BGH bids $1b for Australian software provider Hansen

BGH has submitted a cash bid of A$6.50 per share for all outstanding shares, a 25% premium to the June 4 closing price, according to a filing. Hansen’s share price jumped about 10% to an all-time high of A$6.37 following confirmation that its board intends to recommend the proposal. The stock last closed at A$6.35, giving the company a market capitalization of A$1.27 billion.

CEO Andrew Hansen has agreed to work with BGH during an exclusive six-week due diligence period. Entities with ties to the CEO will receive compensation in the form of shares in the acquisition vehicle. The transaction is contingent on several variables, including whether Hansen achieves its earnings guidance for the 2021 financial year.

Earlier this year, Hansen increased its earnings guidance for 2021 based on an agreement to license a cloud communications product suite to Telefonica Germany. The company has projected full-year revenue of $316-326 million and an underlying EBITDA margin of 37-39%. It expects “long-term” EBITDA margins of 32-35%.

Hansen describes itself as a global leader in software and services for the energy, water, and communications industries. It has more than 550 customers across some 80 countries. Core capabilities include helping operators create, sell, and deliver new products and services, manage and analyze customer data, and control critical revenue management and customer support processes.

Revenue increased 30% to A$301.4 million during the 12 months ended June 2020, with A$178.8 million of that coming from the gas, electricity, and water business. Communications was the next largest with A$117.3 million. Profit improved 40.7% year-on-year to A$47.4 million, with the company citing the onboarding of 20 new clients during the year among other operational expansions.

BGH was established in 2017 by Gray, formerly Asia co-head of TPG Capital, Simon Harle, another TPG alumnus, and Robin Bishop, who was previously head of Australia and New Zealand at Macquarie Capital. The firm’s debut fund closed at A$2.6 billion in 2018. Previous activity in enterprise tech services includes a plan to create Australasia’s first large-scale, full-service cybersecurity platform.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Buyouts
• Technology
• Support services
• Industrials
• Australia
• BGH Capital
• enterprise software
• energy