Nuix says Australia regulator completes pre-IPO investigation

(Reuters) – Nuix Ltd said on Thursday that Australia’s corporate regulator will take no further action against the software maker, backed by conglomerate Macquarie Group Ltd, over prospectus forecasts filed ahead of its 2020 listing.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), however, will continue with its investigation into the company’s public disclosures made after it was listed, Nuix said.

In an e-mailed response to Reuters, ASIC corroborated the announcement from Nuix, but declined to comment further.

ASIC had suspected Nuix of lying in its prospectus ahead of the A$953 million ($684 million) initial public offering, according to a Reuters report last June citing court documents.

Two months later, the company posted a worse-than-expected half-yearly loss. Last year, Nuix’s shares also fell below half their IPO price of A$5.31 a share.

The regulator has completed its probe into the company’s pre-IPO financial statements and prospectus, Nuix said in a statement on Thursday.

Macquarie, which owns 30% of Nuix, has said it regretted the impact of the forecasts on shareholders and that it had no reason to believe the company could not meet them.

Macquarie did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nuix shares rose 11.6% to A$1.685 in early trading, against a 0.5% gain in the broader Australian market.

($1 = 1.3931 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru; Editing by Byron Kaye, Richard Chang and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)