NIQ Announces Friendly Bid to Acquire The U Group & Co Limited, Expanding Trusted Intelligence for the AI Era

NIQ’s Australian unit launches a friendly takeover bid for The U Group to add consumer-consented purchase signals and strengthen AI-ready data assets.

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CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- NielsenIQ (NYSE: NIQ), a leading consumer intelligence company, today announced that its wholly-owned Australian subsidiary, Nielsen Connect Australia Pty Ltd (NIQ Australia) has launched a conditional off-market offer for all outstanding shares of The U Group & Co Limited (The U Group) as a friendly takeover bid (Offer). The U Group is an Australian-based company specializing in first-party, consumer-consented purchase data collection through its ReceiptJar app, receipt intelligence, and AI-powered data processing capabilities.

In connection with the Offer, NIQ Australia has lodged its Bidder's Statement with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and dispatched the Offer materials to shareholders of The U Group in accordance with applicable Australian regulatory requirements. The Board of The U Group has unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the Offer for the reasons set out in the Target's Statement.

The Offer reflects NIQ's commitment to strengthening trusted intelligence and enhancing The Full View™ for clients. If successful, the transaction would add differentiated, consumer-contributed purchase signals and real-world shopping data to NIQ's global intelligence assets, further enhancing its measurement and understanding of consumer purchasing behavior. By combining NIQ's trusted measurement and analytics capabilities with The U Group's ReceiptJar mobile app and related technologies, the transaction would create opportunities for a more complete view of the consumer, enabling new forms of insight, connectivity, and innovation.

As AI increasingly transforms how organizations make decisions, trusted intelligence and real-world behavioral signals are becoming critical inputs for innovation, advanced analytics, and AI-enabled decision-making.

"We believe AI is only as effective as the intelligence behind it," said Jim Peck, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NIQ. "We've worked with The U Group for five years and know the value of what they've built. Bringing these capabilities together would strengthen The Full View, enhance our trusted intelligence foundation and help clients make better decisions."

Through its ReceiptJar mobile app and related technologies, The U Group captures consumer-consented purchase information and provides AI-powered receipt intelligence capabilities that complement NIQ's existing data and measurement ecosystem. Consumers voluntarily contribute their purchase data through the app, creating a trusted source of first-party shopping insights. These additional purchase signals would help broaden NIQ's measurement of consumer behavior and create opportunities for future innovation and stronger client outcomes.

"The future of consumer intelligence will increasingly be powered by the combination of trusted data, consumer participation, and AI-driven innovation," said Tyler Spooner, CEO of The U Group & Co Limited. "Our longstanding relationship with NIQ has demonstrated the potential of bringing these capabilities together, and we are excited about the opportunity to create even greater value for clients in a rapidly evolving marketplace."

The Offer remains subject to the condition of 90% shareholder acceptance by The U Group shareholders and other customary conditions. Until the Offer is declared unconditional and the process to acquire 100% is completed, NIQ and The U Group will continue operating independently, and there are no immediate changes to products, services, employee roles, or client support models.

About NIQ
NielsenIQ (NYSE: NIQ) is a leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete and trusted understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. By combining an unmatched global data footprint and granular consumer and retail measurement with decades of AI modeling expertise, NIQ builds decision systems that help companies turn complex data into confident action.

With operations in more than 90 countries, NIQ covers approximately 82% of the world’s population and more than $7.4 trillion in global consumer spend. Through cloud-based platforms, advanced analytics and AI-driven insights, NIQ delivers The Full View™—helping brands and retailers understand what consumers buy, why they buy it, and what to do next. For more information, please visit NIQ.com

© 2026 Nielsen Consumer LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Media Holding Statement
NielsenIQ can confirm that its wholly-owned Australian subsidiary, Nielsen Connect Australia Pty Ltd (NIQ Australia) has launched a conditional friendly off-market bid for The U Group & Co Limited. The proposed transaction aligns with NIQ's strategy to strengthen The Full View and its trusted intelligence foundation by adding differentiated real-world consumer purchase signals that support measurement, analytics and AI-powered innovation. The off-market bid remains subject to a minimum 90% shareholder acceptance condition and other customary conditions, and we are not commenting further at this time. Securityholders of the U Group & Co Limited should refer to the Bidder's Statement and Target's Statement as sent to them for full details of the takeover offer. The Board of The U Group has recommended that shareholders accept the Offer for the reasons outlined in the Target's Statement.

NIQ-IR

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260915912986/en/

Media Contact: media.relations@nielseniq.com

Source: NIQ Global Intelligence plc

Key Terms

off-market offer financial

An off-market offer is a proposal to buy or sell a company's shares or other securities made directly to specific investors or shareholders rather than through the public exchange’s regular trading system. It matters because the price and terms are negotiated privately, which can change who owns the stock, how easily it can be traded, and the public market’s price signals—similar to buying a car from a private seller instead of at a dealership auction.

bidder's statement regulatory

A bidder's statement is a formal document prepared by a company or investor making an offer to buy another company's shares that explains the terms of the offer, how it will be funded, any conditions or timelines, and the bidder's intentions for the target. It matters to investors because it gives shareholders and the market the factual details needed to assess the offer's size, likelihood of success, and potential impact on share value, similar to a detailed sales brochure for a takeover.

first-party technical

First-party denotes the primary person or organization directly involved in an action, contract, transaction, or data collection—typically the company itself rather than external vendors or other outside parties. It matters to investors because a first-party has direct control and legal responsibility for the goods, data, claims, or obligations at issue, so knowing who is first-party is like knowing whether the homeowner or a hired contractor is ultimately in charge and liable.