High-potential SMEs

Egm in the X-ray: Idntt on pause for thought on the acquisition front

The 2025-2027 business plan does not foresee any further M&A operations of the entertainment company, although they are not excluded

by Valeria Novellini

2 July 2025

6' min read

Key points

Numbers
Low debt level despite acquisitions
The Business Plan 2025 - 2027 does not include any M&A operations

6' min read

He is not the first and will not be the last to lament the low trading volume (and consequently the undervaluation of many equities) on Euronext Growth Milan. But Christian Traviglia, at the helm of Idntt, is one of the most assiduous in pointing out this phenomenon, which unfortunately often leads to the voluntary delisting through takeover bids of more than healthy companies.

Idntt is an entertainment company, and in particular content production, an activity for which it now increasingly relies on the use of artificial intelligence. In 2024 it made several acquisitions: 59% of RealLife Television (for EUR 3 million), a content factory for the creation of digital content and TV and video productions, and Take Srl, another content factory that in turn controls the Pr and Media Relations agency Cantiere Srl. The total amount of the transaction is 960,000 euro, of which 810,000 in cash, of which 600,000 has already been paid and (in the third tranche to be paid by the end of July) 150,000 in Idntt treasury shares at a value determined on the basis of the average stock market price over the last 12 months of actual listing.

The numbers

And here we grasp the true extent of the problem of the undervaluation of Euronext Growth Milan's stocks: in the current circumstances, it is difficult, if not almost impossible, to grow by external lines through share exchanges, whether of already issued treasury shares or through reserved capital increases. This leaves entrepreneurs with the only avenue of cash outlay, which, however, can lead to over-indebtedness and consequent repercussions on the financial structure and, of course, the bottom line.

But back to Idntt, the company closed 2024 with revenues up 11.7% to EUR 21.6m, of which EUR 10.2m was generated in Italy (+20.3%) and EUR 11.1m in the rest of Europe (+9.2%). RealLife Television (acquired in June) contributed EUR 2.7m; if it had been included in the scope of consolidation for the full year, together with Take Srl (acquisition finalised in January 2025), this would have resulted in a turnover of EUR 27m. Ebitda increased by 8.6% to EUR 3.7 million and ebit stood at around EUR 2.8 million (-5.1%), as the acquisitions and capitalisation of investments resulted in depreciation and amortisation expenses and provisions increasing from EUR 604,000 to EUR 970,000 (in both years EUR 228,000 refers to the Purchase Price Allocation resulting from the acquisition of the Talent Agency In-Sane! in October 2022).

Low debt level despite acquisitions

Obviously, the expansion strategy and investments gave rise to financial outlays, and as at 31.12.2024, net financial debt amounted to EUR 1.6m, against net liquidity of EUR 2.1m at the end of 2023. In 2024, 10% of C41 Srl, which produces communication and marketing content for the fashion and design sectors, was also acquired for EUR 120,000. There is an option on a further 41%, which can, however, be exercised after the approval of C41 Srl's 2025 financial statements, so any disbursement will not take place this year. Idntt's Debt/Equity ratio at the end of 2024 was however 0.19 times and thus very low.

The negative balance of financial management, however, which increased from EUR 741,000 to EUR 1.17 million, as well as the tax rate which rose from 22.1 to 27%, resulted in a 26.4% drop in net profit to EUR 1.16 million. Prudently, the parent company's net profit of about EUR 433,000 was carried forward. For the financial years 2022 and 2023, on the other hand, a dividend of about EUR 110,000 was distributed annually.

The Business Plan 2025 - 2027 does not include any M&A operations

Idntt approved the 2025 - 2027 Business Plan, which outlines revenues for this year of between EUR 27 and 30 million (an attainable value, since, as mentioned above, the aggregate figure for 2024 with the new acquisitions would amount to EUR 27 million), EBITDA of between EUR 4.8 and 5.7 million, and net financial debt of between EUR 1 and 2 million (remember that at the end of 2024, shareholders' equity amounted to EUR 8.4 million). In 2026 and 2027, turnover is expected to rise to 30 - 38 and 38 - 47 million, respectively, and ebitda to 5.7 - 7.5 and 7.5 - 11 million. From 2026 onwards, the net financial position should be positive to reach a net liquidity of 2.5 - 4.5 million at the end of 2027.

