EQT acquires Billtrust, an organization automating the invoice-to-cash course of, for $1.7B • TechCrunch

Billtrust, an organization creating a platform to automate the invoice-to-cash course of, right this moment introduced that it agreed to be acquired by EQT, the Sweden-based non-public fairness agency, for $1.7 billion in an all-cash deal. Accepted by Billtrust’s board of administrators, the transaction is anticipated to shut in Q1 2023 topic to the inexperienced mild from Billtrust’s shareholders and regulators.

Shareholders will obtain $9.50 per share in money upon Billtrust’s transition to a non-public firm, a 64% premium above the September 27 closing value of $5.77. The corporate’s inventory has remained comparatively regular lately, hitting a excessive of round $19 a share in February 2021 earlier than bottoming out at $4.51 in June.

Billtrust, headquartered in New Jersey, was based in 2001 as a five-person firm by Flint Lane, a former Accenture staffer. It rapidly grew to supply software-as-a-service (SaaS) merchandise to handle billing for corporations, together with digital billing and funds for shopper and enterprise billing providers.

Previous to going public via a SPAC merger in 2020, Billtrust made 9 acquisitions — most not too long ago of Order2Cash, a money processes administration platform — and raised over $100 million in enterprise capital. At one time limit, its clients included quite a lot of newspaper teams, which used Billtrust to energy on-line billing for subscriptions.

“This transaction marks the start of an thrilling new chapter for Billtrust, our clients and workers whereas offering shareholders a direct and substantial money worth with a compelling premium,” Lane stated in a press release. “We consider business-to-business funds and accounts receivable proceed to be ripe for large disruption and innovation, and our partnership with EQT will present us with larger sources and suppleness to construct on our management place.”

It’s value noting that no scarcity of distributors compete for enterprise within the accounts receivable and funds cycle administration house. There’s Upflow, Tipalti, HighRadius, Rimilia, Hanse Orga and Quadient-owned YayPay, which supply SaaS merchandise centered on amassing cash from excellent invoices. Yaydoo and Tesorio goal to simplify collections extra broadly. One other startup, Churpy, helps enterprises primarily in Africa reconcile and deal with their funds.

A serious problem for Billtrust and its rivals is convincing corporations that they want the software program. It’s a hurdle in any trade, however significantly finance, the place groups are more likely to understand their processes as sufficiently fashionable. Billtrust’s personal analysis has discovered that, whereas 86% of accounts receivable groups price their division as “very” or “considerably” modernized, 40% don’t provide self-service capabilities whereas over 60% haven’t digitized a majority of their invoices.

However the alternative is gigantic. In line with a report from enterprise intelligence agency Axiom Groupe, the marketplace for invoice-to-cash alone might attain $3 billion by 2024, rising at a compound annual rate of interest of 12.1% from 2019.

For EQT, which has round $100 billion in property below administration, the acquisition represents the most recent in a string of various megadeals. In July, the agency introduced plans to buy photo voltaic and storage developer Cypress Creek Renewables reportedly for round $2 billion. A 12 months earlier, EQT snatched up Spanish actual property Web portal Idealista for €1.3 billion (~$1.24 billion).

Of the Billtrust acquisition, EQT international tech sector group associate Arvindh Kumar stated in a press launch: “The Billtrust platform options fashionable options, a compelling worth proposition, and, like EQT, a dedication to innovation and transformation within the digital period. Moreover, the corporate operates on the intersection of software program, fintech, and funds — sectors by which EQT has deep familiarity and a monitor file of success.”