Aug 31, 2026 – 2.48pmThe dealmakers at Japanese financial giant MUFG would have been grinning ear to ear on Friday as they signed on the dotted line to buy superannuation administration software player Grow Inc – best known for scoring HESTA and Vanguard Super as clients – after a year of talks.But if a deal is a boon for some, it’s a bust for others. Grow Inc’s early backers – including Airtree Ventures, Citi, ASX Limited and Five V Capital – have seen their initial equity in the company valued at zero in the sale.Sarah Thompson has co-edited Street Talk since 2009, specialising in private equity, investment banking, M&A and equity capital markets stories. Prior to that, she spent 10 years in London as a markets and M&A reporter at Bloomberg and Dow Jones.Kanika Sood is a journalist based in Sydney who writes for the Street Talk column.Angira Bharadwaj is a co-editor of Street Talk. She covers IPOs, capital raises, mergers and acquisitions and other breaking news in Australia’s capital markets. Previously, she covered financial services, state, and federal politics. Send tips to @angirab.60 on encrypted messaging platform Signal.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?
Grow Inc’s early investors left with empty pockets in MUFG takeover
Sources told this column the deal had Grow Inc valued at $78 million, less than a third of the $250 million valuation it held as recently as last year.
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