Sage To Add Retail Management App Offerings With Brightpearl Acquisition

Sage Group plans to offer Brightpearl’s software combined with its Intacct accounting applications to provide retailers and wholesalers with a comprehensive lineup of financial, sales, inventory and logistics management capabilities.

Business application developer Sage Group has struck a deal to acquire Brightpearl, a developer of cloud-native multichannel retail management software, for $299 million, Sage said Monday.

Sage already owns a 17 percent stake in Brightpearl and under the deal Sage will acquire the remaining 83 percent. Sage will fund the acquisition, which it expects to complete in January 2022 pending regulatory approvals, through existing cash and available liquidity, the company said.

Sage is a leading supplier of accounting, financial, human resource management and payroll applications for small and mid-size businesses. The company has its global headquarters in Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K. and U.S. headquarters in Atlanta.

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The acquisition will be Sage Group’s largest since the company acquired accounting software vendor Intacct in 2017 for $850 million.

Brightpearl, with operations in both the U.K. and the U.S., develops retail management software that provides real-time business insights for retailers and wholesalers and helps them automate workflows. The company is expected to record revenue of $27 million for calendar 2021, up about 50 percent from 2020, and achieve operating profit around the breakeven level.

Sage said in a statement that the combination of Brightpearl and Intacct will create a solution for retailers and wholesalers that includes financial management, inventory planning, sales order management, purchasing and supplier management, CRM, fulfillment, warehousing and logistics management.

Sage said the acquisition “accelerates Sage’s strategy for growth, including scaling Sage Intacct, broadening the value proposition for mid-sized businesses and expanding Sage’s digital network.”

“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,” Sage CEO Steve Hare said in a statement. “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.”

“We are thrilled to be joining Sage,” said Brightpearl CEO Derek O’Carroll, in the statement. “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.”