Technology

Adveritas secures further investment from tech rich lister Mark McConnell

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By Danica Cullinane - 
Mark McConnell Adveritas ASX AV1

Adveritas non-executive director Mark McConnell has bought another $1.12 million in company shares on the market.

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A director of Adveritas (ASX: AV1) has demonstrated his continued confidence in the ad fraud mitigation software company by snapping up a further $1.12 million in shares.

The company today revealed non-executive Mark McConnell has upped his stake from 14.8% to 17.1% via the purchase of 8 million fully paid ordinary shares indirectly on 20 November.

Mr McConnell is a tech entrepreneur and nine-time Australian Financial Review Young Rich Lister who recently sold his software tech company Citadel Group to Pacific Equity Partners for around $500 million.

Acquired through his Mera Vale No 1 trust, the additional investment was priced at $0.14 per share making the transaction worth $1.12 million. It brings Mr McConnell’s total shareholding in Adveritas to 60.4 million shares.

Follows strong business performance

Mr McConnell chipped in $2 million in October then a further $70,000 at the start of this month, just as Adveritas released September quarter results showing an 80% rise in subscribers for its TrafficGuard Freemium software-as-a-service (SaaS) product.

A week later, TrafficGuard was recognised as the Most Effective Anti-Fraud Solution at the 11th Effective Mobile Marketing Awards, which was attended virtually by more than 150 representatives from brands, agencies and mobile marketing firms.

Adveritas was also named one of Australia’s most innovative tech companies under the AFR BOSS Most Innovative List last month.

Bigwig backing

Mr McConnell joined Adveritas’ board in 2019 and is the company’s largest shareholder.

This additional investment by the Canberra-based multimillionaire is a clear sign of his endorsement and confidence in Adveritas’ growth strategy.

“I have been an active global, technology investor for over two decades, and I have identified TrafficGuard as an excellent example of Australian technology leading the world in its chosen segment,” he said back in May when participating in an earlier funding round.

Mr McConnell has a strong track record for making good investment decisions.

In September, Citadel – of which he was the chief executive officer and managing director – inked a $503 million acquisition agreement with Pacific Group Bidco, owned by private equity investment firm Pacific Equity Partners.

Mr McConnell had also backed Australian fitness club owner Viva Leisure (ASX: VVA), successfully making about five times his money. In October, he sold $2.3 million in Viva shares just prior to securing an extra $2 million in Adveritas shares.