The Access Group acquires The Sage Group Australia and Asia businesses giving increased APAC expansion and fuelling global growth
The Access Group today announced that it has entered into an agreement with The Sage Group plc to purchase its businesses in Australia and Asia.
The acquisition of the Sage businesses in APAC significantly advances Access’ global presence following the recent purchases of Attaché in November 2019 and Unleashed in November 2020 and further strengthens Access’ position in the Asia-pacific region. The acquisition excludes Sage global products.
Commenting on today’s announcements, Chris Bayne, CEO of The Access Group, said:
“This latest acquisition continues our expanding global presence following our other recent business purchases in Australia and New Zealand and will further our position in the supply of payroll and accountancy products across our expanding global footprint. Sage’s local products have a strong customer base in Australasia, and bringing them into The Access Group boosts our ability to deliver multiple business solutions in the UK, Australia and Asia.
“We plan to enhance the growth of the acquired products including further development to deliver full SaaS solutions on Access Workspace. With this acquisition Access will invest to provide fully integrated, ultra-modern HR, Payroll and LMS solutions to the Sage APAC customer base. The Sage APAC products we acquire will have deep integration with the wider Access portfolio via Access Workspace, and will continue alongside Access’ flagship FMS and payroll solutions.
“Delivering Access Workspace to APAC will transform the way our customers use business software, giving every employee the freedom to do more. I look forward to welcoming Sage’s employees into the Access Group and supporting local customers and partners in their transition to Access.”
This latest acquisition builds on October’s announcement from the Access Group of significant year-on-year pro forma revenue growth of 47%, leading to pro forma revenues of £315 million UK and pro forma adjusted EBITDA of £109 million UK for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 (“FY20”). These results continue 15 straight years of uninterrupted profitable growth for the company.
The transaction, which is subject to approval by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), is expected to complete in the next six months. Further information will be released on completion.
