David Kirk's Bailador in for payday as Straker Translations lines up $83m float

Straker Translations is lining up to float on the Australian Stock Exchange next month, the Herald understands.

The float will aim to raise A$21 million at an A$80m ($83m) valuation - a little lighter than the company has previously talked-up.

Co-founder Grant Straker was not immediately available for comment, but has previously said his company is on track to break even this year.

The former soldier has been talking up a possible ASX listing since early this year, when he anticipated a NZ$100m valuation.

Earlier this year, he said his company would move into the black this year on revenue that would come in above $20m, with 90 per cent coming from offshore sales.

Straker co-founded Straker Translations with his wife Merryn in 1999, after earlier spending six years in the British Army as a paratrooper before moving into sales. Its software uses artificial intelligence software plus, in places, human experts to translate text -- which the chief executive says gives it the edge over free solutions such as Google Translate.

The startup gained momentum in 2015 when Bailador Investments, run by ex-All Black captain David Kirk, invested $6m.

Today, Bailador is the largest single investor with a 20.36 per cent stake, followed by the Strakers with a 18.19 per cent holding.

Straker has used funds from Bailador and other investors to go on a buying spree over the past couple of years, buying up competitors in the US, Ireland and Germany.

The Auckland-based company has more than 120 staff in offices around the world. But while it's a large software company by New Zealand standards, Straker concedes it's just one of many players in a crowded translations market worldwide.

If the Australian listing does go ahead, Straker will be the latest in an increasingly long line of NZ techs who have opted for an ASX-only float over a local or dual listing - albeit with very mixed results.

The list includes Powerhouse Ventures, Martin Jetpack, Tomizone, Vault Intelligence, Volpara and Xero, which went ASX-only in the new year.

Straker and NZX declined comment.