Deal off! Potentia Capital’s Micromine sale collapses

afr.com:

It’s back to the drawing board for Potentia Capital after attempts to sell its mining software business Micromine collapses.

Potentia Capital’s founders Andy Gray and Tim Reed at their Sydney office. Louise Kennerley

It’s been more than a year since the private equity firm agreed to terms to sell Micromine to Nasdaq-listed Aspen Technology, expecting a $900 million payday. The reason behind the hold-up wasn’t known.

In an earnings call on Wednesday morning, Micromine and Aspen Technologies confirmed they’d mutually agreed to terminate the transaction on the one-year anniversary of the signing date citing delays in receiving Russian regulatory approvals.

Limited partner sources told Street Talk that Potentia’s carry cheque was expected to be close to $150 million.

“This lack of clarity on the potential for, and timing of, a successful review led AspenTech and Potentia to this mutual course of action,” the statement said.

“AspenTech will not be paying any termination fee as part of this arrangement.”

Sources said Micromine had continued to perform strongly in the 12 months since the AspenTech deal was signed. For financial year 2023, Micromine achieved revenue and EBITDA well above the budget/forecast shared with AspenTech.

Potentia acquired a controlling stake in Micromine in December 2018 after a process run by PwC.