Battery Ventures bids $471m for Australia SaaS player Infomedia

The deal underlines continued global investor appetite for Australia-based enterprise services businesses, with TA Associates submitting a bid for Infomedia earlier this month. Battery, a US-based technology specialist that has private equity and venture and growth practices, previously backed PageUp, an Australian developer of cloud-based enterprise talent management software.

Battery’s proposal – which is unsolicited, non-binding, and conditional – is to acquire all outstanding shares in Infomedia for AUD 1.75 apiece in cash, according to a filing. Infomedia’s stock jumped 6.1% to close at AUD 1.72 on May 27 when the offer was disclosed. It remained at this level as of late morning trading on March 30, giving the company a market capitalisation of around AUD 646m.

TA submitted a bid of AUD 1.70 per share on May 13, which represented a 32.8% premium to the previous close. Infomedia said preliminary discussions with the private equity firm and other interested parties are ongoing. Prior to the proposed scheme of arrangement being submitted, Viburnum Funds agreed to roll its entire 14.5% interest in Infomedia into the TA bid vehicle.

Private equity firms have generally become more willing to build up positions in public companies before making a formal buyout approach. This is intended to give the bidder credibility when interacting with the target’s board, while creating a significant voting position that may dissuade prospective rivals from getting involved.

Take-privates are a popular PE strategy in Australia at present. Of the 16 deals completed and 11 announced since the start of 2021, 10 feature financial sponsors. This includes transactions involving infrastructure and real estate assets. A further seven take-privates have been abandoned. Six were led by financial sponsors, and in three cases the targets were software providers.

Founded in 1987, Infomedia specialises in after-sales technology within global automotive distribution networks. It supplies online parts selling systems, service quoting, data insights, e-commerce, as well as data analysis and information research for automotive and lubricant industries.

Key assets include a SaaS parts selling platform that allows dealerships and other commercial users to precisely identify and order replacement parts; a SaaS service selling platform that brings appointment booking, repair quoting, and inspection inquiries online; and a data insights platform that drives predictive marketing and dealer performance programs for global automakers.

Last year, Infomedia acquired SimplePart, a global provider of B2B and B2C aftersales e-commerce solutions. It creates branded websites - as well as operating online stores and digital marketing strategies - for automakers and dealers.

The company generated AUD 97.5m in revenue for the 12 months ended June 2021, up from AUD 94.6m the previous year. EBITDA rose from AUD 46m to AUD 47.6m, while net profit fell from AUD 18.6m to AUD 15.9m.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Buyouts
• Technology
• Australia
• automobiles
• enterprise software
• Battery Ventures
• TA Associates