5 Recent Noteworthy Australian Acquisitions and Mergers

The financial world operates within a distinctive ecosystem. To understand that ecosystem, you need to understand the impact that mergers and acquisitions like this one have on the industry as a whole. A shift in one financial niche can have ripple effects that carry throughout the financial world.

In this post, we’ll focus on four of the latest Australian acquisitions, spelling out what they might mean for investors and advisors on the international stage.

Sensis Sold to Thryv Holdings

Sensis is one of Australia’s oldest continuously operating businesses. Sensis serves as a small-business marketing platform, in addition to being the owner of the Yellow Pages and White Pages. Headquartered in Melbourne, the company serves more than 200,000 small business customers.

As of March of 2021, Sensis has been sold to the U.S. SMB software company, Thryv Holdings. The total sale was for $260 million. Thryv owns the Yellow Pages in the United States, as well as providing software for small businesses to help in scheduling appointments and other tasks related to overall workflow. 

Sensis CEO John Allan is expected to continue in his role despite the acquisition, though he will now be reporting to John Walsh of Thryv.

Ultimately, the merger is a positive one. In recent years, Australian businesses have found themselves to be preoccupied with building IT platforms, which steals focus from human resources. An acquisition from a company like Thryv can have a great impact by releasing companies from technological demands and allowing them to maximize their human elements—an essential concept for small businesses everywhere.

Publicis Sapient Snaps Up Third Horizon

Third Horizon is a management consulting company based out of Australia. Founded in 2004, they’ve most recently worked with prominent clients that include the New South Wales and Victoria state governments. The company aims to provide services relating to management and corporate strategy.

As of March of 2020, Third Horizon has been acquired by Publicis Sapient, a company that is committed to digital business solutions. The acquisition seeks to integrate the technical aspects of these companies, while retaining a focus on end-user experience.

In the years ahead, Publicis Sapient hopes to expand its influence in the international business realm.

InMoment and MaritzCX Merge

MaritzCX specializes in customer experience (CX), while InMoment provides a platform for experience intelligence (XI). Together, this merger is expected to forge the world’s largest enterprise CX technology company.

The merger is expected to capitalize on the strengths of each company. Their shared resources will allow each of the companies to manage the technical elements of their industries while returning their overall focus to the needs of their individual customers.

Revium Partners with William Buck

Based out of Melbourne, Revium is a company that is focused on digital transformation. In 2019, they announced their partnership with William Buck, a company that is known for its accounting and advisory services.

The merger is anticipated to expand the reach of each company and to allow them to take on a wider base of clients. Revium particularly offers a great deal of expertise when it comes to customer experience, and paired with William Buck’s financial acumen, the merged companies hope that the end-user experience will drive growth as they scale to meet the specialized needs of the financial industry.

The Road Ahead

As you consider the shifting financial landscape, a pattern begins to emerge. Companies are seeking greater agility and specificity when it comes to customer experience. Pooling their resources enables companies to better balance technical needs with the human element.

What might this mean for the future? We might anticipate that the mergers and acquisitions seen here will become part of a larger pattern wherein companies scale their businesses without sacrificing the needs of their customers. As a result, some companies may begin to serve as specialists, having the freedom to focus on their strengths while a partnering organization rounds out their skill set.

Kenneth

Kenneth is a proud native of sydney, born and raised there. However, he pursued his education abroad and studied in Australia. Kenneth has worked as a journalist for almost a decade, making valuable contributions to prominent publications such as Yahoo News and The Verge. Currently, he serves as a journalist for The Hear Up, where he focuses on covering climate and science news. You can reach Kenneth at [email protected].