The busy band of dealmakers at Melbourne-based buyout firm Advent Partners have inked another deal.

As first reported by Street Talk, Advent has signed off an investment in New Zealand-based supply chain software and project management business Flintfox International.

Flintfox’s software is used by retailers, manufacturers and logistics providers to help manage supply chains. Michelle Mossop

Advent is expected to invest alongside Flintfox’s existing shareholders, led by chairman and chief executive Mike Ridgway, and seek to turbo-charge growth of the business’ product portfolio.

Founding Partner Greg Young led the project advisory on behalf of Three Sixty Capital Partners, EY-Parthenon, KPMG and MinterEllisonRuddWatts also advised Advent.

PwC Legal NZ provided counsel to Flintfox shareholders.

“Advent Partners’ investment approach provides strong alignment with our strategy and offered us a strategic partnership to capitalise even further on our global presence as we begin to enter our next and very exciting phase of growth.” Ridgway said.

Flintfox is based in NZ but has customers globally in the manufacturing, retail and distribution industries.

Mike Ridgway-led Flintfox claims to be a global leader in the Trade Revenue Management space. AFR

Its software focuses on helping with Trade Revenue Management – money earned from the sale of goods and services to customers and vendors – and integrates with enterprise resource planning programs.

“Mike and his team have built an impressive business and an innovative portfolio of products that empower global customers to manage, track, and reconcile trade promotion and rebate expenditure, and execute multi-channel pricing strategies,” Advent Partners’ Symon Vegter said.

It’s another tech sector investment for Advent. Only a fortnight ago it acquired a controlling stake in NZ-based GP practice management software company Medtech.

It is not known what Advent paid for the Flintfox stake. The firm typically writes equity cheques worth $15 million to $50 million for businesses worth as much as $150 million.

About Flintfox

Flintfox provides best of breed Trade Revenue Management (TRM) solutions for resolving revenue challenges across the supply chain. They have over 30 years of expertise delivering TRM solutions to over 125,000 users across 25 countries within the manufacturing, wholesale distribution and retail industries. Their TRM software, for both buy and sell-side operations, integrates with any ERP and enables accurate, real time calculations for complex revenue activities including price management, promotions pricing, rebate management, claims and deductions. As a Microsoft Gold Partner, Inner Circle Member and one of only 10 software developers managed globally, Flintfox also provides consulting and implementation services for Microsoft Dynamics applications. Flintfox operates across North America, South America, Europe and Asia Pacific, with headquarters located in New Zealand.

www.flintfox.com

About Advent Partners

Advent Partners is one of Australia’s most experienced private investment firms. Since its founding over 35 years ago, Advent has invested in over 90 businesses. Adopting a team-driven, partnership approach, Advent brings more than just capital to the table. It provides founders with real world experience to build market-leading businesses.

www.advent.com.au

AFR Street Talk

Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald and Tim Boyd

Jun 17, 2020