The record-breaking sale of the mining software company founded in Perth 37 years ago by geologist Graeme Tuder has been terminated.
US company AspenTech has terminated its $900 million purchase of Micromine, the mining software company founded in Perth by geologist Graeme Tuder.
The NASDAQ-listed company announced one year ago a deal to buy Micromine, which is majority owned by Sydney-based investor Potentia Capital.
It disclosed overnight the deal has been terminated.
“AspenTech and Potentia were waiting to secure a final Russian regulatory approval as a condition to closing the transaction,” the US company said.
“As this process continued, the timing and requirements necessary to get this approval became increasingly unclear.
“This lack of clarity on the potential for, and timing of, a successful review led AspenTech and Potentia to this mutual course of action.”
Unusually, AspenTech will not be paying any termination fee as part of this arrangement.
The announced $900 million deal would have been by far the largest sale of any tech company founded in Perth.
AspenTech did not refer to broader trends in the sector, however it is clear that over the past year there has been a sharp fall in the valuation of many tech companies.
Micromine chief executive Andrew Birch said all but one regulatory approval had been obtained and it was unclear when the Russian approval would come through.
“We decided we couldn’t wait any longer so we made a mutual decision to terminate the sale,” he told Business News.
“It’s a shame we couldn’t complete an exit at this point but we will continue growing the business and adding value.”
Mr Birch did not disclose Micromine’s revenue but said it had achieved 31 per cent year-on-year growth.
“The business is booming,” he added.
“That growth is way above the forecast on which Aspen agreed to buy the business.”
Micromine was established in 1986 and has grown to have more than 300 employees across 22 global offices.
This includes more than 100 staff in Perth, making it one of the largest employers on the Business News’ listing of Perth technology companies.
Its software is used by about 800 companies across 2,000 sites globally, with Russia being one of many markets.
Mr Tuder continues as a non-executive director on Micromine’s board, which is chaired by Potentia principal Tim Reed.
AspenTech president and chief executive Antonio Pietri said at the time of the purchase that it would support digitalization of the metals and mining industry.
Global investment bank Goldman Sachs & Co and Perth-based advisory firm Atrico were financial advisors and DLA Piper was legal counsel to AspenTech.
JP Morgan was financial advisor and Johnson Winter & Slattery was legal counsel to Micromine, Potentia Capital and the other sellers.
