i3 Verticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:IIIV) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Peter Heckmann: Okay.

Unidentified Analyst: That’s great. And then just one more quick one on the exploration and the sale. I mean, it it sounds like you have shared this morning. I’m just more narrow and focused on certain aspects of software I guess is there is there any way that the your MO around M&A might change in the event of a sale? I mean, or is it simply just kind of accelerating and pushing further into the pipeline than you maybe could have with the merchant services business onboard?

Unidentified Analyst: Yes.

Greg Daily: I mean, since going public, we’ve always done as software businesses on that will continue. Most of them will be public sector, but we do have some things in our pipeline of education and health care.

Unidentified Analyst: Uhm-hmm, I don’t think any change now, so nothing that I mean, I guess is not addressable today having the merchant services business model its margins now pushing further into that pipeline. Is that a fair characterization?

Clay Whitson: Yes, that’s correct, right.

Unidentified Analyst: Okay.

Peter Heckmann: Thank you.

Operator: So let me remind remind you that if you still have a question to Paul’s, please press star one and we’ll proceed with a question from Rob Stone from BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

Peter Heckmann: Hey, guys, good morning. Thanks for the question. Just two quick ones. You mentioned using the proceeds of any sale mostly going to paying down debt. I don’t know if you could give us a sense of the leverage ratio you’re potentially going to be targeting as a pure software and services business. And then the second question is really around the size of target acquisitions you’re expecting to complete this year? I know in the past you’ve talked about sort of 1 to 5 million of EBITDA being your sweet spot to see if there’s any update to that?

Clay Whitson: Thanks. Well, our leverage will start off at near zero. I think we haven’t put a number on it, but I don’t think we will run quite as high in the future, and that’s a big driver for doing this. As far as acquisition size, I don’t think much changes. It’s still our sweet spot one to 5 million, but we’ve done larger deals. We’ve done $10 million. I really don’t think that changes in the future.

Operator: And we have a follow-up question from Peter Heckmann from D.A. Davidson. Peter either. Go ahead.

Peter Heckmann: Thank you. So just to put a little bit of a finer point on it, and I know that the any sale is going to be contingent on the buyer and what assets they want don’t want. But if we look at fiscal 23 under your kind of alternative revenue breakdown, rent payments was 45% of revenue last year and then merchant services was 37. And so if you consider divesting majority of Merchant Services, then kind of on a pro forma basis a payments would go from being 45% of the revenue stream to kind of maybe like 15% to 20% with the vast majority of the rest being software either maintenance or SaaS? Is that the way to think about it?

Clay Whitson: Well, that’s very close paid in the last quarter. Payments were 25% of the software and services segment. So that’s probably a better number to use.

Peter Heckmann: Okay.

Unidentified Analyst: Okay.

Peter Heckmann: 25, right. Banks are right, we will. And do you have any time line for this type of transaction? Would you should we expect to hear something in the next three to four months or could it take longer?

Greg Daily: Hopefully it’s sooner.

Clay Whitson: Right.

Operator: Okay.

Peter Heckmann: We’ll look forward to hearing more details.

Greg Daily: Thank you, Pete.

Operator: And we have a question now from James Faucette from Morgan Stanley. James, please go ahead.

Peter Heckmann: Hey, good morning. Thanks a lot. I’m just wanted to ask just from a A. like you guys and you’ve highlighted multiple times is that you’ve been focused on building out the software on part of your business and that kind of thing. And from a strategic focus especially the direction you’d like to go on. I think that’s consistent. I’m just wondering how you’re thinking about the proceeds and capital allocation and if you’re able to execute a sale to expect at that pace of acquisition can accelerate? Or are you feeling like this is something that makes sense given what you’re seeing in the from a valuation perspective in the market. Just wondering if there’s on pricing and capital related considerations in the timing or is this truly just you’ve reached the stage of mix and strategic focus that now is the right time trying to tease out that nuance.

Greg Daily: So I think our timing is a good. We do plan to spend around 100 million a year as it feels about right and that’s what we’re able to digest. We’re not going to do the stock to maximize back buybacks. It’s going to be our capital is going to be deployed toward M&A in our software verticals.