AvePoint, a company that gives companies using Microsoft Office 365, SharePoint and Teams a layer of control on top of these tools, announced today that it would be made public via a SPAC merger with Apex Technology Acquisition Corporation in an agreement evaluating AvePoint at around $ 2 billion.
Acquisition brings together powerful technology executives with Apex managed by former Oracle CFO Jeff Epstein and former Goldman Sachs head of technology investment banking Brad Koenig, who will now work closely with AvePoint Tianyi Jiang CEO. Apex filed for a $ 305 million SPAC in September 2019.
Under the terms of the transaction, Apex's $ 352 million balance plus an additional $ 140 million private investment will be transferred to AvePoint. Once transaction fees and other considerations are paid, AvePoint is expected to have $ 252 million in balance. AvePoint's current shareholders will own approximately 72% of the combined entity, with the balance held by Apex SPAC and private investment owners.
Jiang sees this as a way to keep growing the company. "Going public now gives us the ability to meet this demand and expand faster through product innovation, channel marketing, international markets and successful customer initiatives," he said in a statement.
AvePoint was founded in 2001 as a company to alleviate the complexity of SharePoint installations, which were all on-premise at the time. Today, it has adapted to the move to the cloud as a SaaS tool and serves primarily as a policy layer enabling companies to ensure that employees are using these tools in a compliant manner.
The company raised $ 200 million in January of this year led by TPG Sixth Street Partners, with the additional holding of previous investor Goldman Sachs, meaning Koenig likely knew the company based on his previous role.
The company raised a total of $ 294 million in capital prior to today's announcement. It is expected to generate nearly $ 150 million in revenue by the end of this year with ARR growth of more than 30%. It is worth noting that the company's ARR and revenue have steadily increased since the first quarter of 2019. The company expects significant growth for the next two years with estimated revenue of $ 257 million and ARR of $ 220 million. by the end of 2022.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of next year. Upon closing, the company will continue to be known as AvePoint and will continue to be listed on the NASDAQ under the new symbol AVPT.
