Seequent Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors

Seequent was acquired by Bentley Systems for $1.1B in March 2021, a 13.8x multiple on $76M of revenue.

Seequent acquisition price

$1.1B

Acquired by Bentley Systems · Mar 2021

Seequent revenue at acquisition

$76M

Last twelve months · Mar 2021

Seequent revenue multiple at acquisition

13.8x

EV/Revenue · Mar 2021

Key investors in Seequent

  • Pencarrow Private Equity

Seequent Overview

About Seequent

Seequent is a software company that develops tools for modelling and analysing the subsurface. Its products cover 3D geological modelling, geophysical processing, geotechnical analysis and cloud-based geodata management and collaboration, and include the Leapfrog, Oasis montaj, GeoStudio, PLAXIS and OpenGround lines. Customers are mining, civil engineering, environmental and energy companies, consultancies and geoscience teams. The company earns revenue from software subscriptions and licences, with training and support alongside. Seequent is headquartered in Christchurch, New Zealand, and was founded in 2003 as ARANZ Geo, a spin-out of the Applied Research Associates of New Zealand group, taking the Seequent name in 2017. It has grown by acquisition, adding geophysics, geotechnical, geostatistics and seismic interpretation products to its original modelling business, and operates as the subsurface software unit of Bentley Systems.


Founded

2003

HQ

New ZealandChristchurch

Status

Acquired

Customer focus

B2B

Revenue model

Subscription

Revenue

$76M (Mar 2021)

Valuation

$1.1B (acquired Mar 2021)

Seequent Acquisition

Seequent was acquired by Bentley Systems for $1.1B on 11 March 2021.

The acquisition price implies a 13.8x revenue multiple on $76M of revenue.

Bentley Systems agreed to acquire Seequent in March 2021 from investors led by Accel-KKR, for $900 million in cash, subject to adjustment, plus 3,141,361 Bentley Class B shares, a package Bentley valued at about $1.05 billion. Accel-KKR owned about 75% of Seequent, Pencarrow Private Equity about 9% and chief executive Shaun Maloney about 3.6%. Bentley said the business was expected to add roughly 10% to each of its annual recurring revenue, annual revenue and EBITDA, and to be measurably accretive to its organic growth rate. Accel-KKR's co-managing partner Tom Barnds said the board had been looking forward to a Seequent IPO that year but was convinced of the logic of the combination. Bentley funded the cash portion partly from convertible notes it had issued earlier in 2021, and the acquisition completed in June 2021. Seequent develops software for geological and geophysical modelling, geotechnical stability analysis and cloud-based geodata management and collaboration, including the Leapfrog and GeoStudio products, for mining, civil, environmental and energy customers. The company is headquartered in Christchurch, New Zealand, was founded in 2003 and employed about 430 people, 173 of them in New Zealand. In the year to March 2020 it reported revenue of NZD 108.9 million and an operating profit of NZD 22.9 million. Chief operating officer Graham Grant succeeded Maloney as chief executive, and the unit stayed based in Christchurch.

Seequent acquisition details
AcquirerDateTypePriceEV/Revenue
11 Mar 2021Strategic M&A$1.1B13.8x

Sources: businessdesk.co.nz, geoengineer.org, schnitgercorp.com

Seequent Funding History

Seequent has raised 1 funding round.

Seequent funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsDeal Summary
Jul 2014Undisclosed stagePencarrow Private EquityPencarrow Private Equity, through the Pencarrow IV Fund, made a significant minority investment in ARANZ Geo Limited, announced on 31 July 2014, becoming the company's largest single shareholder. The investment was primarily expansion capital. Financial terms were not disclosed and no public enterprise value has been reported for the transaction. ARANZ Geo is a New Zealand developer of 3D geological modelling and visualisation software, best known for its Leapfrog products, used in the mining, hydrogeology and geothermal industries. Its research and development centre and head office were in Christchurch, with support offices across Asia-Pacific, Africa, South America, North America and Europe. Pencarrow managing partner Nigel Bingham chaired the company. ARANZ Geo was renamed Seequent in November 2017. In September 2018 Accel-KKR acquired a controlling stake, providing liquidity to founding and existing shareholders, with Pencarrow retaining a residual holding of about 10%. Accel-KKR sold its majority interest to Bentley Systems in June 2021 in a transaction valued at approximately USD 1.05 billion.

Who has invested in Seequent?

1 investor has backed Seequent across its funding rounds, including Pencarrow Private Equity.


Seequent Investors

Investors in Seequent by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check

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Acquisitions by Seequent

Seequent has acquired 8 companies to date.

