Q4 Inc resumes plans to go public on the TSX

Q4 inc
Q4 Inc founder and CEO Darrell Heaps

Toronto-based investor relations (IR) software company Q4 Inc. is looking to going public once again.

The company filed a second preliminary base PREP prospectus on October 7 after pausing its original plans earlier this year.

Q4 expects the offering to be $150 million CAD, which it had originally hoped to raise. The company has yet to price the offering but expects $14 to $17.50 CAD per common share. The listing remains subject to approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).

Q4 first filed to go public in May. It priced its offering in June with plans to raise the $150 million. This gave Q4 the potential to reach a market capitalization of almost $700 million.

Later that month, a spokesperson for Q4 confirmed to BetaKit the company had paused its plans to go public, though declined to provide any additional comment.

Q4’s re-filing has now revealed that during that time the company was dealing with a contract issue with Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions with which it had partnered to launch a new virtual shareholder meeting (VSM) product.

As reported by The Globe and Mail, the delay in going public was caused by Broadridge reaching out during the IPO process to renegotiate the contract and Q4′s leadership not wanting to distract from the offering.

Q4 offers cloud-based IR and capital markets solutions that reach across websites, virtual events, corporate access, data and analytics, customer relationship management (CRM), and capital markets intelligence. Its platform is used by approximately 2,400 public companies, including half of the S&P 500’s constituent companies, with more than 12 million investors using it every month. Its customers include Netflix, Visa, McDonald’s, Walmart, Square, Shopify, and Nike.

As before, the company plans to use the proceeds from the IPO to repay its debts related to credit facilities, which total $25.8 million, pursue its growth strategies, and make acquisitions.

The company’s original prospectus noted Q4 saw strong demand for its offering last year, with revenue jumping 80 percent to $40.4 million USD. The company now reports annual recurring revenue as of September 30 of $50 million.

In its latest filing Q4 reported total revenue for the three months ended June 30, totalling $17.3 million, an increase of 77.8 percent compared to the prior year. For the six-month period that ended June 30, Q4 pulled in revenue of $28.6 million, a year-over-year increase of 48.4 percent.

Q4 attributed the growth to revenue from new customers, increased product adoption by existing customers, renewals with contracted price increases, and an increase in virtual events.

Q4 also saw its VSM product add $5 million to its revenue, however, after the dealings with Broadridge, Q4 terminated the product after the former company raised “issues with specific elements of the VSM service level agreement.”

The new offering is being done by a syndicate of underwriters led by CIBC Capital Markets, National Bank Financial, and Credit Suisse Securities. The group also includes Canaccord Genuity, Raymond James, RBC Capital Markets, Stifel Nicolaus Canada, TD Securities, and INFOR Financial.

Meagan Simpson

Meagan Simpson

Meagan is the Senior Editor for BetaKit. A tech writer that is super proud to showcase the Canadian tech scene. Background in almost every type of journalism from sports to politics. Podcast and Harry Potter nerd, photographer and crazy cat lady.

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