Six months after raising $250 million, Papaya Global is making a key acquisition to expand its cloud-based HR and payroll platform globally in the wake of a major surge in remote working, Tech Crunch reports.
The Israeli startup is buying Azimo - the London-based money transfer business that Facebook once tried to acquire to spearhead its own remittance efforts - a deal that will see Papaya Global moving into more markets and launching further services such as instant payroll payments.
Terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed but a source close to the companies reportedly told Tech Crunch that the deal was between $150 million and $200 million, a figure others have also reported.
Papaya is acquiring the full business upon the deal closing, including all of Azimo’s employees, the company said.
Papaya Global - backed by companies such as Insight Partners and Tiger Global - was valued at $3.7 billion in its last funding round in September 2021, after growing revenues by 300 per cent each year for the last three years.
Azimo was backed by investors including Rakuten and Greycroft and competes with the likes of Wise (FKA TransferWise). Both companies were among a shortlist that Facebook considered several years ago when it was first exploring a move into money transfer services (a service it now provides).
The deal will reportedly help Papaya Global on two levels:
First, it will help the company expand its geographic footprint: Azimo currently has payment licenses in the UK, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong, and it operates a payment network in more than 160 countries, while Papaya Global (not to be confused with the other fintech called Papaya) operated services in 150 countries just prior to this deal, Eynat Guez - Papaya Global’s CEO and co-founder - told TechCrunch.
Second, it will help Papaya Global expand the services it provides. These include not just faster (instant) payment of payroll, but potentially a much wider selection of remittance services for people who are working in one country but have family or others they want to pay in another. In the past those individuals might have used other services like Wise or Azimo to handle those payments; now Papaya Global can keep them on their own network (and thus capture the commissions and foreign exchange fees) around those transactions.
In a statement, Azimo CEO Richard Ambrose said, “Papaya’s customers will benefit hugely from our long experience in building payment technology and operating as a regulated payments business.”
The move also plays into a strategy Papaya Global has been pursuing to provide an all-in-one, end-to-end service for its customers; which includes not only employers sourcing and eventually hiring people in other markets but increasingly services for those employees themselves.
“Payroll payments made easy regardless of geography are what set us apart from other technology vendors, and this acquisition will make it possible for companies to make instant payments to their global teams,” Ms Guez said in a statement. “Azimo’s global digital payment network, multiple payment licences, and deep fintech expertise will also enable us to build new payroll-related services for our business customers and their employees.”
Azimo chairman and founder Michael Kent said, “Combining Azimo’s assets and expertise with an emerging global leader in remote working enablement like Papaya will allow them to deliver even more value for their business customers, especially those increasingly paying and managing remote employees.”
The companies are not talking publicly about the sale price, among other reasons, because the deal has not completely closed yet. It will require regulatory approvals in their respective markets therefore they will continue to operate independently until those are reached.
Source: Tech Crunch
(Links and quotes via original reporting)
Six months after raising $250 million, Papaya Global is making a key acquisition to expand its cloud-based HR and payroll platform globally in the wake of a major surge in remote working, Tech Crunch reports.
The Israeli startup is buying Azimo - the London-based money transfer business that Facebook once tried to acquire to spearhead its own remittance efforts - a deal that will see Papaya Global moving into more markets and launching further services such as instant payroll payments.
Terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed but a source close to the companies reportedly told Tech Crunch that the deal was between $150 million and $200 million, a figure others have also reported.
Papaya is acquiring the full business upon the deal closing, including all of Azimo’s employees, the company said.
Papaya Global - backed by companies such as Insight Partners and Tiger Global - was valued at $3.7 billion in its last funding round in September 2021, after growing revenues by 300 per cent each year for the last three years.
Azimo was backed by investors including Rakuten and Greycroft and competes with the likes of Wise (FKA TransferWise). Both companies were among a shortlist that Facebook considered several years ago when it was first exploring a move into money transfer services (a service it now provides).
The deal will reportedly help Papaya Global on two levels:
First, it will help the company expand its geographic footprint: Azimo currently has payment licenses in the UK, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong, and it operates a payment network in more than 160 countries, while Papaya Global (not to be confused with the other fintech called Papaya) operated services in 150 countries just prior to this deal, Eynat Guez - Papaya Global’s CEO and co-founder - told TechCrunch.
Second, it will help Papaya Global expand the services it provides. These include not just faster (instant) payment of payroll, but potentially a much wider selection of remittance services for people who are working in one country but have family or others they want to pay in another. In the past those individuals might have used other services like Wise or Azimo to handle those payments; now Papaya Global can keep them on their own network (and thus capture the commissions and foreign exchange fees) around those transactions.
In a statement, Azimo CEO Richard Ambrose said, “Papaya’s customers will benefit hugely from our long experience in building payment technology and operating as a regulated payments business.”
The move also plays into a strategy Papaya Global has been pursuing to provide an all-in-one, end-to-end service for its customers; which includes not only employers sourcing and eventually hiring people in other markets but increasingly services for those employees themselves.
“Payroll payments made easy regardless of geography are what set us apart from other technology vendors, and this acquisition will make it possible for companies to make instant payments to their global teams,” Ms Guez said in a statement. “Azimo’s global digital payment network, multiple payment licences, and deep fintech expertise will also enable us to build new payroll-related services for our business customers and their employees.”
Azimo chairman and founder Michael Kent said, “Combining Azimo’s assets and expertise with an emerging global leader in remote working enablement like Papaya will allow them to deliver even more value for their business customers, especially those increasingly paying and managing remote employees.”
The companies are not talking publicly about the sale price, among other reasons, because the deal has not completely closed yet. It will require regulatory approvals in their respective markets therefore they will continue to operate independently until those are reached.
Source: Tech Crunch
(Links and quotes via original reporting)