Is Octopus Deploy listed on the ASX share market?

Can you buy Octopus Deploy shares on the ASX? Here's the lowdown on this Aussie tech company that many people currently want to invest in.

Sebastian Bowen ❯

@SebastianTBowen

Sebastian Bowen has been a Motley Fool contributor since late 2018. Sebastian found his passion for writing and educating others about shares and all things finance after completing his studies in political, economic and social science and enjoys bringing this passion to life at the Fool. His investment philosophy is a simple one – buying high-quality companies at prices that make sense. When he’s not researching his next investment at all hours of the morning, Sebastian enjoys classic movies and likes to unwind with a good book, newspaper or record.

Published April 22, 2021 3:37 pm AEST

Is Octopus Deploy listed on the ASX? What's its ticker code?

Unfortunately, the answers to those questions might disappoint would-be investors out there. Octopus Deploy is a Brisbane-based tech company that has been making news lately. The company specialises in automation, specifically surrounding the creation, release and management of documents.

Its software can help companies to manage and automate releases, deployments and runbooks. Octopus Deploy has worked with clients ranging from Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) to Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS) and even the US space agency NASA.

Bad sadly, no, Octopus Deploy is not listed on the ASX, and as such, does not have a ticker code.

So why is it in the news?

Someone's buying shares in Octopus Deploy

Well, according to a report in yesterday's Australian Financial Review (AFR), one investor who is eligible to invest in Octopus Deploy has. And with gusto too. The AFR report states that the New York venture capital (VC) fund Insight Partners has just made a $221 million investment. It's the second-largest VC investment into an Australian company ever.

Octopus Deploy founders Sonia and Paul Stovell had reportedly been contacted by a "number of Australian VC funds", but chose to go with Insight Partners "due to its strong record of growth with US software investments, and its ability to write a big enough cheque".

This, the AFR report points out, is both a warning sign and a "wakeup call" for the Aussie tech industry. The report also quotes Dean Dorrell of Carthona Capital on this matter, who said that his fund, among other 'institutional grade' VCs, had been watching the company for a while.

But Mr Dorrell said that "there's no local fund with the ability to write that size cheque yet, and the real competition is between overseas funds, hedge funds and the listed markets, with IPOs and SPACs".

So will we ever see Octopus Deploy on the ASX with its own ticker code? Well, we can't know for sure just yet.

There appears to be more than enough interest in the company coming from the private sector for now, so it definitely doesn't need to tap the public markets. But never say never. We only recently saw the ASX IPO of Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART).

Airtasker survived and thrived as an unlisted, private company since 2012 before its ASX listing this year. So perhaps Octopus Deploy will follow Airtaker's lead and debut on the ASX one day. But we'll have to cross that bridge when Octopus Deploy gets to it.

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