AML Simple: Operator Acquisition Brief (Private)

The deal thesis

Don't sell AML Simple for a lump sum. Sell it to an industry-known owner who becomes an Anvilda operator: they own the brand and the customers, and pay us upfront for the built platform, then a recurring fee while our AI keeps running it day to day.

This is exactly what Pillar 3 was designed for: a product built to be sold under managed-service continuation. The new angle is running a competitive, multi-buyer process to set the price, modelled on the Jason/Zinup structure plus an acquisition premium for the asset already built.

Why now

The tailwind is real, not manufactured. AML/CTF obligations for Australian real estate agents commenced under Tranche 2 on 1 July 2026. AUSTRAC enrolment opened 31 March 2026, with a deadline of 29 July 2026.

Every real estate agency in Australia is now a reporting entity, and legally must have an AML/CTF program, CDD, sanctions screening, and reporting in place. Compliance is no longer optional.
The market is crowded but immature: dozens of vendors launched in the last year (AML Square, AMLTranche at $59/mo, OverSEER at $350/mo, ClearAML, TrustSoft, easyAML, VerifiMe, FreeAML pay-per-use), plus data giants circling (InfoTrack, GlobalX, FrankieOne, Equifax, First AML).
Structural point: the real estate agent is the reporting entity, not the software. AML Simple is a tool, so Anvilda never sits in the regulated seat. That's good for us, and it means the most valuable buyer is one who already has the agents, i.e. a network to convert.

The two things a buyer actually gets

1. Speed to market

The mandatory market opened weeks ago. A live, AUSTRAC-aligned product beats a 6 to 9 month build. In a compliance land grab, buy-versus-build always favours buy.

2. The AI cost structure

They run it with close to zero personnel. In a market that's already racing to $59/mo, the vendor with no headcount wins the price war. That is the whole thesis.

The fear/greed narrative

Keep it truthful. This is a quiet, targeted, limited process, not a mass blast.

Greed

Convert your existing book onto a compliance product you own, with almost no staff. Recurring margin you keep.

Fear

This market is consolidating into a price war. Whoever runs AML compliance without a team sets the floor price and takes the mandatory market. If a competitor gets the AI-operated engine, you're competing against zero marginal cost. Better you own it.

Honest-framing guardrail: the fear is legitimate (mandatory market, margin compression, genuine AI cost advantage). Do not fabricate rival interest. A competitive process is standard M&A, manufactured panic is not, and these buyers talk to each other.

Deal constructions

Three structures, ranked by fit.

Recommended

1. Operator Acquisition (Anvilda-native)

Upfront platform transfer fee (the "we built it" value), one-time. This is the new money versus the Jason deal.
Buyer owns the AML Simple brand, customers, and IP relationship (like Zinup/Jason owns theirs).
Anvilda keeps operating: €1,500/mo AOS + 20% revenue share, minimum term 24 months.
Optional small equity kicker or exit-share so we participate if they scale and flip it.
Why: maximises our recurring, gives the buyer real ownership, adds the upfront we want.

Lighter option

2. White-label license

No ownership transfer. Buyer licenses the engine under their own brand.
Onboarding fee, plus €1,500/mo, plus per-seat or 20% revenue share.
Anvilda retains ownership and can license to multiple non-competing buyers (for example, carved by region or franchise network). Faster to close, lower buyer commitment, we keep the asset.

Buyer-expected

3. Earnout buyout + Managed Services Agreement

Buyer "buys" the company: modest cash upfront, plus earnout tied to converted-customer revenue over 24 to 36 months.
Bundled MSA: we operate for a fixed monthly fee plus revenue share, minimum term 24 months.
Gives the buyer the ownership feeling, gives us upfront plus recurring. Use this if a target insists on a clean acquisition.

