Adtech Sesimi taps Lempriere Wells to seek capital partner

afr.com:

Brand and automation software start-up Sesimi is looking for a strategic investor to join its shareholder register, telling potential backers to think of gross margins higher than 90 per cent from serving clients like Toyota, American Express and Cricket Australia.

Sesimi reckons it doesn’t have many direct comparables. Getty

Sesimi has had boutique corporate advisory Lempriere Wells running the search. It was open-minded about taking either a minority or majority investor and looking to get the deal done this side of Christmas.

The eight-year-old company follows a software-as-service model to sell enterprise clients solutions for brand automation, digital asset management and marketing.

Put simply, it lets corporates run their creative content – photos and the like – through software that can adapt it for different channels including broadcast, print and social media. The pitch said it works out cheaper and faster than creative/advertising agencies that have traditionally filled the role, while still adhering to the client’s brand identity.

Tyre kickers were told Sesimi spent the pandemic lockdown rebuilding its product but still grew at 23 per cent compounded annual growth rate between the 2015 financial year and 2023. Its biggest market is Asia Pacific, where it has been since 2010 and has 38 clients, followed by North America with seven clients, and EMEA with three. No clients have left over its history.

Forecasts are for nearly $15 million revenue, 91 per cent gross margin and 30 per cent EBITDA margin for this financial year. It sees itself as a unique product, which rivals establishment agencies, and hence is likely to push for a revenue-multiple for its valuation from smart money who understands the sector.

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