ASX shareholder registry Automic Group acquires media relations firm Market Eye
Automic Group, one of Australia’s largest share registry businesses has today acquired Australian investor relations advisory firm Market Eye.
The deal was made to help deliver a fully integrated technology solution for ASX-listed companies to manage all aspects of their shareholder relations.
This acquisition will see Automic Group’s share registry, board meeting management, governance and professional service capabilities expand. It will now include investor relations, media and communications, strategic investor insights, and beneficial ownership data and analytics, through Market Eye’s heritage and reputation in investor relations built up over the past 15 years.
The strategic rationale of the acquisition will accelerate both firms’ growth plans.
Market Eye’s senior leadership will join Automic Group’s executive committee, with Market Eye’s founder & executive chairman, Ronn Bechler, also appointed to Automic Group’s board as an executive director.
Paul Williams, managing director and CEO of Automic Group said: “Today’s announcement of the acquisition of Market Eye marks a key milestone in Automic Group’s vision to offer the leading solution for listed companies that makes it easier for them to do business. I’m looking forward to welcoming Market Eye’s team to Automic Group, and working closely with Ronn and the entire team at Market Eye to provide unparalleled support to ASX-listed companies.”
“Market Eye’s integration with Automic Group will further enhance our existing technology and services with the addition of Australia’s leading investor relations advisory practice, media and communications, shareholder meeting analytics and support, beneficial holder analytics and investor relations technologies. We are revolutionising the industry with our unmatched end-to-end technology and services offering that delivers considerable value to the management teams and boards of ASX-listed companies.”
Ronn Bechler, founder and executive chairman of Market Eye said: “Automic’s commitment to client service and technology innovation, together with the quality of their people stood out for us. Automic and Market Eye are completely aligned in terms of the importance we place on business values, team engagement, and client engagement. With Automic Group’s backing, we will be able to rapidly accelerate Market Eye’s multiple growth initiatives that will further grow value for the companies we support, many in the ASX300, as well as enhance career development opportunities for our team.”
“Market Eye is the only investor relations advisory firm of scale offering advice supported by data, seamlessly blending deep market intelligence, proprietary IP and technology. Similarly, Automic Group’s modern technology platform reduces companies’ administrative burdens, provides insights, improves efficiencies, and streamlines tasks with automation. Given this, I am very excited by the growth opportunities I see for the two businesses combined, and look forward to working closely with Paul, Justin and the rest of Automic’s board and team to deliver on the tremendous opportunities we see to create additional value for our clients and team.”
Five V Capital’s Justin England said: “Having invested into Automic Group late last year, we set out a clear growth strategy to execute on, that builds on Automic’s strong organic growth with targeted strategic M&A. The acquisition of Market Eye has very strong strategic rationale, bringing together two businesses that are naturally aligned via a shared goal to deliver unrivalled client and team experiences.”
“We continue to see further growth opportunities for what Automic Group brings to the market, and see the acquisition of Market Eye as a significant milestone in accelerating the evolution of the registry industry.
“The acquisition of Market Eye significantly enhances Automic Group’s end-to-end offering across technology and shareholder services, and I look forward to working closely with Ronn on Automic’s board to create the most compelling shareholder services solution for ASX-listed companies.”
This announcement from Automic Group follows the news of its next generation software release, which delivers innovative functionality to provide significant efficiencies further bolstered by strong team growth, senior hires and its unique proactive service model designed to support better outcomes for clients through intuitive automation.
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