Marlin & Associates advises its client GBST, on its acquisition by FNZ
Dear Clients and Friends,
We are pleased to announce another successful m&a transaction on which we advised.
Yesterday, FNZ Group of Edinburgh completed the acquisition of our client, Brisbane, Australia-based GBST Holdings (ASX: GBT) in a transaction valued at approximately A$268 million (US$185million). The price - A$3.85 per share - is a premium of about 95% to the closing price of the company’s shares on April 11, 2019, the day prior to the initial non-binding proposal of A$2.50 per share from Sydney-based Bravura Solutions.
As those of you who followed this process know, Bravura, which started this process in April, raised their initial offer to A$2.72 on June 19th, 2019; and then raised it again to A$3.00 on June 27th, only to withdraw their offer, when SS&C Technologies offered A$3.25 per share (later raised to A$3.60). FNZ then topped that bid with a binding offer of A$3.85 per share – 54% above Bravura’s initial price.
We have known both GBST and FNZ for many years and are pleased to have played an important role in bringing these two market-leading b2b fintech firms together.
Rob DeDominicis, CEO of GBST said: “The team at Marlin & Associates helped us get the best value for our company. They know the players and values of this industry at a level few can match. They guided us and brought multiple highly qualified buyers into the process - including FNZ, with whom we look forward to joining. We thank the Marlin & Associates team and look forward to working with them again in the future.”
Adrian Durham, Founder and CEO of FNZ said: “The Marlin & Associates team have spent nearly the last 20 years helping financial technology businesses with their various strategic and financial options. That depth of experience, combined with their substantial expertise in the capital markets and wealth management sector, made FNZ the right partner to help support GBST’s ongoing trajectory and vision. We thank the team at Marlin & Associates for helping us to make this very strategic acquisition a reality.”
The full announcement can be read here.