Former All Black captain, David Kirk, is booked to make a guest appearance on his home turf this March to pitch an ASX-listed technology fund to NZ investors.
Kirk joins the Heathcote Investment Partners ‘Meet the Manager’ (MTM) roadshow in March to profile the technology fund he co-founded in 2014, Bailador Technology Investments (BTI).
Structured as an ASX-listed investment company, BTI offers access to a range of ‘expansion phase’ tech firms in a portfolio heavily-weighted to software-as-a-service (SaaS) businesses such as Stackla, SiteMinder and Instaclustr.
The SaaS brands, as well as featuring innovative spelling, have the capacity to generate high gross margins of over 80 per cent, according to a BTI shareholder presentation.
“Australia and New Zealand have already produced notable successes in SaaS, but this is the tip of the iceberg of emerging Australian SaaS companies,” BTI says.
While most of the BTI investments are based in Australia the portfolio also holds one NZ firm (translation service, Straker) and two US-domiciled businesses – marketing content provider, Stakla, and ‘big data’ advertising analytical platform, Standard Media Index.
However, more than 60 per cent of the revenue from the 10 underlying BTI investments is derived out of Australia.
As at the end of last year BTI traded at 76 cents, representing a 35 per cent discount to net tangible assets (NTA), the latest shareholder note says. BTI is valued at about $71 million based on the latest share price.
The note says 16 third-party investments in some of BTI portfolio firms were carried out a prices reflecting an indicative value “at or above” the fund’s own valuations.
“We expect the discount to NTA to close rapidly as we achieve profitable exits,” BTI says.
After jumping slightly to 80 cents early in January BTI is currently back down at 76 cents, well off its mid-2016 high of $1.27.
Aside from rugby, the highly-accomplished Kirk also achieved fame as head of the ASX-listed Fairfax Media, spearheading the group’s $700 million purchase of Trade Me in 2006. He was also on the other side of the deal as chair of Trade Me when Fairfax sold down its remaining shares in the online auction site in 2012.
Kirk retains his chair role at Trade Me (where the group faces another imminent ownership change under a $2.5 billion bid from UK private equity firm, Apax Partners). He is also chair of Kathmandu and Forsyth Barr.
In addition to Kirk, the MTM event features presentations from a range of managers in the Heathcote stable including Matt Reynolds, investment director of storied US firm, Capital Group.
The all-day Heathcote MTM show debuts in Wellington on March 19 followed the next day in Christchurch before a finale in Auckland on March 21.