Deal proceeds with advice from partner Hedley Roost and senior associate Lawrence Ward
Thomson Geer has confirmed that it assisted Qoria Ltd, a Perth-headquartered digital safety and student wellbeing solutions provider, with its $5m acquisition of OctopusBI, a Sydney-based data analytics innovator, and with a $30m capital raising.
Qoria’s acquisition of OctopusBI – which is for cash and performance rights – will be partly funded from the capital raising proceeds and will be subject to compliance with financial targets.
Thomson Geer’s advice to Qoria covered all aspects of the acquisition and capital raising, including the acquisition agreement and the applicable regulatory requirements. Hedley Roost, partner, led the firm’s deal team. Lawrence Ward, senior associate, supported Roost.
“We're pleased to be able to advise valued client, Qoria, on its latest moves to strengthen and grow the company,” Roost said in Thomson Geer’s media release.
Roost – a corporate, securities, and M&A lawyer – helps form, fund, purchase, and sell businesses, according to his profile on Thomson Geer’s website. His work has spanned industries and sectors such as energy and resources, technology, and agribusiness.
With 19 years of legal experience in Australia and in the U.K., Roost has covered corporate and commercial matters including mergers and acquisitions of the domestic, cross-jurisdictional, public, and private varieties; capital raisings; restructuring and insolvency; joint ventures; and private equity.
His work has involved corporate governance issues, the Corporations Act 2001, Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) listing rules, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) policy, Takeovers Panel proceedings, and matters relating to directors’ duties and employee incentive arrangements, as per his profile.
Qoria’s plans
Roost said in the media release that the firm was looking forward to seeing Qoria “continue to develop its technology aimed at improving digital safety for children.”
With the acquisition of OctopusBI, Qoria aims to add premium data analytics and AI capability into its existing technology platforms, Thomson Geer’s media release shared.
OctopusBI has established a suite of technology offerings from kindergarten to Year 12 (K-12) and a customer base across Australia, the U.S., and the U.K., the media release said. In the U.S, the K-12 education data analytics market is expected to grow to between US$5bn to US$7bn by 2026, the media release added.
