Energy giants circling Amaysim’s Click unit

Amaysim CEO Peter O’Connell in Sydney.

Energy Australia, Origin Energy and potentially Alinta are believed to be eyeing Amaysim’s Click Energy business.

The division is up for sale through Luminis Partners and final bids are said to be due in days.

The question is, however, whether bidders are prepared to pay anything close to the $120m that the group outlaid for the operation in 2017.

Some have suggested that offers may come in around $50m to $60m, although whether it sells for a price around this amount remains to be seen.

Amaysim has caught the attention of various suitors over the years, with Optus at one stage casting its eye over the company along with Vocus and, more recently, private equity firms such as Adamantem Capital and Anchorage Capital Partners.

There was talk in the market during 2018 that Origin was running the ruler over Click Energy, but this was denied by the company at the time.

No doubt at the forefront of the minds of Click Energy suitors will be the level of bad debts the business is carrying as its customers feel the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bidders will also be considering recent regulatory changes affecting how energy prices must be disclosed to customers.

Click Energy, established in 2006, is an Australian energy retailer selling electricity to private and business customers in Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Queensland.

Amaysim provides SIM-only mobile plans and has expanded into the home internet market.

Its share price has almost halved in the past year, with its market value now at about $150m.

It listed in 2015 with a value close to $400m.

The business was founded in 2010 by Australian telco expert Peter O’Connell, who has been its chief executive since 2018 and remains a shareholder.

Other co-founders include Rolf Hansen, Christian Magel, Thomas Enge and Andreas Perreiter.