Despite initial concerns from the corporate regulator about its backdoor listing plans, Sydney-based startup accelerator and investor Scalare Partners has successfully listed on the ASX, raising $4.3 million through a reverse takeover (RTO) of defunct shell company Candy Club Holdings.

Founded in 2020, Scalare provides scalable startups with a range of services including investment, expert advice, a diagnostic platform, and community programs to spur their growth. Currently, the company has more than $https://www.businessnewsaustralia.com/10 million worth of investments in its portfolio including regulatory-tech scale-up FrankieOne, walking tour platform FreeGuides, retail-tech Brauz, ag-tech Zondii, worker access pass tech MyPass, and many more. 

Scalare targeted an RTO of Candy Club Holdings in a bid to raise funds for new and follow-up investments, in addition to an expansion of its Tech Ready Women initiative in Australia and the US. As part of the listing process, Scalare raised more than $4.3 million through a public share offering,  meeting the lower end of its $4 million to $8 million target.

Candy Club Holdings also removed its former directors, replacing them with Scalare Partners chair elect Adelle Howse and non-executive directors Neil Carter, James Lougheed and Beau Quarry.

The listing marks a rare opportunity for investors to gain exposure to early-stage, high-growth tech startups through a publicly traded accelerator that also offers professional services and runs initiatives like Tech Ready Women and the Australian Technologies Competition.

From Monday, the company will trade under the ASX ticker code “SCP”.

Since its inception, Scalare has pumped capital into 27 companies and is aiming to invest in eight startups per year at an average of $https://www.businessnewsaustralia.com/150,000 and a maximum of $250,000, with three full exits to date including the sale of fintech Cape to the UK’s Anna Money with Scalare’s consideration paid in equity shares in the parent company.

The group’s plans initially hit a snag two months ago when the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) raised concernsabout Scalare Partner’s risk disclosures for the US market expansion, the valuation and performance of portfolio companies, and the target market determination (TMD) in the company’s prospectus.

As a result, ASIC had put an interim stop order on the prospectus for the offer, only to reverse the decision a week later.

Scalare Partners CEO Carolyn Breeze has previously noted that Scalare is not a fund and does not have a separate fund structure, making it different from other investment firms such as Baildador Technology Investments (ASC: BTI) and Touch Ventures (ASX: TVL) in the Australian startup ecosystem.

The company posted revenue of $https://www.businessnewsaustralia.com/1.99 million and $https://www.businessnewsaustralia.com/1.https://www.businessnewsaustralia.com/19 million in investment gains in FY24, although the bottom line edged into the red to the tune of $https://www.businessnewsaustralia.com/195,000.