Australian mining software company RPMGlobal has confirmed it has entered an exclusivity arrangement with Caterpillar after receiving a A$5-a-share, $1123 million (US$735 million) cash acquisition bid from the mining equipment major.
ASX-listed RPMGlobal has a current A$1 billion market value, with its shares up about 23% today on the Caterpillar news.
RPMGlobal sold its mining consulting business for $63 million earlier this year and says “inbound interest from global strategic buyers and financial sponsors” has stepped up since that transaction.
Caterpillar has done preliminary due diligence and now has a month to complete confirmatory DD and make its offer binding. RPMGlobal reportedly has other suitors, including Epiroc – which has said repeatedly this year it is only considering bolt-on acquisitions – but says it will recommend a binding Caterpillar bid.
London-listed Weir Group this year paid A$1.31 billion for Australian-based Micromine at a circa-20-times price-to- EBITDA multiple.
RPMGlobal last month reported a $6.2 million operating EBITDA on A$76.7 million of FY2025 software revenue but is guiding for $23-25 million EBITDA and $88-92 million revenue in FY26.
With Sandvik’s 2022 acquisition of Deswik and Weir’s US$800 million purchase of Micromine, international equipment companies have paid more than $2.1 billion for Australian mining software companies in recent years. Throw in Bentley Systems’ US$1.05 billion acquisition of New Zealand’s Seequent in 2021 and a host of smaller transactions and the region has been a hot deal space this decade.
Adelaide-headquartered Maptek remains a A$1 billion-plus acquisition piece still on the table.
Caterpillar also bought Australian mining communications tech firm Minetec from ASX-listed Codan in 2021 for US$14 million.
Back in 1997 it invested in another Australian mining software developer, Mincom. Current RPMGlobal CEO Richard Mathews was CEO of Mincom when US private equity group Francisco Partners bought it for US$248 million in 2007. It subsequently became part of ABB.
