REG - Sage Group PLC - Sage to acquire Brightpearl

SageAnnouncement

20/12/2021 08:50

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RNS Number : 1829W  Sage Group PLC  20 December 2021

Sage to acquire Brightpearl

Acquisition expands Sage Intacct's reach in the retail and ecommerce vertical

The Sage Group plc (FTSE: SGE), the leader in accounting, financial, HR and
payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses, today announces that it
has agreed to acquire Brightpearl, a cloud native multichannel retail
management system for retailers and wholesalers. The acquisition of
Brightpearl, in which Sage already has a 17% minority stake, accelerates
Sage's strategy for growth, including scaling Sage Intacct, broadening the
value proposition for mid-sized businesses and expanding Sage's digital
network.

With operations in the US and the UK, Brightpearl provides a SaaS-based retail
operating system, enabling real-time business insights and helping customers
automate workflows to save time and money. The combination of Sage Intacct and
Brightpearl will create a powerful solution for retailers and wholesalers
which integrates financial management, inventory planning, sales order
management, purchasing and supplier management, CRM, fulfilment, warehousing
and logistics management.

The consideration for the 83% of Brightpearl that Sage does not already own is
$299m (£225m), which will be funded from Sage's existing cash and available
liquidity.

For the year ending December 2021, Brightpearl is expected to generate
revenues of $27m (£20m), representing growth of around 50% compared to the
prior year, and to achieve operating profit around the breakeven level.

The transaction is subject to regulatory clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino
Act in the US, and is expected to close in January 2022.

Steve Hare, Chief Executive Officer of Sage, commented:

"Sage's purpose is to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive. Together,
Sage and Brightpearl will remove the barriers that hold back retailers and
wholesalers, streamlining their systems and enabling them to focus on growth.
I'm delighted to welcome Brightpearl, its management team and colleagues to
Sage, and look forward to executing on our strategic priorities together and
delivering accelerated growth."

Derek O'Carroll, Chief Executive Officer of Brightpearl, commented:

"We are thrilled to be joining Sage. Bringing our two teams together will
combine the retail strength of Brightpearl and the scale, brand and financial
expertise of Sage, enabling us to offer customers the most innovative
financial and retail operating solutions so they can grow fearlessly, save
time and deliver outstanding experiences."

Enquiries

Sage +44 (0) 7900 046714

James Sandford, Investor Relations

Amy Lawson, Corporate PR

Derk Bleeker, Chief Strategy and Development Officer

Finsbury Glover Hering +44 (0) 20 7251 3801

Conor McClafferty

Amanda Healy

 

About Sage

Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the
millions of small and mid-sized businesses served by us, our partners and
accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work
and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with
customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network
connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down
barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle
digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis.

About Brightpearl

Based in Bristol (UK) and Austin, Texas (US), Brightpearl provides a retail
operating system (ROS) for retailers and wholesalers. Its mission is clear:
automate the back office so merchants can spend their time and money growing
the business. Brightpearl's ROS includes financial management, inventory and
sales order management, purchasing and supplier management, CRM, fulfillment,
warehouse and logistics. In addition, the system has high-performing
connectors to the major ecommerce platforms, including Magento, BigCommerce
and Shopify. Brightpearl's platform manages over 10m transactions and $5bn of
business a year.

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