The Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART) share price is currently up by 8% after the business received the go-ahead to buy Oneflare.
Both Airtasker and Oneflare are local service platforms. A few weeks ago, Airtasker announced that it was going to buy the Oneflare business, using a capital raising to fund the deal. However, an enquiry by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) halted the process.
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ACCC update
Airtasker told the market today that the acquisition of Oneflare will proceed on 25 May 2022.
The ASX tech share told the market that the delay was due to queries from the ACCC about the acquisition.
The ACCC's response? It confirmed that it does not intend to conduct a public review of the acquisition in regards to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
With that response, Airtasker will complete the acquisition and settle the private placement that it told the market about. That's an underwritten placement of approximately 14.5 million new shares at $0.43 per share. The plan is to raise approximately $6.25 million. This will be used to fund the cash part of the deal, the FY23 estimated investment in Oneflare, and acquisition and placement costs.
What about the share purchase plan (SPP) Airtasker had planned for regular investors? This is the company's answer:
Given the current share price is below the 43 cents price per share agreed for the placement, the board has decided to withdraw the SPP, noting that current shareholders can acquire shares in the company on-market at a lower price than the price previously anticipated for the SPP offer.
What is Oneflare?
Airtasker says that Oneflare is Australia's third-largest local services platform with a strong presence in trades, home improvement and professional services.
Oneflare serves more than 540,000 customers and 14,500 verified businesses each year.
It has 480,000 unique visitors to Oneflare's platform per month, with more than 50,000 posted jobs per month. The average task price is more than $2,300.
Why is Airtasker buying Oneflare?
There are three main factors that Airtasker points to.
First, it can strengthen network effects. Customers of both platforms will gain access to a wider range of skills and faster response times. Meanwhile, the taskers/businesses will get access to more job opportunities.
Next is that it can unlock the high-value trade opportunity. Airtasker said both platforms will gain access to a suite of features designed to empower 'service pros' in high-value service categories like trades, home improvement and professional services.
The third point was a single technology platform. It noted that operating a single technology platform to serve a significantly larger user base will create a range of technology, data, brand and financial synergies.
Airtasker share price snapshot
While the business is seeing a large rise today, the Airtasker share price has fallen by 26% in the last month amid the volatility for technology stocks on the ASX and internationally.
