Royal Bank of Scotland is reportedly acquiring accounting software platform FreeAgent in a deal worth around £53m.
RBS has made a cash offer to purchase the entire issued and to be issued ordinary shares in FreeAgent, according to a report to RTTNews. The deal will see the bank buy shares for 120 pence a-piece, totalling around £53m, it said.
UK-based FreeAgent is an accounting software developer that helps companies with the expenses, invoicing, cashflow and tax processes. Through the solution, clients can send and track invoices, upload expenses through a picture, automate VAT returns, file self-assessment and corporation taxes, manage all cashflow, and automatically import banking transactions.
There are a range of other offerings available to accountants and payroll teams to simplify their tasks. FreeAgent also ensures that businesses stay compliant with the new GDPR regulation which is due to launch May 25th.
The two companies already have a partnership, with the RBS’ business banking customers having access to the accounting software, with there being 10,000 clients signed up for the solution, the article states.
Following the transaction, FreeAgent will continue to operate independently and retain its Edinburgh headquarters, it said.
Free Agent raised £10.7m in its IPO on the London Alternative Investment Market (AIM) at the end of 2016. The company became the first to launch an IPO following a crowdfunding campaign on the Seedrs platform.
Late last month, fellow accounting software platform Canopy collected a $30m investment led by New Enterprise Associates.
Copyright © 2018 FinTech Global
