White Pearl’s Sofia Buy Posts a Public CEE Agency Price

White Pearl Technology Group paid EUR 475,000 up front for CreateX and Native Digital, two Sofia digital agencies, plus an earn-out estimated at EUR 400,000.

The Nasdaq First North buyer called the package about 6 times EBITDA. On 2025 profit of EUR 156,000, the cash and notes alone are 3.05 times.

Fifteen Days to an Offer, Then Months of Paperwork

Eilla, the Sofia advisory firm behind Europe’s first AI-native merger deal, says it started targeted buyer outreach within days and that White Pearl’s offer arrived in 15 days. White Pearl later wrote that Eilla’s platform screens nine million companies, and that the 15-day clock ran from first outreach to a signed offer, not to closing.

The public paper trail is longer. White Pearl signed letters of intent on 17 December 2025 for a headline package of about SEK 9.2 million if 12-month and 24-month business targets were met, of which about SEK 4.8 million was to be newly issued shares. Closing was then expected in January 2026. Share purchase agreements were signed on 9 April 2026, 113 days after the letters of intent.

THE FILING TRAIL

1. 17 December 2025: White Pearl signs letters of intent to buy CreateX and Native Digital for about SEK 9.2 million if targets are met, and flags a January 2026 close.
2. 9 April 2026: Share purchase agreements set a purchase consideration of EUR 475,000 plus an earn-out estimated at about EUR 400,000, with Bulgarian formalization due in 18 days.
3. 23 April 2026: White Pearl says it has completed the buy of both agencies, inside that 18-day window.
4. 3 June 2026: The company registers 170,478 newly issued B-shares at about SEK 14.31 as the share slice of the price.

From the December letters to share registration, 168 days passed. Founder Ebrahim Laher framed Bulgaria as a base for a wider European push when the letters of intent went out, and that line still sits over a deal whose cash multiple is ordinary for shops this small.

White Pearl’s own account posted the April agreements the week they were signed.

Exciting news from the WPTG family. 🇧🇬
White Pearl Technology Group has executed Share Purchase Agreements to acquire two Bulgaria-based digital agencies — CreateX Ltd. and Native Digital Ltd. https://t.co/wu5ER5syxV

— White Pearl Technology Group AB (@whitepearltech) April 11, 2026

White Pearl Paid EUR 475,000 Upfront

The April agreements buy 100% of CreateX Ltd. (OOD) and the remaining 50% of Native Digital Ltd. (OOD) not already held indirectly through CreateX. Up front, CreateX is priced at EUR 400,000 and Native Digital at EUR 75,000, paid as cash plus promissory notes exchangeable into White Pearl B-shares at the 20-day volume-weighted average price before closing.

UPFRONT PRICE BY AGENCY

If the companies hit plan, White Pearl said it expects annual earn-out payments of about EUR 116,667 for CreateX and EUR 8,333 for Native Digital. Those yearly sums add to EUR 125,000. The filing’s own estimate for the whole earn-out over 2026-2028 is about EUR 400,000, which is the figure that turns the cash-and-notes ticket into a package of EUR 875,000.

On 3 June 2026 the share notes were settled as 151,536 B-shares for CreateX, worth about SEK 2,168,000, and 18,942 B-shares for Native Digital, worth about SEK 271,000. The issue totalled SEK 2,438,993.45. About 87,130 of the CreateX shares, which is 57.5% of that slice, sit in a 12-month lock-up with all of Native Digital’s shares.

The Six-Times Tag Needs an Earn-Out Through 2028

White Pearl described the closed deal as about 6 times EBITDA and called that a strong tag for a Central and Eastern European digital agency. The April filing gives the numbers behind that label. Combined 2025 revenue was about EUR 1.48 million and combined 2025 EBITDA about EUR 156,000. EUR 475,000 on EUR 156,000 is 3.05 times. Add the EUR 400,000 earn-out estimate and the package is 5.6 times 2025 EBITDA, which is the math sitting under the buyer’s “approximately 6 times” line.

THE TWO SHOPS ON PAPER

• 2024 revenue: About EUR 1.25 million, with EBITDA of about EUR 147,000.
• 2025 revenue: About EUR 1.48 million, with EBITDA of about EUR 156,000.
• Cash multiple: 3.05 times 2025 EBITDA for the EUR 475,000 paid in cash and notes.
• Full package: 5.6 times 2025 EBITDA if the EUR 400,000 earn-out estimate is paid.

Earn-out targets grow 10% a year and are measured on a two-year rolling average, with a linear payout against those targets. CreateX’s 2024 revenue, in White Pearl’s own account of the shop, grew close to 60% year on year to about 2 million BGN. Combined growth from 2024 to 2025 on the filing’s euro figures is slower than that CreateX-only rate, because Native Digital is the smaller book.

At this profit size, buyer guides put the cash multiple inside 2.5x to 4x for small agencies with under $500,000 of EBITDA. EUR 156,000 sits in that band. The 3.05 times cash-and-notes multiple is in range for a founder-led shop. The 6 times tag is the earn-out working as advertised, and it still has to be earned through 2028.

CreateX Already Owned Half of Native Digital

The Swedish group did not buy two unrelated boutiques. CreateX already held 50% of Native Digital, and the agreements pick up the rest. Nikolay Nikolov, Native Digital’s founder and CEO, held the other half. Native Digital was set up in 2022 as a short-form video shop; White Pearl calls it Bulgaria’s first TikTok-focused agency and says it generated more than 80 million views for clients in under a year.

CreateX is the older firm. Aleksandar Ivanov, named Alexander Radkov Ivanov in the December letter of intent, founded it in Sofia in 2017 and still runs it. The agency’s own site lists a portfolio of over 300 companies, experience in 80 business niches, and more than 75 current business partners. White Pearl’s April note adds that both shops already use AI tools in delivery, content, and campaign work.

