The Company has operated in media industry for more than 30 years, sourcing image and video content of celebrity sightings and selling them to media outlets and global brands throughout the world. The Group has operations across Europe and North America and has a global reach through a network of media agents and generates many millions in annual revenue.
We were instructed to provide a downside valuation of the Company’s IP portfolio as they considered restructuring options.
We were aware that the Company wielded significant influence from its 30-year track record of being a high-quality media provider, however using our Metisology® approach, we discovered that a key contributor to revenue is a well-structured digital library which holds tens of millions of celebrity images, collated over decades and which serves as a key differentiator for the Company in its market.
In addition, to maximize the use of this unique digital library, the Company had invested in a proprietary software platform which allowed this library of content to be fully indexed and catalogued, enabling efficient searches and linking of related content. We found evidence that this referenceable library enabled the Company to generate material revenue from upselling additional archived images.
The assignment included additional complexity around IP ownership as the media images were generated by both Company employees and third parties and there was a complex reward and use-driven royalty structure in place.
Our Metisology® approach ensured we fully recognized this unique bundle of IP rights, by performing detailed analysis on the business model and by mapping the revenue streams to the critical IP assets we discovered. This ensured that we were able to separate, appraise and value the critical IP assets owned and monetized by the Company. Our valuation was relied on by the Company and its advisors to inform the next steps in their business strategy discussions.
IP Assets Valued: Brand, Trade Marks, Website & Domains, Key Organizational Knowledge, Digital Content Library
