Shares of Australia’s Iress rise on early buyout talks with Blackstone, Thoma Bravo

(Reuters) -Shares of Australia’s Iress surged on Friday after the company said it had earlier considered a takeover approach from Blackstone and is now in talks with both the U.S. investment giant and private equity firm Thoma Bravo over a new proposal.

Shares of the Australian financial software firm jumped as much as 15.6% to A$9.69, but remained below the A$10.50 apiece previously offered by Blackstone.

The stock touched its highest level since late-January and marked its biggest intraday percentage gain since November 2023.

The initial proposal from Blackstone valued Iress at A$1.94 billion ($1.27 billion) but was later withdrawn, the software company said, without providing further details in its statement.

Blackstone declined to comment, while Thoma Bravo did not immediately respond.

The takeover bid comes as global private firms show growing interest for Australia-listed software players.

Earlier in the week, automotive software platform provider Infomedia agreed to a A$651 million takeover by TPG’s Asia-focussed private equity fund.

“Iress is currently in the early stages of engagement with Blackstone and Thoma Bravo in order to ascertain whether an offer can be made which can be recommended by the Iress Board,” the company said on Friday.

The company did not provide a per-share price in the latest offer.

The announcement follows a report by the Australian Financial Review that Iress was in talks with Blackstone over a potential buyout, which could value the company at A$1.9 billion.

Iress is not unfamiliar with takeover interest from private equity firms, having previously drawn a $3 billion deal from Swedish investment firm EQT in 2021. The deal ultimately fell through after EQT walked away despite making several improved offers.

In February, Iress reported a net profit after tax attributable of A$30.1 million in fiscal 2024, along with A$604.6 million in revenue.

The company will release its half-year earnings next week.

($1 = 1.5323 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee and Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)