He remains perhaps the most private Rich Lister, but Datacom founder, director and majority shareholder John Holdsworth had anything but a quiet year.
His investment vehicle Evander Management enjoyed a major payday as Apple bought Auckland wireless charging company PowerbyProxi in October.
Overseas Investment Office records show the deal was worth somewhere north of $100 million (the industry rumour-mill said $200m). Evander had an 11% stake in PowerbyProxi.
The startup was patent-rich but nearly revenue-less. PowerbyProxi mulled a $40m IPO back in 2014 as it began to get buzz on the back of a small investment from Samsung. Evander came onboard in 2009 (along with major investor Movac), close to the company’s creation by a couple of Auckland university students.
Datacom also had another strong year. The IT services business continued to expand throughout New Zealand, Australia and parts of Asia, the US and the UK and now employs just under 5000 staff.
The company, which was founded in 1965 and grew in part by acquiring NZ Post’s IT privatised IT operation, hit $1 billion revenue for the first time in 2016
In 2017 (the privately-held operation’s most recently filed result), revenue grew 10% to $1.16b, with net profit rising 61% to $40.6.
The company also moved all of its Auckland 1200 staff from five buildings scattered around the city to one state-of-the-art office on the waterfront at Wynyard Quarter (a trendy area where Fonterra and Air New Zealand have also constructed flash new digs in recent times).
Mr Holdsworth stood down as head of the board in 2013, but remains a director. His son Simon Holdsworth is deputy chairman. remains a director of Datacom.
The father and son are also both directors of Evander, along with John Holdsworth’s wife Merrill and retired Datacom CFO Robin Keall.
The family’s investment arm remains a prolific backer of startups. Recent investments include power retailer startup Flick Electric, accounting software startup Common Ledger and home-grown supercomputing outfit Nyriad -- all of which are promising but early-stage operations.
Outside of technology, John and Merrill Holdsworth are also directors Central Otago-based Nevis Bluff Wines, and own farmland in Hawke’s Bay.
Mr Holdsworth was awarded the NZ Order of Merit in 2011 for services to business and the community.
The Holdsworth Charitable Trust agreed to fund the IHC Art Awards for three years from 2014 and John Holdsworth was IHC’s Wellington branch president between 1994 and 1999, served on the IHC national board, including as vice-president in the 1990s, and was awarded IHC New Zealand life membership in 2007.
The trust donates hundreds of thousands of dollars to organisations including the IHC, the Special Olympics and the NZ Down Syndrome Association.