Last acquisition by Seequent was on November 2nd 2026. Seequent acquired Eliis for undisclosed valuation.


Latest Acquisitions by Seequent

Eliis
Flow State Solutions
AR2Tech
Minalytix
Description
Eliis is a geoscience software developer providing tools for seismic interpretation from 2D and 3D data. The company's applications enable geologists to analyze subsurface structures, characterize reservoirs, and build models for oil and gas exploration in basins worldwide.
Flow State Solutions is a New Zealand-based developer of geothermal simulation software for reservoir modeling and production forecasting. The company specializes in numerical simulators that handle complex subsurface flows in fractured reservoirs, integrating geologic data with well performance metrics. Clients in the energy sector use its tools for field development planning in projects across Indonesia, New Zealand, and the Philippines. Flow State Solutions offers on-premise and cloud-deployed versions with visualization capabilities for temperature, pressure, and phase behavior analysis. Established in 2018, it collaborates with research institutions on advanced heat extraction models.
AR2Tech is a Calgary-based provider of geostatistical software for reservoir characterization in the oil and gas industry. The company develops algorithms integrated into platforms like Petrel and DecisionSpace, enabling probabilistic facies modeling, object-based simulations, and multi-point statistics. Serving major operators worldwide, AR2Tech supports uncertainty quantification in subsurface modeling with tools used in over 50 countries since its founding in 2005.
Minalytix is a Sudbury-based information technology firm specializing in internet services and data analytics. Located in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, the company offers web development, hosting, and custom software for local businesses. With a focus on mining and healthcare industries prevalent in the region, Minalytix provides analytics platforms that process operational data for efficiency gains, serving over 50 regional clients through its minalytix.net portal.
HQ CountryFranceNew ZealandUnited StatesCanada
HQ City
Montpellier
Rotorua
Denver, CO
Sudbury
Deal Date2 Nov 202611 Oct 202313 Dec 202114 Sep 2021
Valuationundisclosedundisclosedundisclosedundisclosed
EV/Revenue
EV/EBITDA

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Seequent Competitors

Seequent competitors include listed companies like Nagarro and Addnode Group, and private ones like Imply, Cyberhaven, Immuta and MinIO.

Public and private companies comparable to Seequent
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
NagarroGermanyGermanyPublicly listed$1.1B$130M$1.1B1.2x
ImplyUnited StatesSan Francisco, CAPrivate--$1.1B-
CyberhavenUnited StatesUnited StatesPrivate--$1B-
ImmutaUnited StatesBoston, MAPrivate--$1B-
MinIOUnited StatesSan Francisco, CAPrivate--$1B-
Addnode GroupSwedenSwedenPublicly listed$590M$108M$850M1.8x

Seequent Public Comps

Seequent is no longer listed, but its public comps include Nagarro, Addnode Group, Smarter Microelectronics, Zwsoft, e-Hualu, Transwarp, Lectra, ZUKEN, Hawkeye 360 and Mensch und Maschine.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Nagarro$1.1B$130M1.2x1.2x10.3x8.2x
Addnode Group$590M$108M1.9x1.8x10.4x10.1x
Smarter Microelectronics$121M($31M)6.3x6.5x(24.8x)(25.7x)
Zwsoft$134M$12M7.3x6.7x79.1x42.3x
e-Hualu$70M($312M)22.3x-(5.0x)-
Transwarp$67M($31M)18.5x19.0x(40.2x)-
Lectra$568M$89M1.5x1.5x9.5x9.5x
ZUKEN$272M$50M1.6x1.6x8.7x-

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Common questions about Seequent

When was Seequent founded?Seequent was founded in 2003.
Where is Seequent headquartered?Seequent is headquartered in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Is Seequent publicly listed?No, Seequent was acquired by Bentley Systems in March 2021.
Who acquired Seequent?Seequent was acquired by Bentley Systems in March 2021.
How much was Seequent acquired for?Seequent was acquired for $1.1B in March 2021, a 13.8x revenue multiple.
What was Seequent's last funding round?Seequent's last funding round was a undisclosed-stage round in July 2014.
Who are Seequent's investors?Seequent's investors include Pencarrow Private Equity.
Which companies are comparable to Seequent?Companies comparable to Seequent include Nagarro, Imply, Cyberhaven, Immuta, MinIO and Addnode Group.
How many companies has Seequent acquired?Seequent has acquired 8 companies, including Eliis, Flow State Solutions, AR2Tech, Minalytix and Imago.

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