Affinity exits Australia healthcare software business
Affinity Equity Partners has agreed to sell MedicalDirector, an Australia-based clinic management software developer, to Telstra Health for an enterprise valuation of A$350 million ($257 million).
The business was acquired by Affinity in 2016 for A$155 million. The private equity firm made the investment from its fourth pan-Asian fund, which closed at $3.8 billion in 2014.
MedicalDirector has been in operation for more than 25 years, providing software-as-a-service (SaaS) to the healthcare industry across electronic record keeping, patient and practice management, billing, scheduling, care coordination, medicines information, and clinical content. It helps 23,000 medical practitioners – typically general practitioners – deliver over 80 million consultations a year.
“General practitioners play a central role in connecting to every part of the health and aged care systems, and practice management is an incredibly important addition for Telstra Health in providing quality solutions and supporting them to deliver care,” said Brendon Riley, chairman of Telstra Health, in a statement.
“Telstra Health has transformed substantially over the past five years, and this announcement reflects its continuing maturity as a business and its importance as part of Telstra’s long-term growth strategy.”
Telstra Health was established through M&A and start-up business lines as part of Telstra’s push into software and business services. It provides clinical and administrative systems, health data analytics, population health solutions, and information exchange platforms, as well as telehealth enablement solutions, to care providers from hospitals to pharmacies.
Recent M&A includes the acquisition of PowerHealth, an Australia-based specialist in healthcare billing, costing, and revenue solutions that serves a global customer base.
Australia’s enterprise software space has emerged as an investor sweet spot in recent years, with a growing number of international VCs targeting start-ups that serve global customer bases. Outsourced graphic design platform Canva – currently valued at $15 billion – is the highest-profile example, but there has been significant activity in niche areas such as HR software.
At the same time, private equity firms are pursuing more mature, listed software providers. In recent months, BGH Capital has bid A$1.3 billion for industrial software provider Hansen Technologies, while EQT is pursuing a A$3 billion take-private of financial services specialist Iress.
More on Australasia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.