Dallas, March 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —
- Thryv® to enter the Australian small and medium businesses (SMB) sector through acquisition of leading digital marketing and directory services provider Sensis
- Acquisition brings over 100,000 Sensis customers
- Focus on helping Australian small businesses adopt cloud-based software solution to better compete in a post-pandemic economy.
Thryv Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:THRY), the provider of Thryv software, the end-to-end client experience platform for growing small businesses, today announced it has closed the acquisition of Sensis, Australia’s leading digital, marketing and directory services provider from Platinum Equity and Telstra Corporation Limited (ASX: TLS).
“This is a transformational acquisition for Thryv, and one that will help Australian small businesses (SMBs) better compete in a digital economy,” said Thryv CEO and President Joe Walsh. “COVID-19 has radically reshaped the perspective of small businesses around the globe. Solutions that ensure SMBs have the tools they need to generate confidence and convenience for their customers have gone from a ‘nice to have’ to a ‘must have’ in this post-pandemic world.
“The acquisition of Sensis follows our strategy of expanding internationally where small businesses are ready to modernize their operations in order to serve their customers faster and more efficiently – from anywhere, including mobile devices.”
Thryv’s flagship SaaS product, Thryv®, enables small businesses to easily accept appointments, build digital customer lists, email and text customers, send reminders and notifications, deliver estimates and invoices, accept contactless payments, and generate online ratings and reviews. Sensis CEO John Allan, who will lead Thryv’s Australian operations and report to Walsh, said the acquisition made sense from a customer—and organizational—alignment perspective.
“Our organizations share a similar heritage through our profitable Yellow and White Pages brands, which we will continue to develop,” Allan said. “Both organizations aim to be the primary partner of SMBs by helping them establish, grow and run their day-to-day business activities from their mobile phone.
“In recent years, we’ve seen many Australian businesses forced to invest more in IT platforms than actual employees. Thryv ends that fractured, costly, and complex approach.
“We also look forward to our continued partnership with Telstra, which will include continuing to provide them with the services they need to meet their regulatory obligations,” Allan said.
Platinum Equity Managing Director Adam Cooper said, “Thryv is the ideal home for Sensis and this sale culminates a six-year transformation process that leveraged every aspect of our global M&A and operational tool kit. I’m grateful for the partnership we forged with John Allan, the Sensis leadership team and Telstra during our ownership. The company embraced the business transformation necessary to succeed in a rapidly evolving market and today Sensis is a nimble, multi-channel marketing business and an outstanding opportunity for Thryv’s international expansion. We have great respect for the Australian market and will continue to seek opportunities to invest in the region.”
Walsh added that Thryv works with more than 300,000 small businesses throughout the United States.
“While I’m sure there will be some differences in the Australian market,” said Walsh, “small business owners in both countries are no-doubt facing similar challenges—both are struggling to compete with national chains and increasingly-large and monopolistic tech titans who seek to dominate online.
“By introducing the Thryv software to the Australian market, we’re confident we can make an impact on Australian SMBs, the five million people they employ, and the consumers who rely on their small business success.”
Transaction details
To acquire Sensis Holdings, Thryv Holdings, Inc. paid approximately $200 million in cash. In connection with the acquisition, Thryv entered into a new term loan facility for $700 million and refinanced its existing $175 million revolving credit facility. The term loan facility was used, in part, to finance the acquisition, to pay off existing debt under the revolving credit facility and to pay fees and expenses related to the acquisition and related financing.
About Thryv Holdings, Inc.
Thryv Holdings, Inc. owns the easy-to-use Thryv® end-to-end customer experience software built for growing small to medium sized businesses (SMB) that helps over 40,000 SaaS clients with the daily demands of running a business. With Thryv, they can get the job, manage the job and get credit. Thryv’s award-winning platform provides modernized business functions, allowing SMBs to reach more customers, stay organized, get paid faster and generate reviews. These include building a digital customer database, automated marketing through email and text, updating business listings across the internet, scheduling online appointments, sending notifications and reminders, managing ratings and reviews, generating estimates and invoices and processing payments.
Thryv supports franchise operators and multi-location business owners with Hub by Thryv™, a software console that enables businesses managers to oversee their operations using the Thryv software.
Thryv also connects local businesses to consumer services through our search, display and social media management products, our print directories featuring The Real Yellow Pages® tagline, and our local search portals, which operate under the DexKnows.com®, Superpages.com® and Yellowpages.com URLs and reach some 35 million monthly visitors. For more information about the company, visit thryv.com.