The two brands already sat inside a Sofia grouping CreateX describes as wellConnected, a set of specialist shops rather than one merged P&L.

SHOPS ALREADY TIED TO CREATEX

• Native: TikTok and short-form content, the agency White Pearl is now consolidating.
• CreateWeb: Web development sitting beside the performance shop.
• IvnetAR: Augmented-reality work sold as part of the same offer.
• UGC Craft: A user-generated-content platform CreateX lists as Bulgaria’s first of its kind.

Ivanov told Eilla he was not shopping for the fattest bid. “My main concern was not valuation or deal mechanics,” he said. “It was finding a partner who truly understands where the business could go and how to elevate it.” Nikolay Nikolov said the offer still stopped him short. “I didn’t believe it. I was shocked. I needed a minute to let that sink in. Then I realized this is the biggest opportunity for our company.”

The First North Roll-Up Reaches Sofia

White Pearl is a Stockholm-listed digital transformation group, ticker WPTGB on Nasdaq First North, with about 950 experts and a presence in over 20 countries, according to the April filing. It pays for shops with a mix of cash and its own B-shares so the sellers stay tied to the listed vehicle. That is the model that just reached Sofia, and it is how a First North name turns small CEE profit into group revenue without writing a large cheque.

This planned entry into Central and Eastern Europe is a natural next step in WPTG’s European growth strategy. The region offers strong entrepreneurial talent and growing demand for digital services, and Bulgaria provides an excellent base from which to support our continued expansion across Europe.

Ebrahim Laher, Founder, White Pearl Technology Group, 17 December 2025 letter of intent

Vikas Gupta, then group chief operating officer, called Ivanov’s shop a performance-driven digital business and said he saw Ivanov as a contributor to the group’s European platform. The earn-out keeps both founders on the hook through 2028, which is the practical meaning of Laher’s “base.” They still have to deliver the EBITDA the 6 times tag assumes.

The Sofia buy did not stir a public fight on X. White Pearl’s account posted the agreements and the later feature note, then the thread went quiet. A EUR 475,000 agency pair is a small line next to the group’s later public-market bids, and that silence is the point for other CEE founders: the comparable now lives in a First North filing, not in a noisy auction.

What Other CEE Founders Can Now Cite

Ivanov called the sale a pivot for the region’s digital agencies. Other founders can now point to a listed buyer, a published 2025 EBITDA figure, and a cash multiple of 3.05 times, with a path to about 6 times if profit holds. They can also see the catch in the same PDF: half the equity was already inside CreateX, Native Digital is a 2022 TikTok shop on a EUR 16,667 baseline, and EUR 400,000 of the headline still sits in an earn-out with no cap and a long tail.

I believe the whole CEE region will see this deal as a pivot moment for the digital agency ecosystem. It was meaningful for the whole industry.

Aleksandar Ivanov, Founder and CEO, CreateX

Ivanov also said the deal would not have happened without Eilla. Nikolay Nikolov’s advice to other founders was blunter: looking for a buyer is a different job from running the shop, and the wrong advisor makes it less safe. The filing now on Nasdaq is the part of that advice that will outlast the case study. It gives the next Sofia or Bucharest shop a number to put on the table, and it shows that number is 3.05 times cash and notes unless the earn-out through 2028 actually pays.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where Else Does White Pearl Technology Group Trade Besides Stockholm?

The April 2026 filing lists the group on Nasdaq First North in Stockholm under WPTGB and on the OTCQX market in the United States under WPTGF. Those are the two public lines a CEE seller taking paper would track after closing, and the B-shares issued for CreateX and Native Digital are the First North class.

How Much Were Existing WPTG Holders Diluted by the Share Issue?

The 3 June 2026 directed issue raised the B-share count from 30,957,242 to 31,127,720. White Pearl put the dilution at about 0.55% of shares and votes after registration, and share capital rose by SEK 3,750.509528 to SEK 685,356.215272. The board used an annual-meeting authorization and waived preferential rights because the shares were contract consideration, not a cash raise.

What Lock-Up Applies to the New B-Shares?

About 106,072 of the 170,478 new B-shares are locked for 12 months from closing, made up of about 87,130 CreateX shares and all 18,942 Native Digital shares. The remaining 64,406 B-shares are freely transferable. That split is the 57.5% CreateX lock-up written into the April agreements, applied to the June issue.

What Happens If EBITDA Misses the Earn-Out Plan?

No earn-out is paid below 40% of target. Above that floor the payout is linear, 100% of target pays 100% of the earn-out, and the filing sets no cap on the upside. Targets rise 10% a year and are tested on a two-year rolling average across 2026-2028, so a single weak year does not, on its own, wipe the whole tail.

Who Is White Pearl’s Certified Adviser on First North?

Amudova AB is named as certified adviser on the December 2025 letter of intent, the April 2026 share purchase agreements, and the June 2026 share-issue notice. First North issuers must keep a certified adviser, and Amudova is the firm on every document in this buy.

Disclaimer: This article is news reporting and analysis of a completed private-company acquisition by a listed group, and it is informational only. It is not investment advice, a solicitation to buy or sell White Pearl Technology Group shares, or a valuation opinion on CreateX, Native Digital, or any other agency. Readers who are considering an agency sale, a share-for-share deal, or a trade in WPTGB or WPTGF should consult a qualified financial adviser or licensed broker before acting. Deal figures, share counts, earn-out estimates, and listing details reflect the company filings and firm pages cited here and can change with later notices, earn-out tests, or corporate actions.