Software aggregator Software Combined has finalised its first four acquisitions to become Australia’s locally based company dedicated to investing in and supporting a portfolio of established software businesses. The acquired software businesses Streamtime, Scope Systems, Energy Inspection and MacroView operate in the creative, mining, energy and document management sectors and collectively generate EBITDA of over $11 million.
What is Software Combined’s market offering?
Software Combined is a leader in identifying and acquiring Australian and New Zealand-based niche and B2B industry-specific software companies, examining around 150 companies each year. It provides owners or managers of software businesses with access to capital or liquidity options to drive innovation, while protecting the businesses they have built.
Commenting on the acquisitions, Software Combined CEO Evert den Hollander said, “Our software aggregation strategy is unique in Australia through our acquisition, business support and optimisation plan for each business. We’re focused on profitable and stable software businesses that are operating in niche markets with a limited number of players.”
“These businesses have been operating for several years but are joining Software Combined to help them deliver on their long-term growth plans. We partner with businesses to optimise operations and maximise growth while preserving the firm that the founders built.”
What does the deal mean to Software Combined?
Streamtime offers business intelligence, resource and project management software for the creative industry; Scope Systems specialises in enterprise resource planning and business intelligence for the mining industry; Energy Inspection provides the BERSPro energy modelling software trusted by the industry for over a decade; and MacroView provides software for managing and generating documents and emails in the Microsoft 365 environment.
“These first four firms in our portfolio are cashflow positive businesses with solid customer install bases and high levels of recurring revenue. They have a high combined customer retention and recurring revenue. Importantly, these businesses are leaders in their respective fields with experienced leadership. We look forward to working with these businesses to harness their unique propositions and capitalise on organic growth opportunities.”
“When selling your business, it’s crucial that you find an acquirer that will look after your staff, clients, and suppliers. We selected Software Combined to buy our 28-year-old firm, Scope Systems, based on their culture, excellent rating on our “these are good guys matrix” and intent to improve on what we already had,” said Troy Morrison, Chairman, Scope Systems.
“With our accumulated 150 years of commercial, professional and leadership expertise in portfolio management, business improvement and key stakeholder management, we help unlock further growth and scale through strategic guidance, sharing of best practices and access to capital. We partner with each firm to create an optimisation plan that harnesses their unique propositions – rather than forcing integrations or trying to transform them.”
Why is Software Combined the perfect partner?
Software Combined provides an opportunity for founders of software firms to exit their businesses with the knowledge that the firm they’ve built will continue as planned, even when capital market options are uncertain. “The operating environment is currently very volatile, particularly for IT business owners looking for capital or liquidity options,” said Morrison.
Our candidate companies are looking for investors who will protect the business, optimise operations, and inject capital for long-term growth. Software Combined can offer that stability. We’re ideally positioned in this evolving investment environment as investors look for more stable, profitable companies that generate good returns,” Morrison added.
