Potentia led consortium confirms sale of Ascender to Ceridian, a Leading Human Capital Management Provider

Potentia today confirmed it had reached an agreement with Ceridian (NYSE: CDAY; TSX: CDAY), a global leader in human capital management (HCM) technology, to enter into a definitive share sale agreement to acquire its business Ascender, a leading payroll and HR solutions provider in Asia Pacific Japan (APJ). The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.  Ascender was acquired in 2015 in a consortium led by Potentia Capital and Five V Capital.

Andrew Wilson, CEO, Ascender said “The combination of these businesses makes sense. We’re committed to helping our customers successfully navigate the future of work as we embark on a new chapter within the Ceridian family.”

Andrew Gray, Managing Director of Potentia, said: “A merged Ascender and Ceridian will provide the most comprehensive payroll and human capital management solutions in the region.”

“The industrial logic of this transaction is very compelling. The combination of the two businesses will strengthen Ceridian’s leadership in the APJ region, accelerate its global growth strategy and deliver even greater value to customers.”

“We have no doubt it is a commercial and cultural fit and I believe our employees, customers, and partners, will benefit from Ceridian’s global scale and award-winning Dayforce platform.”

Morgan Stanley acted as Financial Advisor to Ascender. Gilbert & Tobin acted as Legal Advisor. E&P acted as Financial Advisor to the shareholders of Ascender. Goldman Sachs & Co LLC, PwC, and Minter Ellison are serving as advisors for Ceridian on the acquisition.

About Ascender

Ascender serves more than 1.3 million employees throughout Asia Pacific Japan with Payroll and Human Capital Management platforms. With more than 900 dedicated professionals across 31 countries, Ascender services a diverse range of clients’ payroll requirements through leading technology and innovative processes. Today, more than 1,200 global brands and listed companies trust Ascender to meet their payroll and HR needs. Ascender is backed by a consortium led by Potentia Capital and Five V Capital.

About Ceridian

Ceridian. Makes Work Life Better™.

Ceridian HCM Holding Inc. (“Ceridian” or the “Company”) (NYSE:CDAY) (TSX:CDAY)  is a global human capital management software company. Dayforce, our flagship cloud HCM platform, provides human resources, payroll, benefits, workforce management, and talent management functionality. Our platform is used to optimize management of the entire employee lifecycle, including attracting, engaging, paying, deploying, and developing people. Ceridian has solutions for organizations of all sizes. Visit www.Ceridian.com  or follow us @Ceridian

About Potentia Capital

Potentia is Australia’s leading private equity investment firm focused exclusively on technology, tech-enabled services and software businesses. The team is one of the most experienced in the Australian private equity market, having deployed over $2 billion of capital across more than ten investments in the technology sector globally. Potentia principals have been leading private equity investments for over two decades, having operated in the Australian private equity market for over a decade. (More information on Potentia can be found at (http://www.potentiacap.com/)

About Five V Capital

Five V Capital are a Sydney based, Australia and New Zealand focussed, growth capital fund with approximately $750m in funds under management. Across its four Growth Capital and Venture Capital funds, Five V aims to invest in high growth companies across a broad range of industries and currently have investments in a number of leading Australian and New Zealand based companies. (More information on Five V Capital can be found at http://www.fivevcapital.com/)