Pricing the upfront: don't anchor to a revenue multiple (4 customers won't support one). Anchor to cost-to-replicate (what it costs the buyer to build and AUSTRAC-align it), time-to-market (months of mandatory-market share lost while they build), and strategic/defensive value (denying it to a named competitor). Let the competitive process set the number; Marco and Gerben set the floor. The recurring (€1,500/mo + 20%) is the durable value, the upfront is the door-opener.

Ranked buyer list

Ranked for fit: known in the field, active in Australia, and either serves or is the real estate channel. Tiered by motivation.

#	Tier	Buyer	Why they fit
1	A	InfoTrack	Dominant in AU conveyancing and property searches, owns the RE and legal transaction workflow, already has an AML/CTF compliance centre, capital behind it (ATI Global). Best strategic fit, greed over fear. Embeds AML into a workflow every agent touches.
2	A	First AML	AML specialist (NZ/AU/UK) expanding into AU Tranche 2. Would value a live AU real-estate beachhead plus our AI cost structure. Culturally closest to "operate it" thinking.
3	A	GlobalX (Dye & Durham)	Conveyancing and legal data, same vertical-embed logic as InfoTrack.
4	A	FrankieOne	AU RegTech leader, already doing AML for accountants and advisors via The Access Group. Pitch: buy the RE go-to-market and AI ops rather than build a vertical.
5	B	AML Square	Positions as the best AML software for real estate in AU, direct competitor, personnel-dependent. Fear bites hardest, has a book to convert.
6	B	AMLTranche	$59/mo, real-estate-first, thin margins. AI ops equals survival in the price war.
7	B	ClearAML	Ambitious "full-stack AML/CTF OS" for accountants, lawyers, and real estate, wants a moat.
8	B	VerifiMe	KYC/AML for RE agents, identity-verification adjacency, clean consolidation.
9	C	Ray White (or its tech arm)	730+ AU offices. Could mandate AML Simple across the network overnight. The purest "convert your customers, save the personnel" story. Buyer of convenience, less "known in AML," but unbeatable distribution.
10	C	PropTech Group / VaultRE	CRM used across the Harcourts network, embed AML into the CRM every agent already lives in.

Honourable mentions / wildcards: LJ Hooker, Harcourts, Raine & Horne (franchise networks); MRI Software, Rex, Console (CRM); PEXA (e-conveyancing, strategic but slow); OverSEER, TrustSoft, easyAML (smaller consolidation targets); Equifax, NameScan (data incumbents).

Term sheet summary

Construction #1: Operator Acquisition (indicative structure)

Upfront platform transfer fee: Final number pending co-anvilda#1093
Ongoing AOS fee: €1,500/mo
Revenue share: 20% of converted-customer revenue
Minimum term: 24 months
Optional kicker: Small equity or exit-share, subject to negotiation
Ownership split: Buyer owns brand, customers, and IP relationship. Anvilda owns the platform and the operating fleet.

Placeholder: final upfront number, floor price, and negotiation guardrails come from co-anvilda#1093 (Deal terms one-pager). This page will be updated once that lands.

Honest pushback / risks

Weak leverage from revenue. 4 customers and minimal turnover mean a sophisticated buyer values this near build-cost, not a multiple. Manage expectations on the upfront, the recurring is where we win.
Best buyers are our competitors. Approaching Tier B reveals our AI-operated cost advantage. NDA first. Real risk they copy the model instead of buying it, so favour buyers who value speed and distribution (Tier A/C) over those who could just rebuild (Tier B).
Multi-buyer process can backfire on a small asset if it looks like we're shopping scraps. Keep it quiet, targeted, limited. Credibility beats reach.
Australia-based / credentialled buyer strongly preferred. AUSTRAC relationships and a real RE network are the asset the buyer brings. That's what "known in the field" actually buys us.
Clean contracts required: customer-data ownership under AUSTRAC's 7-year record-keeping rule, data residency, and the ownership/operating split (buyer owns brand and customers, Anvilda owns the platform and fleet). Model on the Zinup/Jason IP split.