Advent to Take Over Australia’s Automic Group

Market-leading Australian investor administration and services platform Automic Group on Wednesday announced that leading global private equity investor Advent International will acquire its business.

The financial details of the deal were not confirmed but media reported said that it could be $725 million. The acquisition is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be closed by end of this year.

This transaction builds on Adventʼs existing Australian investments including luxury fashion brand ZIMMERMANN, Transaction Services Group (now part of Xplor Technologies), a leading provider of business management software and integrated payments solutions, as well as its investment in Ultra Electronics, a leading defence, aerospace and technology company with operations in Australia.

Through its purpose-built, cloud-native technology platform, Automic has transformed investor services to streamline and simplify shareholder management, fund administration, share plans, reporting and analytics for listed and unlisted companies, investment funds, wealth advisors and investors.

The high-growth of Perth-based Automic business will be acquired from the Group’s founding investors, the ADBO Group, and other shareholders, including Five V Capital and Automic team members with equity in the business.

Automic supports more than 1,400 companies and funds across Australia and New Zealand, with its technology designed to be portable and scalable into new markets. This support is complemented by a suite of professional services.

Automic’s registry division supports a broad corporate base, including an increasing number of ASX200 companies migrating to its technology platform for a modern, client-focused experience. Automic provides top-tier cybersecurity, data redundancy, and zero downtime, validated by ISO 27001 certification for information security excellence.

This acquisition will accelerate Automic’s growth strategy, including support for further investment in technology and Artificial Intelligence, and plans for expansion into international markets.

Next Step in Automic Journey

Automic Group Executive Chair Paul Williams said that from day one, their big-picture vision was to become a major player in investor administration services in Australia and then look for global opportunities for the next phase of their growth.

“Partnering with Advent marks the next step in this journey. Our leadership team is fully committed to taking the business forward, and we are excited about the future for Automic Group,” Williams said.

Automic Group CEO David Raper said that Advent’s investment is an endorsement of Automic’s best-in-class technology platform. Harnessing their proprietary technology, strength of their dedicated team and commitment to delivering innovative, client-focused solutions has underpinned the company’s growth.

Five V Capital founding partner Adrian MacKenzie said that their investment in Automic has been an exciting journey, from backing a fast-growing technology business that is now a key player within the investor administration sector.

Hayden Neeland, Director at Advent, said that Automic Group is a proven industry disruptor with a robust cloud-native technology platform that is scalable with significant growth opportunities ahead. We are excited by the companyʼs demonstrated track record of customer acquisition and ability to innovate, launch, and grow new products.

Advent has strong global investing experience in the business and financial services sector, with more than 95 investments made across 25 countries over the past 30+ years.

Since 2008, Advent has invested more than $6.6 billion in 17 fintech companies worldwide. The Automic transaction continues Adventʼs efforts to pursue business opportunities in Asia Pacific and embed its local know-how alongside its global network and operating expertise in the region, which includes significant investments in India and China.