SYDNEY, Tuesday: NZ-founded, Singapore-based global video creation company 90 Seconds is poised for “aggressive” growth following its partnership with Australian pre-IPO fund manager Bombora Investment Management Pty Ltd.
Bombora joins 90 Seconds’ VC fund backers Sequoia Capital, Right Click Capital and AirTree Ventures, investing and raising approximately A$13 million of growth capital in September 2021.
The deal, Bombora’s first in South-East Asia, presents a blueprint for other medium-sized, late-stage tech startups in the region who are seeking a route to exit, and might not, until now, have considered the ASX a viable option.
Founded in 2010 by co-founders and entrepreneurs Tim Norton, Nick Erskine-Shaw and Mischa Malane, 90 Seconds is one of the world’s leading video creation platforms.
The cloud-based platform connects the world’s biggest brands, including Facebook, IBM and Amazon and, locally, Sanitarium, to over 13,700 creative partners located in 160 countries.
Following the raise, 90 Seconds has “imminent plans to aggressively expand its global presence through both organic growth and acquisition”.
“The deal presents a blueprint for other medium-sized, late-stage tech startups in the region who are seeking a route to exit, and might not –until now – have considered the ASX a viable option.”
Speaking about their partnership with Bombora, 90 Seconds co-founder/CEO Tim Norton – who still lives in Auckland, said: “When we launched 90 Seconds back in 2010, it was with a vision to create the world’s leading cloud video production platform.
“Today, with over 40,000 videos created for the world’s biggest brands across multiple sectors – from Amazon to Unilever, Deloitte to Marriott – that vision remains at the heart of everything we do.
“Partnering with Bombora has brought our founding vision within reach. We have big plans for the year ahead, including imminent growth through acquisition, deepening our presence in existing geographies and creating more automation on our platform to enable us to scale even faster.”
Bombora partners with high growth, pre-IPO businesses, providing both capital and expertise, together with strategic and operational improvements, to add value and prepare these companies to exit via the ASX.
Bombora’s Sydney-based MD Mike Hill is bullish about the future of 90 Seconds and the opportunity for startups in South-East Asia to consider the ASX as a route to IPO.
“90 Seconds has imminent plans to aggressively expand its global presence through both organic growth and acquisition.”
He said: “Since 2010, over US$52 billion of venture capital has been deployed into Southeast Asia’s start-up ecosystem, producing high calibre start-ups with operational scale. This cohort of start-ups, of which the lion’s share are medium-sized, is now seeking an exit or route to IPO. However, whilst representing robust, high-calibre businesses, they simply aren’t big enough for the Nasdaq and the South-East Asian exchanges have a dominant resources focus and represent a less attractive exchange option for technology companies.
“This is where Bombora and the ASX come to the fore. A highly active capital raising platform widely regarded as the home of small and mid-cap tech, the ASX is within reach of this middle layer of medium-sized start-ups. In the case of 90 Seconds, it’s a great match.”
Tim Norton: “As a Singapore-based company, the ASX was not an obvious route for us.
“Partnering with Bombora has opened that door for 90 Seconds, and we are really excited to lead the way for other local, medium-sized startups that are looking to exit, and do so on founder-friendly terms.
“It’s an extremely compelling opportunity for our local startup community.”
Mike Hill: “Whilst the pathway to listing on the ASX is not a new one for Singapore-based startups, it is not yet well-worn, either. That is something that we aim to change, starting with our landmark first deal in the region with 90 Seconds.”
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About 90 Seconds
Founded in Singapore in 2010 by Tim Norton, Nick Erskine-Shaw and Mischa Malane, 90 Seconds is the global video creation platform that empowers brands to create compelling videos anywhere in the world. Over the last 10 years, 90 Seconds has partnered with thousands of brands, including Amazon Web Services, IBM, HP, Salesforce and Facebook. Their global network of video professionals has created over 40,000 videos so far, from powerful brand stories to case studies, demos, animations and more.
About Bombora Group
Bombora Investment Management operates the Bombora Special Investments Growth Fund (Fund), which partners and invests in pre-IPO and listed companies. Our unique approach draws on private equity disciplines and listed equity experience to drive stakeholder returns. Bombora’s team is diverse and includes seven fulltime investment professionals and four part- ime industry experts as well as a broad network of investors and advisors. Over the last eight years, the Bombora team has been instrumental in listing several companies on the ASX and raising hundreds of millions of dollars at the time of listing and in follow on capital raisings.
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