Sensis sold to SaaS vendor for $257m

Australian directories and data business Sensis has been sold by its current owners Telstra and Platinum Equity to US vendor Thryv Holdings for US$200 million (A$257 million).

Thryv said in a statement that it had closed the acquisition today. It had been in talks with Sensis’ owners since early January.

“This is a transformational acquisition for Thryv, and one that will help Australian small businesses (SMBs) better compete in a digital economy,” Thryv CEO and president Joe Walsh said in a statement.

“The acquisition of Sensis follows our strategy of expanding internationally where small businesses are ready to modernise their operations in order to serve their customers faster and more efficiently - from anywhere, including mobile devices.”

Thryv makes a software-as-a-service product of the same name that “enables small businesses to easily accept appointments, build digital customer lists, email and text customers, send reminders and notifications, deliver estimates and invoices, accept contactless payments, and generate online ratings and reviews.”

Thryv has about 300,000 small business customers in the United States.

The acquisition of Sensis affords access to over 100,000 potential new Australian customers.

Sensis CEO John Allan will lead Thryv’s Australian operations and report to Walsh.

Allan said that the Yellow Pages and White Pages brands “will continue to develop”.

“Both organisations aim to be the primary partner of SMBs by helping them establish, grow and run their day-to-day business activities from their mobile phone,” he said.

“In recent years, we’ve seen many Australian businesses forced to invest more in IT platforms than actual employees.”

Sensis will also continue to partner with Telstra, providing them with the services they need to meet their regulatory obligations,” Allan said.

Platinum Equity held 70 percent of Sensis and Telstra held the remaining 30 percent.