Dental software firm gains teeth

Dental software company Software of Excellence International has taken another bite into the Australian market with the A$2.3 million ($2.5 million) acquisition of competitor Oasis Software.

Software of Excellence chief executive Brian Weatherly said the company was now the market leader in serving dental practices in Australia, with about 1400 clients, or 35 per cent of the market, from just over 300 clients before the purchase.

Its biggest rival is Dental for Windows, with an estimated 21 per cent share.

Buying Oasis has not sated the New Zealand company's appetite to grow. The A$2.3 million price-tag (A$500,000 of which is dependent on achieving profit and sales milestones) will be met from Software of Excellence's cash reserves but Weatherly said it had a further $6 million it could spend on acquisitions.

The Australian deal will add A$1.5 million to revenue in its first year and will generate a trading profit margin of about 20 per cent. Recurring revenue from Oasis clients is in excess of $1 million a year.

The purchase comes a week after Software of Excellence said it was pulling out of the enterprise business it has been in for eight years - selling software to larger clients such as dental schools and public healthcare providers - to focus on professional practices.

Weatherly said the company, which reported revenue of $20.8 million in the past financial year, anticipated revenue from its existing professional business of $18 million to $19 million for the full year to next March, plus a few months of revenue from Oasis clients and eight months of revenue from the enterprise business.