NZ InsurTech JAVLN Partners With Australian Pre-IPO Fund Manager Bombora Investment Management To Fund Expansion

JAVLN Holdings Limited (JAVLN), a cloud-based insurance policy management platform, has raised A$6.7M to support its growth plans in a partnership with Australian pre-IPO fund manager Bombora Investment Management Pty Ltd (Bombora). The raise included a private offer to pre-IPO investors which was up-sized from $3.25m to $4.0m.

The deal is Bombora’s first in New Zealand while JAVLN becomes one of the first New Zealand-domiciled start ups to access the Australian pre-IPO market as a precursor to a future ASX listing.

The new capital will enable JAVLN to expand its presence firstly in Australia and then more broadly in Asia Pacific through organic growth and acquisition. JAVLN’s leadership and development team will continue to be based in its new premises in Grey Lynn, Auckland.

Established in 2014 and privately funded until now, JAVLN sought new capital to expand as insurance providers undergo significant digital transformation. These providers, including underwriters and brokers, face new reporting regulations in addition to raised customer and staff expectations for user-friendly online experiences.

“To compete with global firms we need to scale our team and technology,” says Dale Smith, founder and CEO of JAVLN. “Partnering with Bombora brings greater experience and capital to our business, helping us capture new opportunities in Australia and making it easier to attract further investment in the future.”

Bombora partners with high growth, pre-IPO businesses, providing both capital and expertise to add value and prepare these companies to list via the ASX.

Kerry McIntosh, Bombora-appointed incoming Chair of JAVLN, says “JAVLN is very well positioned to grow as insurers, underwriters and brokers adopt modern, cloud based , integrated software solutions to improve efficiency, compliance and customer experience. One of the key attractions for us was the quality of the management team led by founder and CEO Dale Smith, who is an experienced and successful serial entrepreneur. The quality and nature of the investment opportunity resulted in an oversubscribed private offer despite challenging capital market conditions.”

Emily Mohan, Investment Director of Bombora, says “Bombora sought to invest in a high-quality New Zealand start-up with the objective of creating a pathway to listing on the ASX. We are pleased to be partnering with JAVLN, which meets our investment criteria including a mission critical application with low churn, an attractive and defensive industry vertical, high growth and low cash burn.”

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