Taxi booking app goCatch weighs up offers from potential buyers

Taxi booking app goCatch has appointed Pitt Capital Partners to advise them about a potential buy-out following the startup’s $5 million raise last year.

Backed by Paul Bassat and James Packer, goCatch allows users to book nearby taxis and track their progress via GPS.

The Australian Financial Review reported Monday morning that the startup is hunting for a $20 million offer. However, speaking to StartupSmart this morning, founder Ned Moorefield said he is not planning to sell the startup any time soon.

Instead, he says the appointment of an independent advisory firm was in response to a number of external enquiries.

“It is correct to say we have appointed Pitt Capital Partners as the company’s adviser,” Moorfield says.

“We’ve done that due to a number of inbound enquiries we’ve received in terms of investment or a potential acquisition. But we’re not actively seeking a sale and certainly don’t have any urge to seek that.”

Following the $5.4 million raise in October 2014 the startup was valued at $19 million. Moorfield says if any deal is made in the near future it will be north of $20 million.

“We have a clear path for the business, but we will continue discussions with these parties who have approached us,” he says.

“The valuation at the last funding round was just short of $20 million post-money. We’ve achieved strong traction since that last transaction and any transaction is going to be given at a much higher value than that.”

When asked if goCatch would be courting Lyft given an Australian expansion is on the cards, Moorfield declined to comment.

The highly-regulated Australian taxi industry is worth around $5.4 billion.

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