Visma acquires Belgium’s Teamleader as it further strengthens its market position

Norway-born SaaS company Visma, which offers a suite of accounting, payroll, HR, and other business software products to more than 1.2 million SME customers across the Nordic, Benelux and Baltic regions, has acquired Belgian software developer Teamleader from investors Fortino Capital, Keen Venture Partners, and PMV. The financials of the deal remain undisclosed.

Founded in 2012, Teamleader has grown well beyond its Belgian borders, operating in France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany, and counts over 13,000 organisations amongst its client base. According to the company, over €10 billion worth of invoices have passed through Teamleader’s systems.

"At Visma, we have ended up in a winning team where we keep the autonomy to continue our business. At the same time, we can get help in the areas of technology, security, commerce and business operations,” commented Teamleader founder and CEO Jeroen De Wit. “In addition, there are many companies within Visma that serve the same target group as we do. That's why we can seize the opportunities that exist in the market together."

As part of the purchase, Teamleader will continue to operate under its own name and there are no staffing changes planned, with all 180 team members remaining on board. Likewise, existing contracts and agreements with Teamleader customers will remain unchanged.

While both companies are remaining tight-lipped about the actual purchase price, Visma, a privately held company is under no obligation to disclose the figure; however, as recently as last year, a Visma spokesperson revealed that the Norwegian company was eyeballing an IPO, potentially as early as 2023. Once publicly traded, financial disclosures of such activities would become a legal requirement. 

The acquisition of Teamleader could play a crucial part in this IPO plan, as Visma has been steadily taking on new investors via secondary share sales and snapping up rising star companies, presumably in efforts to further strengthen its market position ahead of any rumoured IPO plans