British enterprise software company Sage has acquired the remaining 83% stake in cloud retail management system Brightpearl for £255m.
Sage, an accounting, financial, HR and payroll software company for SMEs, already owns 17% of Bristol, UK-based Brightpearl.
The deal is expected to close in January 2022, pending regulatory clearance in the US due to Sage and Brightpearl’s US operations.
Sage will gain Brightpearl’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) retail operating system used by retailers and wholesalers. The platform provides “real-time business insights” and tools for customers to automate workflows.
Sage said it plans to integrate Brightpearl’s technology with its own software offerings to provide financial management, inventory planning, sales order management, purchasing and supplier management, CRM, fulfilment, warehousing and logistics management to retailers.
“Bringing our two teams together will help combine the retail strength of Brightpearl and the scale, brand and financial expertise of Sage,” said Brightpearl CEO Derek O’Carroll.
London-listed Sage is funding the deal using existing cash and liquidity.
The buyout will also mean a payday for Brightpearl’s early investors, with the multichannel retail management platform raising $15m in 2018 and $11m in 2016.
“Today’s acquisition is testament to the growth of one of the UK’s leading tech success stories and a business that has levelled the playing field for retailers online,” said Oliver Richards, partner at MMC Ventures, a Series A investor that backed Brightpearl in 2014.
“Brightpearl has transformed the way mid-market retailers, high growth brands and wholesalers manage their operations seamlessly between physical and e-commerce platforms.”