VC-backed Australia cloud business sold to US strategic
Panviva, an Australian cloud-based enterprise software provider backed by a number of venture capital investors, has been acquired by US counterpart Upland Software for about $23.3 million.
Upland described the purchase price as within its target range of 5-8x adjusted EBITDA. The company added that the acquisition would lift its annual revenue by $7.5 million, all of which is recurring, while contributing $3.4 million in adjusted EBITDA.
It sets up exits for local investor Telstra Ventures, which invested an undisclosed sum in 2014, and Singapore’s SBI Ven Capital, which joined a $4.2 million round the prior year. Jefferies Capital Partners, a private equity firm associated with US investment bank Jefferies Group is also an investor, according to AVCJ research.
Panviva specializes in knowledge management (KM), which involves the organization and management of content related to policies, procedures, and technical documentation into simplified and contextual formats.
The platform includes an FAQ service that aims to provide on-demand, real-time answers for employees and customers. The idea is to present information in a way that employees can easily understand and that customer service reps can easily explain.
Automated communications is a strong theme in Panviva’s offering, which spans employee experience, customer experience, and digital transformation. Target industries include healthcare and insurance, financial services, telecommunications, utilities, and roadside assistance.
Upland cited Research & Market data that predicts the global KM industry will grow 16.8% a year through 2027. “[T]here is no such thing as a ‘one size fits all’ approach to knowledge management as every organization is trying to tackle their own unique set of challenges and requirements,” Jack McDonald, Upland’s CEO, said in a statement.
Growing US appetite for Australian enterprise software is an established theme in the local VC space, with investors pointing to advantages in language and cultural familiarity as well as a global-first mindset rooted in geographic isolation. The highest-profile beneficiary of the phenomenon is graphic design platform Canva, which received US investment in April at a valuation of $15 billion.
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