Small business invoice lender Waddle is getting new parents, with the Commonwealth Bank taking the fintech off Xero’s hands, three years after the ASX-listed accounting platform acquired the Sydney scaleup in an $80 million deal. Waddle, co-founded in 2014 by Simon Creighton and Nathan Andrews, makes it easier for banks and fintechs to lend to… Read more »
Nourished Life founder Irene Falcone’s Sans Drinks will get a second life with business being acquired from its administrators by online retailer Just Wines. The online non-alcoholic drinks store was placed in voluntary administration in mid July, with Falcone citing a challenging and changing retail environment. The sale is a surprising turnaround for the business… Read more »
Nine-year-old restaurant loyalty platform Liven has spent $152 million acquiring four complementary hospitality tech companies – two in Australia, plus one in Singapore and another in California, as it looks to expand its product range and international presence. The Melbourne data company snapped up the veteran online meal ordering business OrderUp, seven-year-old restaurant point-of-sale solution… Read more »
Link-in-bio startup Linktree has cut staffing again, with 27% of its workforce, mostly in Australia and New Zealand, to depart as the company turns its attention to the US. Cofounder and CEO Alex Zaccaria told staff in an email that with the US being their largest market, with the White House and the Denver Nuggets… Read more »
Victorian alcohol delivery startup Hairydog Group has added rival BoozeBud to its portfolio, acquiring the company’s assets a month after the business was placed in administration. The terms of the deal were not disclosed by Hairydog says the acquisition will push its annual revenue above $75 million, delivering incremental profitability and reinforcing its position as… Read more »
New Zealand digital teaching aid Education Perfect has acquired a bootstrapped Victorian edtech assessment platform Essential Assessment in a deal believed to be worth $40 million Education Perfect (EP) saw global equity giant KKR take a majority stake in the business two years ago in a deal worth more than $400 million. The terms of… Read more »
Brisbane workplace learning platform Go1 has stitched together an undisclosed capital raising deal to acquire German summary startup Blinkist in a deal believed to be worth $100 million. Go1 has been on a merger spree since raising $140 million on a $2.8 billion valuation in June last year. GO1 previously raised $273 million in a… Read more »
Sydney cryptocurrency pioneer Independent Reserve has acquired Sydney Swans sponsor Bitcoin.com.au in a deal worth $3 million. The M&A deal comes as crypto sees rising prices and renewed interest amid US bank collapses and the USB takeover of Credit Suisse. Since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, amid ongoing concerns about the stability of the… Read more »
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rising interest rates dampened merger & acquisition (M&A) deals in the first half of 2022, but even as company valuations fall, the size of transactions is growing according to William Buck’s annual Dealmaking Insights Report 2023. In 2022, the aggregate value of M&A deals in Australia increased 59% on 2021… Read more »
Payments platform Cuscal has acquiring Consumer Data Right startup Basiq for an undisclosed sum. The deal provides an exit for investors including NAB Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and Westpac’s Reinventure, as well as Visa. The VC arms of the Australian banks first backed Basiq in 2017, doubling down in a Series A in 2021. Cuscal, owned… Read more »
Startmate-backed marketing startup Brandcrush has been acquired by NASDAQ-listed media firm Criteo five years after it launched. The deal also delivers an exit for Rampersand, Luxury Escapes founder Adam Schwab, and other investors including Nicky Jackson, Jane Martino and Sean Taylor. Brandcrush was launched in 2018 by former Tribe sales director Matthew Hurle, and marketing… Read more »
ASX-listed WiseTech Global’s ongoing M&A spree continues with the US$414 million (A$602m) acquisition of US rail logistics company Blume Global. The deal comes just three weeks after Sydney-headquartered cargo software behemoth announced it was acquiring US logistics management software startup Envase for US$230 million (A$327m). WiseTech’s billionaire founder and CEO, Richard White, also snapped up… Read more »
Sydney payroll and workforce management software company Humanforce has acquired the Australian arm of fintech Wagestream – formerly Earnd – for an undisclosed sum. Its the second local startup acquisition in six months by Humanforce, which is now backed by Californian private firm, which snapped up Airtree-backed competitor Ento in September last year. Accel-KKR spent… Read more »
Brisbane workplace learning platform Go1 has acquired five-year-old rival British content curation startup Anders Pink. The deal went through late last year for an undisclosed sum amid as part of Go1’s push into the European market after also acquiring Swiss-French edtech Coorpacademy, which delivers French and German language content. It was a busy year for… Read more »
ASX-listed shipping platform WiseTech Global has acquired yet another tech company, snapping up the US logistics management software startup Envase for US$230 million (A$327m). Founded in 2020, Envase Technologies supplies transport management system software for intermodal trucking and landside logistics in North America. The acquisition deal is with private investment firm Firmament, and several other… Read more »
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