Published on the 23/08/2011 | Written by Newsdesk
The bidding war over MYOB has ended with the accounting software giant being sold to US private equity firm Bain Capital for a reported $A1.2 billion…
A late twist in the bidding war over accounting software company MYOB has resulted in a deal being struck with Boston-based company Bain Capital beating out UK’s Sage Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
The Sage group had been leading the biding group with a $A1.35 billion offer, however a downturn in the company’s share price last week would have seen the deal exceed 25 per cent of Sage’s market capitalisation.
“Bain Capital has an excellent reputation as a firm that invests in high-quality, client-oriented, growth businesses,” said MYOB chief executive Tim Reed in a blog post earlier this week. “They are investors in a company very much like MYOB in Italy called Team Systems. As we continue to release our connected business solutions, I believe that Bain’s experience in owning and guiding businesses like MYOB will assist us to deliver successful solutions to our clients.”
The deal is a coup for MYOB’s owners, Archer capital, who purchased the business in 2009 for $A500 million dollars.
MYOB is the market-leader in financial software for SMEs, and is used by more than a million businesses in Australasia.
