now use the world's largest social network. More than 100 billion messages are written on Facebook every day. The Group is also present in our daily lives via the Messenger service WhatsApp. In addition, more than 200 million companies use the platform. At the time of the IPO in 2012, it still seemed questionable whether the US company would monetize its customer base.

It quickly became apparent how profitable the advertising-financed business model is. Analysts forecast sales of USD 116 billion and a profit of around USD 38 billion for the current fiscal year. Currently, the shares are trading at approximately USD 370, which means that Facebook has just broken the sound barrier of a stock market valuation of USD 1 trillion. Given its dominant market position, a P/E ratio of 28 or 29 this year is only an insignificant marginal note. Disruptive fire can only come from the regulatory corner.

All three companies have a good, in some cases, dominant market position. All have scalable business models, and the shares have upside potential. In the case of ProSiebenSat.1, an IPO of the subsidiaries should undoubtedly lead to rising share prices. In contrast, in the case of Facebook, it is simply the undisputed market leadership and the high market penetration. Aspermont, on the other hand, is still in the early stages of exploiting its great potential. The share price should soon be much higher.