Updater to delist to chase US funding

Shareholder Alex Waislitz will support a move by tech firm Updater to delist from the ASX to pursue Silicon Valley capital.

Members of Updater’s staff. Pic: Supplied.

Billionaire investor Alex Waislitz will support a move by fast-growing technology firm Updater to delist from the Australian Securities Exchange to pursue funding from Silicon Valley venture capitalists and investment funds.

Updater (UPD), a now New York-based company that offers services to help people in the US update their details when they move house, will seek shareholder approval to delist from the ASX even though its shares have risen almost six times in value since its December 2015 float.

Mr Waislitz predicts that the move could even see Updater, which has market capitalisation of about $680 million, achieve “Unicorn” status of a valuation of $1 billion, and that other Australian-listed tech firms could follow suit and continue the trend of tech companies raising money privately at the expense of public markets where the number of floats is falling.

“Provided management continues to deliver, I would expect to see them raising hundreds of millions of dollars at a valuation of $US1 billion or more in the near future. If they succeed we may even see other similar ASX-listed companies following in their footsteps.

“Reopening Updater to US technology funds to turbocharge its expansion plans in the US makes a lot of sense given the huge amount of liquidity that now exists in the US private tech investment market,” Mr Waislitz told The Australian.

Supportive: Alex Waislitz

Updater, which counts former Domain boss Antony Catalano as a director and young rich lister Grant Schaeffer as a major shareholder, will hold a special meeting for shareholders in early September, it announced on Wednesday.

Updater directors will stay on after it privatises, as will shareholders such as Mr Waislitz. The company will launch a $10 million buyback for any shareholders who want to sell out as part of the transaction.

“Updater has recently attracted significant interest from numerous major international (non-Australian) financial investors and strategic parties that have expressed strong interest in purchasing stock directly from Updater as a private company not listed on ASX,” the company said in a statement to the market.”

Founder and chief executive David Greenberg said the Updater board’s unanimous view was a delisting was in a best interest of shareholders as “our market penetration in the US has resulted in Updater emerging as a market leader in the multi-billion dollar US relocation technology market. Accordingly, we have received significant interest from a number of enthusiastic potential investors.”

Updater CEO David Greenberg.

Rich-lister and Navitas founder Rod Jones is another Updater shareholder.

The company said it was on track to make revenue in the range of US19 million to $US23 million annually by the end of 2018.

Updater’s technology allows users to forward mail, update accounts and records, transfer utilities and other services when they move to new houses or apartments.

The company told the Wall Street Journal earlier this year that it sent invitations to 15 per cent of people who moved in the US in the previous year, including 18 per cent of movers in the most recent quarter. Between 30 per cent and 40 cent of those invited used it for their move, the company said.