Swedish alternative investment firm EQT announced on Thursday two deals in Australia—the acquisition of SaaS talent solutions provider PageUp, and participation as the lead investor in AI infra startup Neara’s $31 million Series C round.
EQT acquired Australia-founded PageUp, a SaaS talent acquisition, recruitment marketing, and talent management solutions firm from its existing majority owners Battery Ventures for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition, made via the BPEA Fund VIII (EQT Private Capital Asia), is set to strengthen and accelerate PageUp’s position in talent management software, drive international expansion, and boost product innovation, according to a statement.
With this transaction, BPEA Private Equity Fund VIII is expected to be 80-90% invested based on target fund size and subject to customary regulatory approvals, the statement added.
Following the successful completion of the transaction, the CEO of PageUp Mark Rice also announced his intent to retire. Rice led the company’s growth initially as a COO/CFO and then as the CEO in the last six years.
Mark will oversee a transition period while incoming CEO Eric Lochner takes over. Eric has over 25 years of leadership experience scaling SaaS companies globally, most notably HR Tech companies Kenexa, Achievers, and Careerbuilder.com.
PageUp represents EQT’s latest investment in the Human Capital Management (HCM) software sector. EQT’s portfolio includes Peakon, Unmind, Hume, Sana Labs, and HRBrain, among others in HCM software.
“As the human capital management landscape rapidly evolves, we are committed to helping PageUp unlock new opportunities for its clients worldwide. This investment reinforces EQT’s strength in supporting software businesses that align with our core investment themes,” said Nicholas Macksey, a partner at EQT Private Capital Asia advisory team.
William Blair acted as the exclusive financial advisor to PageUp Group on this transaction, while Barclays and Barrenjoey acted as exclusive financial advisors to EQT.
Battery Ventures, a US tech investor known to back marquee names like DataBricks, Groupon and Glassdoor, has been scouting for a buyer for PageUp since early this year. EQT had expressed interest in the startup in March, as reported by the Australian Financial Review.
Meanwhile, EQT also led a consortium that invested $31 million in a Series C funding round in Neara, an AI-powered predictive modelling platform for critical infrastructure in Australia. The consortium comprised Partners Group and Square Peg Capital, alongside existing investors Skip Capital and Prosus Ventures.
“This investment marks EQT’s first venture growth investment in an Australia-based company, highlighting our ambition to support world-class platforms from early growth partnerships through to large-cap buyouts. We are excited to further advance Neara’s growth and impact by leveraging our global network and expertise across energy transition, infrastructure augmentation and best-in-class software development,” said Frank Heckes, Partner on the EQT Private Equity advisory team and Co-Head of EQT Private Capital Australia and New Zealand.
Using the funds, Neara will be better positioned to address the increasing challenges of energy resilience and infrastructure modernisation across the US, the UK, Europe, and Asia Pacific.
Further, the company will extend its modelling and simulation capabilities to additional critical infrastructure sectors, including the telecommunications sector and the public transportation sector. In the US, Neara is already supporting broadband infrastructure projects, helping providers fast-track efforts to connect underserved communities.
