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Project Murdoch IM

Hi All,

A year ago I left my previous company to pursue a new venture, a better monday.

Our aim is to buy great SMEs from retiring owners and transfer the equity to the employees. Providing a dignified exit for owners, strengthening companies & communities while improving outcomes for workers.

We aim to create 10,000 employee owners and transfer 6bn of equity in 20 years

Our innovative solution provides above market rate returns while delivering a significant social impact, out first 12 months have brought significant progress and now we need additional support to bring this to the next stage.

We are close to settling on our first acquisition, having raised 90% of the capital for the deal and now seek €70k of capital to finalise the deal.

Our progress;

A partnership with Finland’s future fund. Sitra is a 900m endowment tasked with solving Finland’s greatest problems. Recently they have been using their dividends to fund research and thought leadership, they are now looking to return their heritage to make direct investments in companies with a shared mission. They believe in a better monday and have commissioned us to write a report and will host a series of events with government and institutional players to fund a larger scale pilot of employee ownership with a better monday

We are close to finalising our pilot acquisition, a great Finnish SME for 615k.

We have ±250k of equity committed, backed with ±282k of debt, secured by guarantee from Finnvera, the Finnish Development Bank and a personal guarantee.

Identified the future leadership team and formalised our post acquisition value creation plan

Worked with local authorities to define the structure of ownership

Launched a successful podcast with 30+ episodes released and ‘000’s of downloads which is building credibility across the industry

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The Problem we are solving

The convergence of a generational demographic shift and societal upheaval are creating the perfect environment to deliver impact for society and our investors.

There is a Silver Tsunami of baby boomer business owners facing retirement, in Europe alone there are 1.8m SMEs, with 2-10m turnover and an owner facing retirement in the next 10 years. 90% of them won’t find a buyer for their business and their are not enough acquirers for these great businesses

Global wealth disparity is at its highest point since the gilded age. Productive assets have been the key to wealth creation and is out of reach for a large swath of the population.

Our solution

We acquire enduringly profitable companies at great prices. Providiong a signified exit for owners, optimise them to thrive within the employee ownership structure then progressively transfer the equity to the employees.

Our innovative model intrinsically links financial returns with the social impact of EO.

We expect acquired companies to continue on their existing trajectory - moderate growth and great profitability - and use the future free cash flow to buy back equity. This generates a great return for investors over 8-15 years.

You can learn more about our model here⁠

Why we believe in Employee Ownership (EO)

EO isn’t a new phenomena, there are 9000+ EO companies in the US and 2500 in the UK, where it is growing rapidly with >1 company per day, with many other geographies acting on the opportunity to address the Silver Tsunami.

Over 50 years of empirical evidence has been emphatic;

EO is great for business, consistently improving top line and bottom line performance

EO is great for workers, workers feel more connected to their work and achieve greater financial returns

EO maintains businesses within local geographies, maintaining local supply lines and helping communities thrive.

Investment Opportunities

We are seeking 2 seperate investments to finalise our initial deal and enable a better monday to continue its momemtum towards our vision.

Pilot Deal Investment - €70k ($123 AUD), ±5k returns

We are seeking €70k ($123 AUD) investment for 15% of POC company. The company is a great fit company for our model that meets our requirements;

A true retirement sale,

strong 2IC to become leader,

enduringly profitable for 15 years

defensible against AI with a proven, loyal workforce

Project Murdoch is a Nordic Media Monitoring and Media Intelligence firm operating successfully for 18 years. §±1.4m turnover, 8.87% CAGR and consistently achieving 10-15% EBITDA.

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You can learn more about the company, strategy and structure here.⁠

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Deal Overview;

We are acquiring the company for €615k, equivalent of 4.1x trailing 3 year avg EBITDA.

Equity;

±100k vendor finance

±75k local industry veterans

±130k a better monday

Debt Financing:

±282k, 1.9x EBITDA. 50% guaranteed provided by Finnvera, 50% Personal guarantee

Management Company - Coupon - €100k ($177k AUD), 4x returns

This is not a loan. This is not equity. This is participation in our future success you back us early, and you share in the upside, equally, up to 4x your investment. If we win, you win.

The participation note provides early-stage capital to help operationalise a better monday’s mission to transition SMEs into employee-owned companies. In return, the Investor will receive participation in future distributions, on equal terms with founders, up to a capped return of 4x

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