Ann: Board Governance Update to Support Continued Growth, page-21

The dogs are barking at sports analytics company Catapult Group International - and loud enough to scare the intruders away.

Rewind a couple of months, and cashed up private equity firms were crawling all over the $250 million listed Catapult.

Excited investment bankers were running around town offering introductions to the company's founders - and suggesting their stake could be a strategic foothold for a bigger takeover play.

Co-founder Shaun Holthouse, who owns just above 10 per cent, had just stopped his executive duties, and bankers were pitching that another executive director and co-founder, Igor van de Griendt, may also looking to take a backseat. [van de Griendt also owns about 10 per cent and the company announced last week his desire to transition to a non-executive director role this month].


Catapult co-founder Shaun Holthouse, right, shows off one of his company's products. Josh Robenstone

It is understood the initial pitch resonated with a couple of funds.

CATCatapult Group International[/paste:font]$1.24-1.20%
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Updated: Jun 4, 2019 — 4.12pmView CAT related articles


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Private equity tyrekickers were all of a sudden interested in Catapult's wearable technology and video analysis tools that are used by professional sports teams worldwide, and its software subscription model.



Add a profit warning from the company in late January - which saw the shares tank - and CEO Joe Powell's resignation one week later, and it was game on.

But what the privateers and their bankers didn't expect was the remarkable recovery. Small cap funds and retail punters, desperate for anything with a credible tech angle, zeroed in on the stock and caused the share price to double in the space of three months.



So while it looks like the thesis is playing out, it is understood Catapult's share price run - which has the company trading at 2-times revenue and 32-times forecast EBITDA, on S&P Capital IQ's numbers - has well and truly scared the private equity dealmakers away.

And it is back to square one for the pitching bankers, and their would-be buyer clients, who have moved on to other targets.

What hasn't changed are the founder stakes and Catapult's dominant position in its market, which means the company is likely to remain on banker and private equity funds' radars.

But, as always, what happens next is all about price.

It comes as private equity tyrekickers seek to put to work a huge amount of capital raised in recent years. Industry association AVCAL reckons there is $11 billion committed to Australian buyout funds looking for a home. Add leverage - and commitments from increasingly hungry limited partners as co-investors - and the firepower for deals is massive.