AvePoint Closes Business Combination; to Begin Trading on Nasdaq as "AVPT"
AvePoint (NASDAQ: AVPT), the global leader in data security, governance, and resilience, announced today the completion of its previously announced business combination with Apex Technology Acquisition Corporation ("Apex"), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company or SPAC.
Apex shareholders approved the transaction at its stockholder's meeting held on June 30, 2021. The combined company is expected to begin trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market on July 2, 2021, under the ticker symbol "AVPT" for AvePoint common stock and "AVPTW" for AvePoint warrants.
"The way we work will never be the same and it continues to evolve," said Dr. Tianyi "TJ" Jiang, Co-Founder and CEO of AvePoint. "While collaboration within the cloud grows at an exceptional rate, the promise of digital transformation is only in its infancy. As the largest Microsoft 365 data management solutions provider with two decades worth of reimagining how companies work, AvePoint is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this moment in time."
The business combination provides an influx of cash to drive accelerated investment in product innovation, channel marketing, international market expansion and customer success initiatives. The Company remains debt-free and is now one of eight public software companies with at least $150 million in annual revenue, 25% YoY growth and a 10% EBITDA margin1.
"The future of work is hybrid, and AvePoint solutions for Microsoft 365 and Teams are transforming the ways in which people collaborate and get work done today," said Casey McGee, Vice President, Global ISV Sales, Microsoft. "There are tremendous growth opportunities for Partners like AvePoint who are enabling secure and compliant collaboration for businesses around the world."
AvePoint's senior management team, including CEO TJ Jiang, will continue to lead the combined company. Jeff Epstein and Brad Koenig, Co-CEOs of Apex, will join AvePoint's Board of Directors as a director and an advisor, respectively.
"Given AvePoint's leadership in digital collaboration security and data management for Microsoft 365, the company is uniquely positioned to benefit from the shift to remote work collaboration and enterprise cloud adoption," said Epstein, Co-CEO of Apex and AvePoint Board Director.
"We believe that AvePoint's attractive growth combined with its financial profile gives the company the opportunity to generate significant long-term shareholder value as a publicly traded company," said Koenig, Co-CEO of Apex and AvePoint Board Advisor.
Transaction Overview
AvePoint received approximately $492 million in gross proceeds comprised of Apex's $352 million of cash held in trust following de minimis public stockholder redemptions and $140 million from an ordinary share private investment in public equity (PIPE), excluding transaction fees. The PIPE was anchored by investors including but not limited to Federated Hermes Kaufman Small Cap Fund, Franklin Templeton, Phoenix Insurance Limited and Singapore-based global investor EDBI.
Advisors
Evercore Group L.L.C. ("Evercore") served as financial advisor to AvePoint. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. ("Citi"), Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC ("Goldman Sachs"), Evercore and Cowen Inc. served as capital markets advisors to AvePoint. William Blair & Company served as a financial advisor to Apex. Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. served as a capital market advisor to Apex. Goldman Sachs, Citi and Evercore served as private placement agents to Apex. Cooley LLP served as legal counsel to AvePoint. Latham & Watkins LLP and Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP served as legal counsel to Apex. Goodwin Procter LLP served as legal counsel to the private placement agents.
1 Companies listed on NYSE or NASDAQ. Based on LYM results for most recent reported quarter. Source: Capital IQ
About AvePoint
Securing the Future. AvePoint is a global leader in data security, governance, and resilience, and over 21,000 customers worldwide rely on our solutions to modernize the digital workplace across Microsoft, Google, Salesforce and other collaboration environments. AvePoint’s global channel partner program includes over 3,500 managed service providers, value added resellers and systems integrators, with our solutions available in more than 100 cloud marketplaces. To learn more, visit https://www.avepoint.com.