These estimates, which obviously do not include further growth operations by external lines, however not to be excluded, are inclusive of the contribution of the new content offering for the consumer (B2C) market, since Idntt's customer base is, and will continue to be for the most part, made up of companies. But, also through the Talent Agency In-Sane! the group aims to transform some content creators into real brands to be extended to new categories of products and services for consumer users. It should be noted that the creators under contract to In-Sane! are not 'traditional' influencers, but mostly popular gamers, and, in fact, the Idntt+ subsidiary dedicated to video games has already launched the video game 'The island of hermit crabs' created by Mirko Alessandrini aka CiccioGamer89 on Fortnite, as well as the €25 annual 'Season Pass' subscription for a digital entertainment platform by another popular gamer, Ettore Canu aka 'Lyon'.

Planned extension of creator brands in the Food and Travel sectors

Idntt does not set unrealistic targets for the new B2C business as it is expected to contribute no more than 1 million to the group's revenues in 2025, rising to 1 - 3 million in 2026 and 3 - 5 million in 2027. Other B2C opportunities are at the beginning and are based on the joint-ventures Star Kitchen Srl (51% In-Sane!, 49% Kuiri Srl, a Milan-based company active in food delivery and catering) and MediaFactory (the actual company should be established in 2026), in collaboration with Maurizio Rossi Production, owner of the well-known format and brand 'Donnavventura'. In these two cases, the creators belonging to the Idntt stable will be able to extend their brands respectively to the world of catering (and in fact the restaurant 'I burger di CiccioGamer89' was recently opened in Rome, 66% controlled by Star Kitchen Srl, with Roman cuisine in burger version) and to that of experiential travel.

As far as 2025 is concerned, the contribution of RealLife Television and Take Srl to the group's accounts will cover the entire financial year. This will of course bring revenues (Take Srl in 2023, the last financial year disclosed, achieved a turnover of EUR 4.5 million and an ebitda of EUR 40,000), but it will also affect the level of amortisation and financial expenses, albeit to a lesser extent than with the much more challenging acquisition of In-Sane! Then, from 2026, there could be the entry of C41 Srl into the group. The extensive use of artificial intelligence, which has already been emphasised several times by Idntt, could make it possible to integrate the new realities fairly quickly by optimising the related cost structures. In the meantime, the voluntary liquidation of Cantiere Srl has been decided, which should lead to a saving of EUR 100,000 over 12 months.

The company, although not subject to the provisions of the csrd directive due to its size, has been drawing up a sustainability report since 2023 and is ISO 9001 certified. Consistent with the presence of famous gamers among its content creators, it has set up recreational spaces and gaming stations at the Fatebenefratelli hospital in Milan to improve the mood of the children hospitalised there.

But the problem of the undervaluation of the Idntt share and the low trading volume remains, despite the fact that in this case the free float is rather high for a Euronext Growth Milan company (almost 33% of the share capital). To give an idea of the gap with the Euronext Milan companies in the Entertainment sector, let us recall that between the beginning of 2024 and mid-2025 (only 18 months), the Apollo group funds sold, again through Accelerated Bookbuilding transactions to institutional investors, their entire stake in Lottomatica initially amounting to over 70% of the share capital. At prices gradually increasing from EUR 9.5 to as much as EUR 22.5 per share.

It is clear: Lottomatica is one of the biggies of legal gaming in our country, has very positive and growing results, and is considerably larger not only than Idntt but than any other listed entertainment company in Italy (even though it is not part of the Ftse Mib index). However, if the interest of institutional investors continues to remain focused on companies that are already market leaders, it will be very difficult to continue to identify Euronext Growth Milan as a useful tool to nurture the recognition and development of SMEs.

On the other hand, many companies traded there (including Idntt) undertake buy-back programmes which, while certainly serving to create a 'stockpile of securities' that can be used to trade shares in M&A transactions and to sustain trading volume, further reduce the free float (often already very low to begin with, although this is not the case with Idntt), making it even more unlikely that qualified investors will enter the share capital. It would be a good idea to break this vicious circle.