Digital consultancy Innovior joins forces with Probe CX
Australian digital consultancy Innovior has joined forces with Probe CX, with Innovior founders Tim Ryan and Jure Brkan to continue to lead the business.
Customer experience outfit Probe CX has picked up Australia-based automation and AI analytics consultancy Innovior in a deal reported to be worth around $20 million, with the sale-side advised on by professional services firm Grant Thornton.
The acquisition, expected to be closed by the end of the month, will add around 130 members to Probe’s 18,000-strong headcount, including Innovior leaders Tim Ryan and Jure Brkan.
“Probe is committed to being recognised as the Australasian leader in digital CX transformation, and Innovior will help us achieve this,” said Probe CX chief executive Andrew Hume. “To bring our vision to life, we are continuing to invest in our specialist customer experience and digital consulting, natural language processing, biometric verification, intelligent automation, real-time speech analytics and data science capabilities.”
Established in Melbourne by Ryan and current managing director Brkan in 2016, Innovior has since spread to Sydney and the Philippines, serving clients in the energy & engineering, financial services, government, education and health & aged care sectors in areas such as data & analytics, intelligent automation, experience design, and managed services.
“This is an exciting step forward for Innovior on our mission to unlock greater human potential through digital transformation,” said Brkan. “Leveraging our combined capabilities with Probe CX will be a huge opportunity for both our team and our customers, and we are excited to offer our advisory-led technology innovation to an even greater market.”
Innovior is set to sit alongside Probe CX’s natural language business Convai, with the latest acquisition following Probe CX’s sale to global investment firm KKR one year ago – a deal which was advised on by among others PwC and Ernst & Young on either side of the ledger. Over the prior five years, Probe CX had grown from a headcount of 300 to 18,000 globally (a third of those in Australia), generating revenues above $620 million.
As for the Innovior sale, Ryan expressed praise for Grant Thornton. “They were a brilliant ally, always communicative and clear and helped us navigate a complex and time-consuming process. They ensured we achieved a fantastic result and that our focus could remain on running our business in the meantime. Their attention to detail and negotiating skill is unmatched, as was the support we received throughout.”
In response, Holly Stiles, corporate finance partner at Grant Thornton, noted the significant M&A activity in the local IT and digital transformation sector. “These industry tailwinds, together with a shortage of experienced digital transformation consultants, is attracting both corporate acquirers and private equity investors. It was a pleasure to advise the Innovior shareholders and we congratulate Innovior and Probe CX on the transaction.”
