Aussie martech platform gets acquired by Smartsheet

Australian-owned brand management and creative automation platform, Outfit, has been acquired by Smartsheet as part of plans to build out the latter’s digital management offering.

Smartsheet closed the acquisition this week, saying the purchase would bolster its Brandfolder by Smartsheet DAM platform. Financial terms were not disclosed but the transaction has been funded with existing cash on the balance sheet.

Smartsheet said it’s planning to quickly integrate Outfit’s design automation and templating capabilities into Brandfolder so existing and new customers can access a more powerful DAM and content automation experience.

It’s the fifth acquisition for Smartsheet in four years, and follows the acquisitions of chatbot technology company, Converse.AI, in 2018; collaboration tool, Slope, in 2019; resource management vendor, 10,000ft in 2019; and DAM vendor, Brandfolder, in 2020. It’s this final acquisition that Smartsheet CEO, Mark Mader, said best complements the latest Outfit purchase.

Under the terms, Outfit founder and CEO, Bruce Stronge, will join Smartsheet’s leadership team. A majority of the company’s staff will also join Smartsheet as full-time employees, reporting up through Brandfolder VP and general manager, Steven Baker.

The transaction is expected to be neutral to Smartsheet’s fiscal year 2023 non-GAAP earnings per share, then become accretive. Smartsheet reported second quarter FY23 revenues of US$186.7 million, up 42 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

“Digital assets are the lifeblood for many organisations. More and more we are seeing the value that collaborative work management and digital asset management platforms working together can deliver for our customers,” Mader said. “Our goal with Brandfolder is to be the leading creative automation solution on the market, and we’re strategically investing to strengthen our leadership position. Adding Outfit to our award-winning Brandfolder platform extends the content experience we can offer our new and existing customers who want to create content at scale, at speed, on brand–every time.”

Outfit was established in Brisbane in 2015 with the ambition to help organisations maintain brand consistency and solve marketing production challenges by automating the production of digital and print marketing materials. Originally known under the name NetEngine, the homegrown martech secured $1 million in investment in 2017 from Microequities Venture Capital Fund to fuel local and international growth including efforts to break into the US market.

Outfit’s client base includes Subaru, Cloudera, Red Hat, Monash University and Durham University.

“There’s a world-class product and technology fit between Outfit and Brandfolder by Smartsheet, but equally important for me was joining an incredible company who values excellence, innovation, and the pursuit of progress in the same way that we have at Outfit,” Stronge commented. “I’m excited for our talented team to join the Smartsheet family where together we will create incredible value for our mutual customers.”

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