While the presentations did not include any forecasts,revenue is expected to exceed $200 million this year and a valuation of 10 times future revenue is considered a real possibility. Buy now,pay later giant Afterpay was trading at 28 times its forecast revenue after its results last month.
UBS banking analyst Jonathan Mott said the sale would provide big gains for Macquarie."Given the increase in Nuix's revenue and earnings,as well as the multiples currently being paid for technology companies,we believe this could lead to a substantial'gain on sale'for Macquarie,"Mr Mott said.
On Monday,Macquarie blamed the coronavirus turmoil for its failure to provide full-year guidance to investors for the first time since the global financial crisis as the bank revealed it expects earnings for thecurrent half to dive by 35 per cent.
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"Market conditions are likely to remain challenging,especially given the significant and unprecedented uncertainty caused by the worldwide impact of COVID-19 and the uncertain speed of the global economic recovery,"the bank told investors.
Citi upgraded its 2021 earnings expectations for Macquarie based on the float going ahead soon."We are now including a 50 per cent IPO selldown of Nuix to be completed before March 2021,"Citi analyst Brendan Sproules said in a research report this week.