naoo AG with successful stock market debut in Germany
04.12.2024First price on the Düsseldorf stock exchange at EUR 23.50 / market capitalization at EUR 95.7 million.
IPO is an important milestone in naoo's growth strategy
naoo rewards content and interaction and links social media with local communities and retailers as well as local service providers
High growth in user numbers and the first very successful campaigns with corporate clients demonstrate the success of the unique approach
Entry into the German market, roll-out of the naoo business solution and further expansion of the platform as the next growth drivers
Zug/ Zurich, December 05, 2024 - naoo AG (naoo), operator of a unique social media platform, celebrated a successful debut on the stock exchange today. The first price of naoo shares (ISIN: CH1323306329, WKN: A40NNU, Ticker: NAO) on the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange was EUR 23.50, with a market capitalization of EUR 95.7 million at the start of trading. naoo shares are traded continuously on the general open market of the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange, with an additional listing on Xetra planned in the medium term. With the IPO, naoo is opening another chapter in the growth story of the innovative social media platform, increasing the company's visibility and opening up the European capital market as a future source of financing.
Dr. Thomas Wolfensberger, founder and majority shareholder of naoo: "We want to grow quickly, sustainably and qualitatively. Today's IPO is an important milestone in our expansion strategy. Among other things, I personally bring almost one and a half decades of experience as founder and CEO of a listed stock corporation. During this period, we have increased the value of Peach Property Group from zero to a peak market capitalization of EUR 1.1 billion. Accordingly, the capital market is part of my DNA and that of naoo. With naoo's innovative business model, we now want to write a similar success story and establish gamified social media as a bridge between real life and the virtual world of experience. In doing so, we want to grow rapidly both organically and inorganically and expand into new markets."
Unique business model in the social media sector
Launched in 2021, naoo's social media platform is characterized by a high level of user activity, valuable content and detailed, personalized profiles. naoo incentivizes its users with a unique points system that rewards users for high-quality content and interactions regardless of their reach. The naoo points can be exchanged for vouchers for goods or services or cash, depending on availability. Gamification further increases the attractiveness of the platform, user profiles become even more meaningful and the added value for advertising companies increases.
The naoo platform also links social media with bricks-and-mortar retail and local service offerings. Corporate clients benefit from powerful campaigns that positively influence sales of their products and services through direct user incentives and gamification - both online and directly at the point of sale. This approach has already been successfully implemented for well-known customers such as El Tony Mate, Eurobus Rustexpress and Swype. With naoo Business, a powerful tool for companies is currently being launched on the market that enables campaigns and the linking of online activities of regional providers at the local point of sale to be planned, implemented and analyzed simply, cost-effectively and effectively. The naoo business solution supports companies along the entire customer journey by picking up people where they spend their time - on social media. The entire system is supported by the naoo points, which can be used as a catalyst in all areas. This means that naoo is also able to address smaller retail and service companies and provide them with a targeted offer that was previously not possible.
Dynamic growth in user numbers and advertising
naoo is developing dynamically. The number of users has more than doubled in the past 12 months and - although naoo has so far only focused on Switzerland - there were around 75,000 downloads of the naoo app at the end of October 2024. The volume of advertising displayed via naoo has almost quadrupled in the same period and the time spent by naoo users per session has roughly doubled. In terms of user ratings, the naoo platform achieves results that are significantly better than the market and industry average.
Clearly defined organic and inorganic growth strategy / breakeven planned for 2026
Following the successful completion of the proof of concept in Switzerland, naoo is planning to enter the German market in early 2025. With the now proven naoo concept, local providers of goods and services will initially be networked with the social media platform in selected metropolitan areas, while the number of users will grow rapidly through high-quality content and gamification. naoo is thus positioning itself as a natural partner for companies of all sizes that want to integrate social media into their business strategy and gain access to a highly active online community. As part of this, the naoo platform is being continuously expanded. Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a key role in this and is currently already an integral part of the naoo concept in order to present users with high-quality content and offers tailored to their needs and to connect users based on similarities and interests, including dating. The rapid roll-out of naoo Business will also be a key driver of naoo's commercial success.
The organic growth of naoo is to be flanked and accelerated by a focused buy & build strategy. The M&A activities are aimed in particular at companies in the social media, performance and influencer marketing sectors. Acquisitions are intended to support market entry into new regions, complete naoo's offering for corporate customers and make a positive contribution to naoo's profitability.
naoo aims to reach operational breakeven in 2026. Among other things, naoo has generated funds for further growth through a financing round that was successfully completed immediately before the IPO.
"Writing a new chapter by combining social media with loyalty programs"
Karl Fleetwood, COO and CFO of naoo: "The current IPO of naoo comes at a time when we are beginning to turn our unique concept into commercial success. I am convinced that we are only at the beginning of a development that has enormous potential. Over the past two decades, social media has spawned various companies that have become global megaplayers in a very short space of time with a convincing concept. Today, everyone knows the names of these social media giants. With naoo, we will now open a new chapter in which we will combine social media and loyalty concepts in an unprecedented way to generate added value for users and customers. Today's initial listing on the stock exchange is a significant milestone for us on this path."
Dr. Thomas Wolfensberger, founder and majority shareholder of naoo AG: "Our concept has proven itself in Switzerland, now we want to take off in Germany - a market almost ten times larger - and who knows what will come next. In the medium term, we want to increase the number of monthly active users (MAU) on the naoo platform into the double-digit million range. We want to impress the capital market with our outstanding operating performance coupled with a value-oriented M&A strategy. We are not relying on short-term stock market hype, but on long-term positive development. We are aware that reliability and transparency are the basis for corresponding success on the capital market. We also want to expand our free float in the course of naoo's growth in order to be of interest to institutional investors. I personally would like to support naoo's success as a major shareholder in the long term."
About naoo AG
naoo AG develops and operates a Swiss social app that has all the key features of well-known social networks, but also offers unique additional functions. For example, naoo brings people together based on their interests and preferences ("making friends") and deepens existing relationships by comparing these interests between individual users ("staying friends"). With the naoo points system, naoo wants to thank its users for their commitment and let them share in the success of the platform. naoo awards points for everyday actions in the app such as posts, likes, follows, inviting friends or answering questions. Your business customers can publish offers on the platform that are tailored to the individual needs of users and motivate them to come to their business locations by awarding naoo points. Depending on the availability of corresponding vouchers, naoo points can be exchanged for cash, among other things. Central to this is the idea that naoo users are always rewarded for their attention and engagement on the platform. naoo is based in the city of Zug in Switzerland and employs a team of twelve people. The naoo app is available in the App Store for IOS or in the Play Store as an Android version.
naoo AG is based at Baarerstrasse 21 in Zug, Switzerland.
Further information can be found at www.naoo.com
Contact:
Media and investors
Karl Fleetwood, Chief Operating Officer, karl.fleetwood@naoo.com
Axel Mühlhaus/ Jessica Pommer
edicto GmbH
Eschersheimer Landstr. 42
60322 Frankfurt a.M.
Tel: +49 (0) 69 905505-52
e-mail naoo@edicto.de
Users and users
Benjamin Duthaler, Head of Community Management, benjamin.duthaler@naoo.com
