Verdazo acquired by Pason

January 4, 2017 – Software Equity Group (SEG) announces its client, Verdazo, a leading software provider of analytics solutions to the oil & gas sector, to Pason Systems, Inc. (TSX:PSI). Verdazo was a Calgary-based, privately owned software company offering discovery analytics. Founded in 2006, the Company’s product allows energy producers to make informed decisions on how to enhance production, improve operations, and increase overall profitability. Verdazo‘s clients include oil and gas producers, financial services companies, and energy services providers. Verdazo’s leadership team has decades of experience and are recognized as thought leaders in data analytics in the Canadian oil and gas industry. SEG acted as the exclusive M&A advisor to Verdazo Analytics.

The Verdazo management team will continue to operate the day-to-day business as a wholly owned subsidiary of Pason and will enter into non-competition agreements. Consideration for the acquisition is comprised of a combination of cash and common shares of Pason, with approximately half of the consideration deferred over three years.

Verdazo’s product contains powerful visual analysis tools, pre-built templates, and custom reports that work with multiple public and proprietary data sources. Discovery analytics is a sequence of explorations, each predicated on the discovery and insights of the last. The tool enables the user to take analyses wherever the data leads, powered by dynamic workflows that offer vast analytical possibilities.

The addition of Verdazo’s strong analytics platform for oil and gas production and operations will complement Pason’s market leading drilling information ecosystem. By combining the two entities, Pason aims to provide customers with a holistic platform to analyze drilling, production, and operational data. Moreover, Verdazo will be able to leverage Pason’s established brand and footprint to grow into the US market.

“We are thrilled to welcome Verdazo and its entire team to Pason. We believe Verdazo has developed a compelling data analytics offering for users in the oil and gas industry. Together, we look forward to providing energy professionals best-in-class capabilities to collect and analyze data. This new product offering will not only help clients reduce operational costs, but make better decisions on exploration and development practices,” states Marcel Kessler, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pason.

“Joining Pason gives us greater market reach and access to their decades of drilling data experience,” says Bertrand Groulx, President of Verdazo Analytics. “While we’ve always provided analytics for financial, public, and production data, we finally have access to world class drilling data expertise in Pason and together we will create even more value for our combined clients.”

The Corporation also announces that it has sold the operating assets of 3PS Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, to an arm’s length party. As a result of the divestiture, the Corporation expects to book a non-cash impairment charge, the majority of which relates to intangible assets, in the fourth quarter of 2016.