DALLAS—Hotel guest acquisition software company SiteMinder has completed a capital raise from international investors. The raise was led by equity funds managed by BlackRock. Other investors include AustralianSuper; Ellerston, through the Ellerston JAADE Private Assets Fund; and Pendal Group. The process was finalized this month and values SiteMinder at over $750 million, according to the company.
The raise follows a strong year for SiteMinder, having processed 105 million bookings through its platform for more than 35,000 hotels worldwide. The privately owned company also surpassed $70 million in annual recurring revenue—80% of which is generated from global markets outside of Australia, through both monthly subscriptions and newer transactional revenue streams.
The additional capital will be used to fuel SiteMinder’s growth and innovation, namely through accelerated go-to-market strategies and increased investments in research and development led from Sydney. The company will also further its international expansion and continue the growth of its more than 900 staff, who are located in six offices spanning Sydney, Bangkok, Dallas, Galway, London and Manila.
SiteMinder’s technology is available in eight languages and supported with customer service in a further three. CEO Sankar Narayan noted there has never been a more opportune time to capitalize on an online accommodation industry that has grown 11% per annum over the last 15 years and still represents less than 50% of all accommodation bookings.
“As the global landscape for hotel technology becomes increasingly fragmented, and remains largely unpenetrated with connected technology, we couldn’t be more thrilled with the quality of new partners we have gained to further cement our position as the global market leader, now and into the future. This investment is a strong endorsement of our growth ambitions to continue building the world’s largest and most open guest acquisition platform for hotels,” said Narayan.
Michael Dennis, BlackRock’s Asia-Pacific head of capital markets, added, “We see the Australian private markets providing a compelling investment opportunity. We are excited about this investment and look forward to SiteMinder delivering on its growth ambitions and extending its market leadership.”
Early investors of SiteMinder—including Bailador Technology Investments, Les Szekely of Equity Venture Partners, and TCV—remain strong supporters and shareholders of the company.
“The shift in consumer engagement is changing the structure of online travel,” said David Yuan, general partner at TCV and SiteMinder board member. “We wanted to find a technology provider that could power a better consumer experience and empower hoteliers to benefit from this shift. We searched globally and found the best—SiteMinder in Australia. In working together over the years, we’ve seen SiteMinder emerge as the global powerhouse in the category, and an important franchise in online travel.”
SiteMinder was advised by UBS as financial adviser and Gilbert + Tobin as legal adviser in relation to the transaction.
