Sydney workplace safety Saas company Beakon acquired by UK multinational Ideagen

The UK-based multinational that acquired formerly ASX-listed Damstra for $69.1 million early last year has taken control of another Australian workforce Software as a Service (SaaS) company, bringing founder-led Beakon into the fold to lift its capability in worker safety compliance capability.

For an undisclosed sum, Ideagen has acquired Sydney-based Beakon which specialises in environmental health and safety (EHS) and contractor management, servicing customers including Coca Cola, Sydney Water and Conoco Phillips.

Founded in 2009 by its CEO Sam Davies, Beakon employs around 25 staff and is known for its contractor management software, alongside other solutions including incident management, risk management, audits and inspections, e-learning, permit-to-work workflows, and more.

Ideagen CEO Ben Dorks says he is really pleased to "welcome Beakon into the Ideagen family".

"We’ve spent the last 12 months actively strengthening the capabilities we can offer our customers, particularly around worker and contractor safety," says Dorks.

"Sam and the Beakon team have built a really strong product. Adding these capabilities to our portfolio means we can offer an even wider range of solutions to our global customer base. 

"We know this is particularly important to those industries with a high volume of transient or contracted workforces that require businesses to manage compliance obligations like permit to work and appropriate qualifications."

Davies says that becoming part of Ideagen is an exciting opportunity for Beakon.

"This move will fuel our expansion into new markets, enhance our ability to serve global clients, and provide access to valuable expertise and resources to better serve our valued clients," he says.

The deal represents Ideagen's sixth Australian acquisition since May 2023, with other transactions including Melbourne-headquartered Damstra and Hunter region-based Plant Assessor in 2024, and its 2023 acquisitions of Melbourne-based companies OP Central and Lucidity as well as Sydney-based One Place Solutions.

In 2021 Ideagen made a splash in Australia with the $105 million acquisition of Sydney-based CompliSpace, a leading provider of governance, risk, compliance and policy management software to schools and aged care facilities.