Datalex, the Dublin-based travel communications software firm, has raised $30 million (€29.7 million) in private funding. The company set out to raise $15 million but considerable industry interest - in particular from private investors - meant it received offers of up to $50 million. Datalex then scaled back the offers to bring the total to $30 million.
Managing director, Mr Neil Wilson, says the company will now seek a joint public listing on the Nasdaq and Dublin stock exchanges towards the last quarter of 2000. This is the first time Mr Wilson has publicly stated the company's intention in this regard.
Mr Wilson, who owns around 60 per cent of Datalex, predicts a sizeable reduction in his shareholding following the company's flotation. He said he would not be surprised if his share had been diluted to 10 per cent of the company this time next year, but added he would prefer to see the value of the company increase, than retain his stake at current levels. Following this latest investment, Datalex is valued at around $150 million.
The other shareholders in Datalex include the Dermot Desmond-owned company, International Investment Underwriters (IIU) which holds 10 per cent. A further 17 per cent is held by ICC Venture Capital while Enterprise Ireland has 5 per cent. A further 8 per cent of company stock is held by private investors, and according to Mr Wilson, private investment accounted for $5 million worth of the latest round of funding. Existing Datalex shareholders have been offered pre-emption rights on new stock if they wish to retain their shareholdings. The remainder will be offered to new investors.
Datalex sales are well ahead of expectations for this year at $17.5 million, and Mr Wilson says next year's sales are likely to be around $45 million, with $25 million worth of this business already signed up.
Datalex opted to double its funding requirement after the company set its sights on Manchester-based company, Teamworks. Heads of agreement have now been signed for the purchase of Teamworks for $14 million in January. It marks Datalex's fifth acquisition in the past year.
The new company will equip Datalex with specialised software which allows consumers and businesses to get automatic quotes on 98 per cent of air fares out of Britain and Europe. This includes stopovers and complex itineraries.
Considered market leaders in this area, Teamworks includes among its clients Trailfinders, The Co-op, Thomas Cook and Expedia. The software will act in tandem with an earlier purchase Datalex made this year, when it acquired US company WebVentures, a powerful Internet booking engine.
Teamworks' two founders will now take senior roles within Datalex, and its 40 staff will bring the Datalex workforce total to around 300.
This week Datalex also announced it had successfully applied wireless application protocol (WAP) technology to its Internet travel reservations system, BookIt! According to the company, this will allow customers to book airline flights through their mobile phones. Datalex says it will make the suite of applications available to global travel providers in the new year. The development of WAP products is critical to Datalex's goal of becoming a leading software provider to the airline industry. Wireless connectivity through mobile phones has been identified as one of the fastest growth technology markets.
