Class loses largest client in acquisition deal
Following the cancellation of a licence agreement with its largest customer, Class Limited has been forced to lodge a supplementary prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of ordinary shares and the company's listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
The announcement comes as AMP, which owns approximately 3 per cent of Class — making it Class' largest customer, administering around 10,500 self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs), which at 31 October represented about 11 per cent of Class' billable portfolios — has advised Class that is has acquired full control of one of Class' competitors, superMate.
As a result of the acquisition, AMP has advised Class that it intends to cancel its licence agreements with Class and move the SMSF portfolios from Class to superMate. The notice periods under the licence agreements range from a few months to two years.
Speaking to Money Management, Class chief executive officer, Kevin Bungard said the announcement by AMP was "unfortunate".
"Effectively, the decision means Class will eventually lose 11 per cent of its billable portfolios and despite us adding an additional 11,034 funds since 1 July, it still puts us back about three months."
This new development requires Class to lodge a supplementary prospectus with ASIC, which is expected to occur this Friday, 6 November,
Established in 2005, Class is the developer of Class Super, a cloud-based software for the administration of SMSFs. The company also has Class Portfolio, an investment portfolio administration solution for non-SMSF portfolios.
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