Basware Sells Off Two Business Units, Refocuses On Procure-To-Pay

Procure-to-pay and eInvoicing solutions provider Basware is shrinking.

The company is reportedly selling off two business units — its Financial Performance Services (FPS) and its Banking operations — to private equity company Verdane Capital, which will turn the two units into separate companies.

According to a press release on Friday (Feb. 2), combined, the two units saw net sales of about $18.7 million in 2017.

Tomi Lod, currently based at Basware’s Finnish operations, will step in as CEO of both companies. The FPS unit provides financial consolidation and reporting software, while the Banking unit offers automated payments solutions.

“Investing in Nordic software businesses is a key part of Verdane’s DNA,” said Verdane investment professional Iikka Moilanen in a statement. “We see clear value in drawing on Verdane’s deep software expertise to develop FPS and Banking as independent companies. Basware has a long and successful history in the successful provision of these solutions.”

“Both businesses have high profitability and recurring revenues and unlock significant value for customers by simplifying and streamlining financial processes, enabling customers to focus on their core businesses,” added Moilanen.

The companies said Basware decided to divest the units in an effort to refocus on its core operations surrounding procure-to-pay. Basware also aims to focus on international growth moving forward.

Basware and Verdane Capital said they expect the acquisition to be completed in the first quarter of 2018, and added that 95 employees will move from Basware to Verdane.

Earlier this year, Basware announced news of a collaboration with AcceptEasy to enhance eInvoice presentment and payment acceptance for customers of both firms. Late last year, Basware made another move to enhance its procure-to-pay operations by integrating machine learning into its solutions, which enables companies to categorize and code invoices that aren’t linked to a purchase orders, allowing professionals to spend less time on manual processes.