Quadrant makes partial exit as iSentia IPO raises $264m
Shares in Australian media monitoring company iSentia gained nearly 20% on their trading debut after a A$283.6 million ($264.6 million) IPO facilitated a partial exit by Quadrant Private Equity.
The stock closed at A$2.43 on Thursday and had slipped to A$2.37 by early afternoon trading on Friday.
The company sold 139 million shares at A$2.03 apiece in the offering. Of the proceeds, A$167.9 million have been paid to Quadrant, company management and other shareholders, while the remainder will be used to pay down debt, take full ownership of two subsidiaries and cover other costs.
Quadrant owned 86% of the company prior to the offering, while management and other shareholders held 14%. The private equity firm retains a 25% interest in the business which has a current market value of approximately A$118.5 million. Company management and other investors hold a 5.5% stake, worth around A$26 million.
According to AVCJ Research, Quadrant led a buyout of iSentia - then known as Media Monitors - in 2010 worth A$200 million.
ISentia is a software-as-a-service business that provides media and social media monitoring services, as well as media measurement and analysis, contact management and media release distribution. It has over 1,100 employees across 18 offices in the Asia Pacific region who offer real-time content delivery from 5,500 mainstream media outlets, 55,500 online new sources and 3.4 million user-generated content sources.
The company has more than 5,000 clients - including brands, companies, agencies, industry bodies and governments - and claims to hold a 28% share of the Asia Pacific media intelligence industry by revenue. Australian accounts make up 55% of iSentia's customer base, with 13% from New Zealand and 32% from Asia.
The company reported a net profit of A$7 million for the 2013 financial year, down from A$7.8 million the previous year, but up substantially on the A$1.2 million posted in 2011. Revenue for 2013 came to A$103 million, down marginally on the previous year. ISentia forecasts net profit of A$11.9 million and A$20.1 million for 2014 and 2015.
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