News - December, 2021

Cipio Partners exits Brightpearl to Sage Group

Munich/Luxembourg – December 22, 2021 – Cipio Partners announces the sale of its portfolio company Brightpearl to Sage. 

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."

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. Over 3,000 businesses use Brightpearl’s platform, which manages over 10m transactions and $5bn of business a year. For more info: www.brightpearl.com

 

About Cipio Partners

Founded in 2003, Cipio Partners is a leading investment management and advisory firm for European Growth Capital & Minority Buyouts for Technology Companies. Cipio Partners targets European growth stage technology businesses with €10-50 million in revenue and makes initial investments ranging from €3-10 million. Cipio Partners operates from offices in Luxembourg and Munich. Further information is available at www.cipiopartners.com

 

Media contact

Sophie von Eberhardt: media@cipiopartners.com