)
Bailador Technology Investments (ASX: BTI) has cashed in part of its investment in hotel booking platform SiteMinder (ASX: SDR) for $25 million at a hefty 29.4 times the value of its entry into the company's share register.
The move follows a selldown in October last year that netted Bailabor $20 million from its SiteMinder investment.
Following the latest sale, the technology investor has revealed that it still retains 75 per cent of its previous holding in the company which listed on the ASX in 2021 after a $627 million initial public offering.
Following the partial selldown, SiteMinder remains the largest single investment in the Bailador portfolio, which includes language services technology company Straker (ASX: STG), PropHero and Updoc.
Bailador initially backed SiteMinder in 2012 with a $5 million investment and has topped up its holding ever since with subsequent capital raises.
When SiteMinder listed on the ASX, Bailador held 16.7 million shares, or 6.2 per cent of the company. At the end of FY25, Bailador held 13.7 million shares, or 4.88 per cent, of SiteMinder’s issued capital.
At today’s price of about $7.30, this valued the group’s holding in SiteMinder at $100 million, with the latest sale implying its holding is now worth about $75 million.
The investment group sold SiteMinder shares at an average price of $7.21 each, or 4.3 per cent above Bailador’s previous carrying value of the investment.
Bailador says the sale represents an effective internal rate of return of 36.9 per cent and a multiple of investment cost of 29.4x on its SiteMinder play.
“This realisation provides some rebalancing of Bailador’s investment portfolio, with SiteMinder remaining the largest holding,” says the investment group.
“It represents a relatively modest realisation of Bailador’s SiteMinder investment, while providing cash availability for additional portfolio investments.”
Founded in 2006 by Mike Ford and Mike Rogers, the Sydney-based SiteMinder operates a global software platform that aims to unlock the full revenue potential of hotels.
The group has more than 50,000 properties on its books globally and in FY25 it posted a 27.2 per cent increase in annual recurring revenue to $273 million.
When Bailador originally invested in the group 13 years ago, SiteMinder hosted just 6,000 hotels globally on its room inventory distribution platform.
“SiteMinder remains a pivotal investment for Bailador, combining best-in-class technology infrastructure with significant international growth potential and outstanding management capabilities,” says Paul Wilson, Bailador’s co-founder and managing partner.
“We continue to have high confidence in generating long-term returns for shareholders through our sustained investment in SiteMinder.”
)
