Australia's Five V agrees marketing carve-out

Salmat, which helps corporate clients acquire and service customers, decided to sell its contact center unit following a strategic review. The listed company said in a statement that the divestment will free up capital for investment in its marketing and business process outsourcing (BPO) services.

While Salmat uses digital and letterbox marketing to reach customers, the contact centers are part of its retention capabilities. Working out of offices in Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines, the unit provides inbound and outbound customer services, supported by a cloud-based technology platform that offers data visualization tools and easy integration of voice, email, web chat, SMS, and social media channels.

Salmat’s contact solutions division, which includes BPO and customer experience and speech technology solutions as well as contact centers, generated A$210.3 million in revenue in 2017, up 7.9% year-on-year, while underlying EBITDA rose 32.7% to A$7.7 million. Overall revenue came to A$435.3 million, while underlying EBITDA and net profit reached A$22.8 million and A$4.3 million, respectively.

MacKenzie left CVC in 2012 and established Five V the following year. His fellow partners are Srdjan Dangubic, also a CVC alumnus, and Ravi Jeyaraj, who was a partner with Navis Capital Partners until January of this year. The firm raised A$65 million for its second fund, taking its total funds under management to more than A$110 million. 

Five V targets Australia and New Zealand-based businesses in sectors such as healthcare, retail, media, consumer, technology, and financial services. The firm’s sweet spot is established, cash generative companies with an enterprise value of A$20-150 million where it can take a significant ownership position.

The portfolio currently includes: UHG, a business-focused healthcare services marketplace; Ascender, an outsourced payroll and human capital services provider; Madman Entertainment, a theatrical, home entertainment distribution and rights management company; ParcelPoint, a parcel delivery platform; and Siteminder, a booking platform used by hotels.

Five V has also backed Canva, which achieved a valuation of $1 billion earlier this year following a $40 million round led by Sequoia Capital China.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Buyouts
• Technology
• Media
• Support services
• Australia
• Five V Capital
• Adrian MacKenzie
• TMT