Shareholders of billing services provider Hansen Technologies Limited (ASX: HSN) are smiling today after its share price catapulted 8% higher shortly after the market opened. The jump in its share price was a result of the company's announcement that it has signed an agreement to acquire US-based energy billing company PPL Solutions.
Around six weeks ago the company announced that it has executed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire PPL Solutions, but this was subject to satisfactory completion of due diligence, board approval, and the execution of a mutually agreeable purchase and sale agreement. With these obstacles out of the way shareholders can look forward to another great acquisition from this outstanding company.
Management had this to say on the acquisition:
"Solutions is a strategically attractive business that is strongly aligned with Hansen's key acquisition criteria: it sits within our core billing & customer care business; owns the intellectual property in its billing software; has recurring revenue streams; and extends Hansen's footprint into a new market segment in the US."
The purchase will be funded from its cash reserves and is estimated to be 4x PPL Solutions' EBITDA. This seems to be good value in my opinion, especially when you consider that it is expected to contribute approximately 7% of Hansen's worldwide EBITDA.
Because of Hansen's long history of successfully integrating new businesses into the company, I am confident that this will be yet another success story that adds a lot of value for shareholders.
Compared to the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) its shares are looking a little on the expensive side at 33x trailing earnings. But with its strong growth prospects and diverse operations, it might well prove to be worth paying a premium to own.
