Aconex Completes Acquisition of Conject

Aconex was Leigh Jasper's idea and dream in 2002 when a bunch of us went on a Vic Govt sponsored programme to Berkeley Haas Business School with uncle Bob Beaumont . 

The outcomes of that initiative have been nothing short of phenomenol!!! 

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, and MUNICH, GERMANY--(Marketwired - Apr 5, 2016) - Aconex Limited (ASX: ACX), provider of a leading cloud and mobile collaboration platform for the global construction industry, today announced that the acquisition of Conject Holding GmbH, announced on 17 March 2016, was completed with effect from 1 April 2016. 

Conject is a leading cloud and mobile collaboration service provider in Europe and other regions. The acquisition is expected to be significantly accretive to Aconex earnings per share (EPS) for the financial year ending 30 June 2017, excluding the amortisation of intangibles related to the acquisition and one-time transaction and restructuring costs.

Completion of the acquisition follows the satisfaction or waiver of conditions precedent and other completion requirements. These requirements included financing of the acquisition through an institutional placement of new Aconex ordinary shares. 

On 17 March 2016, Aconex raised approximately $120.0 million through the issue of approximately 23,076,924 fully paid, ordinary shares at an issue price of $5.20 per share. In addition to the acquisition of Conject for a total cash consideration of EUR65 million (A$97 million)¹, the proceeds of the placement will be used to fund one-time acquisition and integration costs and provide additional working capital for the Aconex group.

"We're pleased to have completed the acquisition of Conject, and we look forward to welcoming their employees, integrating their operations and serving their customers," said Aconex CEO Leigh Jasper. "The transaction will significantly expand our market penetration and user network throughout Europe, and further consolidate our position as a leader in the global market for cloud-based construction collaboration solutions."

Mr. Jasper continued, "In addition to driving Conject's revenue growth within the combined business, we believe that we can greatly improve their operating performance and margins over time by leveraging our global infrastructure. The acquisition reinforces our strategic focus of growing the network, expanding product breadth and driving scale, and we expect it to deliver long-term value to Aconex customers and shareholders."

About Aconex
Aconex Limited provides a leading cloud collaboration platform for the global construction industry. This platform connects owners, contractors and their project teams in the construction, infrastructure, and energy and resources sectors, providing project-wide visibility and control between the many different organisations collaborating across their projects. With more than 60,000 user organisations and over $1 trillion of project value delivered in more than 70 countries, Aconex is the industry's most widely adopted and trusted platform. Founded in 2000, Aconex has 41 offices in 22 countries around the world, including headquarters in Melbourne, Australia and San Francisco, California. The company's ordinary shares are traded on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) under the ticker code ACX.

Supporting Resources
For more information on Aconex, please visit:

·      Website: http://www.aconex.com 

·      Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/aconex 

·      LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/aconex 

·      Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Aconex 

About Conject
Conject, the Infrastructure Lifecycle Management (ILM) Group, was founded in 2000 and is today a leading provider of enterprise and project collaboration solutions to the largest construction and infrastructure markets in Europe, which in the aggregate constitutes the largest regional market after Asia. Headquartered in Munich, Conject currently has approximately 210 employees located in 12 offices in nine countries. The company has served large, complex capital projects throughout Europe and other regions, with a customer base of more than 670 asset owners/operators and contractors and users in approximately 50 countries. Major customers include ArcelorMittal/Nippon Steel and Stiftung Zollverein in Germany, Bank Austria, the National Grid and the University of Manchester in the U.K., Groupe Vinci and BNP Paribas Residentiel in France, Mace in Poland, Spectrum Holding in Russia, Hyundai in the United Arab Emirates, and Changi Airport Authority in Singapore.

¹ Conversion from EUR to AUD at 0.6704.