Cision Expands Media Monitoring in France - Agrees to Acquire L'Argus de la Presse

CHICAGO and PARIS, June 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cision and Capitol Acquisition Corp. III (NASDAQ: CLAC) ("Capitol") announced today that Cision has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire L'Argus de la Presse ("Argus"), a Paris-based provider of media monitoring solutions.  The acquisition offers the opportunity to deliver Argus' corporate and PR agency customers the Cision Communications Cloud™, the leading platform for communicators to identify relevant influencers, craft unified campaigns, and measure earned media performance. The acquisition will also give Cision's existing global customer base enhanced access to French media content, helping them understand and quantify the impact of their communications and media coverage in France.

"Communicators and PR professionals in France are harnessing the power of earned media and modern communications to deliver better business outcomes," said Kevin Akeroyd, CEO of Cision. "By adding Argus' robust media monitoring to the Cision Communications Cloud, communicators in France and around the world who use Cision can better understand the reach and relevance of their media coverage."

"By connecting with Cision's comprehensive portfolio of solutions for media database, monitoring and press release distribution, this acquisition expands the value Argus can bring to our customers and employees," said Alexis Donot, CEO of L'Argus de la Presse. "With Cision's commitment to earned media innovation, this acquisition will also strengthen the resources we can bring to our core media monitoring solutions in France, helping customers maximize the quality of their media analysis."

Cision will acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of Argus with €9 million paid at closing and up to €2 million paid over the next four years.  The upfront portion of the purchase price will be funded with cash on hand or borrowings from Cision's revolving credit facility and is subject to customary working capital adjustments.

The transaction is expected to close during the second or third quarter of 2017 and is subject to customary closing conditions.