Sage spends £225m on SaaS vendor Brightpearl

Vendor acquired 17 per cent share in Brightpearl last year, but will now acquire remaining stake

Sage has spent £225m on acquiring the remaining stake in SaaS vendor Brightpearl, in a move which it claims will bolster its offering to retailers and wholesalers.

The UK-based ERP software vendor initially acquired a 17 per cent stake in Brightpearl at the end of last year.

The latest move will see Sage acquire the remaining 83 per cent stake in the business for £225m. The acquisition will be funded via Sage's existing cash and available liquidity.

With operations in the UK and the US, Brightpearl is a SaaS vendor which offers an retail management system to retailers and wholesalers to give real-time business insights as well as help customers automate workflows and "save time and money".

The business will combine with Sage Intact to combine financial management, inventory planning, sales order management, purchasing and supplier management, CRM, fulfilment, warehousing and logistics management.

Brightpearl expects to generate £20m in revenues for the 12 months ending December 2021, which would represent a 50 per cent increase on the previous year. Its operating profit will break even during the same time frame, Sage claims.

The deal is expected to close in January 2022 and is subject to regulatory clearance.

"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," said Sage CEO Steve Hare.