The Melbourne-based company lodged a prospectus with the Australian Stock Exchange last week [for book] with plans to official listed on June 16. Shares will be offered at an application price of A$0.41 each. These are divided into three classes: employees, broker firm and an institutional offer.
DWS managing director, Greg Fielding, said the decision to list would put the company on equal footing with its key clients in the large corporate, bluechip and government space. Customers include Alinta, Coles Myer, Tabcorp and Qantas.
"Some of our clients would like us to be under the same corporate governance and rules they are," he said. "This also allows us access to more financing for opportunistic expansion."
The IPO was also reward for management and staff who had invested time and money into the company's growth, he said.
DWS designs, develops, maintains and supports custom software. The company was established in 1992 with three staff and now retains 330 personnel. Fielding said its direct competitors ranged from Oakton to SMS, IBM, and several Indian outsourcers.
While not aggressively looking for acquisitions, Fielding said DWS would consider opportunities which allowed it to expand its geographic coverage into new regions, such as Queensland. The company moved into the Sydney market late last year through its acquisition of TurnAround Solutions.
The company forecast a 2007 EBITDA of A$15.04 million on revenues of just over A$59 million.