Another win-win cross-border deal expertly advised by Novitas
SStriata is a truly South African success story. From its humble beginnings in 1999 in Mike Wright’s garage, the business has grown to a team of 135 based in the USA, UK, South Africa, Hong Kong and Australia. They provide software and services that enable secure, personalised digital document delivery to 80 clients, including banks, utilities and large corporations in over 20 countries around the globe.
When it came to selecting an advisor to sell the business, they needed a team who understood their technology and the nuances of the South African business environment, and who had the experience and capabilities required to work with large global acquirers.
The challenges of cross-border transactions and the level of tenacity and rigor required to navigate these are scarce skills locally. Novitas’ proven track record of expert negotiation and its creative and innovative approach to successfully executing cross-border transactions made it a perfect fit for Striata. “There was significant complexity in the deal that spanned 4 continents and 10 separate entities. Hats off to Dana and the Novitas team for helping, guiding and shepherding this transaction to completion. The dedication and commitment of the team was everything you want for the most important event in a business’s journey” said Michael Wright.
After engaging with 35 leading global players in the customer communication management (CCM), payment and printing sectors, Doxim emerged as the ideal home for Striata.
According to Striata CEO and Founder Michael Wright, ‘We see it as an opportunity to expand the full potential of the Striata platform, access more resources, more clients, more global exposure’.
‘Due to our legacy company structure, this transaction was always going to be complex. Novitas did a great job managing this complexity and running a process that involved our businesses in South Africa, the UK and the USA, as well as a Canadian buyer. Throw in the fact that we had COVID-19 travel restrictions from start to finish that prevented us from having a single face-to-face meeting, and the result is even more impressive.’
‘The acquisition of Striata will extend the Doxim CCM Platform, providing enhanced hyper-personalised interactive digital experiences, all within a secure and compliant framework,’ said Mike Rogalski, Doxim President and CEO. ‘The requirements for communicating with customers are quickly shifting to digital. Especially with the impact of COVID-19 and fewer face-to-face meetings, organisations need to find scalable ways to orchestrate multi-channel communications that are both personalised and legally compliant’, he explained.
Beyond the business alignments, Wright believes there are other, equally compelling, reasons for the deal.
‘Striata and Doxim’s company cultures and market positioning are very similar and it’s exciting to see how we will integrate our technology, systems, people and value propositions,’ he concludes.
Striata and its shareholders were exclusively advised by Novitas Capital Advisors.
With seven international transactions concluded in the past two years, Novitas has established itself as the premier South African cross-border M&A specialist.
Recent Novitas cross-border deals include:
Tech Central
South Africa’s Striata acquired by DoximSouth African-born customer communication and document security specialist Striata has been acquired Doxim.
It Web
Striata acquired by Doxim in major acquisition deal“This acquisition represents one of the most important milestones in our 21-year history,”
iAfrikan
South Africa's Striata acquired by Doxim in global deal“The acquisition of Striata will extend the Doxim CCM Platform”
Business Leader
Striata has been acquired by Doxim in an exclusive lockdown dealThe deal will see Striata’s Customer Communication Platform wholly acquired by Doxim.
