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(Sharecast News) - Dotdigital announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire US-based software company Alia Software for up to $60m, adding AI-driven lead capture technology to its customer experience and data platform as the group looked to expand product capabilities and cross-sell opportunities.
The AIM-traded marketing technology provider said the initial consideration for the acquisition was $30m in cash, with a further $30m payable over two years subject to performance targets.
It said the deal would be funded from existing cash reserves and was expected to be earnings enhancing within the first 12 months of consolidation.
Founded in 2022 and headquartered in New York, Alia provides an AI-powered pop-up and list-growth platform designed for Shopify merchants.
Its technology converts anonymous website visitors into email and SMS contacts using targeted pop-ups and interactive experiences that capture first- and zero-party customer data.
Dotdigital said Alia serves more than 2,700 customers and holds a 4.7 out of 5 rating on the Shopify App Store.
The business reported recognised revenue of $4m for the year ended 31 December, with forward-looking annual recurring revenue exceeding $8m at the same date, up from around $1m a year earlier.
It also generated cash EBITDA of more than $1m and had net assets of $1.2m at year-end.
The acquisition would add on-site conversion capabilities to Dotdigital's CXDP platform and was expected to accelerate the group's product roadmap while supporting cross-sell, retention and higher average revenue per customer.
The company said the lead capture software market was expanding rapidly, growing from $2.69bn in 2024 to $2.87bn in 2025 and projected to reach $4.45bn by 2029.
Alia would be integrated into the CXDP platform through a phased approach, while Dotdigital's messaging and other capabilities would be embedded into Alia's offering.
The founders would remain in leadership roles within the business.
Dotdigital said the acquisition also supported its strategy of building a multi-product platform following earlier deals for Fresh Relevance and Social Snowball.
Since the start of its transformation strategy, partner-connected annual recurring revenue had risen from about 50% to more than 60%, while US-originated ARR had increased from roughly 15% to more than 30%.
Overall ARR has grown from 48.9m at the start of the 2023 financial year to more than 81m following the Alia acquisition.
"The acquisition of Alia further advances our CXDP vision by strengthening our on-site conversion and first and zero-party data capture capabilities," said chief executive Milan Patel.
"These are increasingly important areas for marketers as customer acquisition costs rise and privacy standards evolve.
"Importantly, Alia represents our continued pace of acquisition execution which has collectively transformed the group's capability, scale and market position across all three of our strategic pillars, while consistently maintaining strong profitability."
At 1422 GMT, shares in Dotdigital Group were flat at 56p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.