New details leak ahead of Straker float

Straker Translations is set to list on the ASX on October 22 with a target market cap of A$79.4 million, the Herald understands from a source close to the float.

Former Xero chairman Phil Norman has been recruited to head the Auckland-based software company's board.

Briefings to potential investors have revealed Straker will seek to sell 12.2m new shares at A$1.51 each to raise A$21.2m.

Investors have been told Straker is forecasting a $2.6m operating loss on $25.6 million revenue for its current financial year. An insider tells the Herald the company would have broken into profit had it not been for costs associated with the listing.

A prospectus and bookbuild are expected next week.

Straker, which has drawn capital from David Kirk's Bailador over several funding rounds, has recently bought language translation software companies in the US, Ireland and Germany, taking total staff numbers to 120. Potential investors have been told it still has $19m cash in its kitty.

Grant Straker co-founded Straker Translations with his wife Merryn in 1999, after earlier spending six years in the British Army as a paratrooper before moving into sales. Its software uses artificial intelligence software plus, in places, human experts to translate text -- which the chief executive says gives it the edge over free solutions such as Google Translate.

The startup gained momentum in 2015 when Bailador made its first investment, injecting $6m.

Today, Bailador is the largest single investor with a 20.36 per cent stake, followed by the Strakers with a 18.19 per cent holding.