Computershare to acquire switchwise
Computershare (ASX: CPU) today announced that it has acquired switchwise, Australia's leading online energy comparison and supplier switching service.
Computershare is the world’s largest provider of investor services and also provides specialised financial, governance and stakeholder communication services. Computershare is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of approximately $4 billion.
As part of the transaction Computershare has also acquired two other businesses, Serviceworks Management and connectnow, which will be combined with switchwise to form an innovative new Utilities Service Division within Computershare.
Serviceworks Management is one of Australia’s fastest growing utilities service providers specialising in providing end-to-end customer management, solutions development and consulting services to the Australian utilities sector (electricity, gas and water).
connectnow is Australia and New Zealand’s leading moving home services provider assisting over 120,000 customers each year to connect energy, water and telecoms services and arrange quotes for a variety of moving related services such as removals, car/truck hire, storage, insurance and cleaning.
In announcing the acquisitions, Computershare CEO Stuart Crosby said, "We are thrilled to be able to join forces with switchwise, Serviceworks Management and connectnow. The alignment with our core competencies is attractive, as are the quality of these businesses’ management and processes. But it is the opportunity to assist these businesses realise their significant growth potential that excites us the most."
"We see switchwise as an exceptionally well positioned business to benefit from regulatory change in the energy market, with strong organic growth potential as a result. As with all our businesses, we will also be on the look-out for value accretive acquisition opportunities to build on its footprint."
switchwise founder and CEO, Shaun Johnson, said, "This is a very exciting development for switchwise. Computershare will provide a significant boost to our capacity to manage our rapid growth, assist us to develop the best possible services for our customers and clients and to expand our business into new geographic markets."
Released: 23 August 2011
