Reward Gateway acquired by Edenred for £1.15 billion to 'strengthening its employee benefits value proposition'

Global employee engagement company, Reward Gateway has been acquired by French-based employee fintech firm, Edenred for £1.15 billion from funds managed by Abry Partners and Castik Capital.

The joining of the two global offerings will provide end-to-end employee services, from digital employee benefits, employee savings, recognition and rewards programmes, to well-being and corporate social animation solutions. Reward Gateway‘s platform will also become available in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Romania and Spain where Edenred is in operation. 

As part of the deal, Reward Gateway will join the Employee Benefits Division within Edenred under the leadership of Arnaud Erulin, Employee Benefits, COO. Nick Burns, Global CEO, Reward Gateway will stay on and lead the business

“Edenred has successfully extended its portfolio into non-Meal & Food benefits over the years. The Group has notably developed a leading offer in Employee Benefits and Savings platforms in 17 countries as part of its Beyond 22-25 strategy. This acquisition marks a major milestone in the roll-out of our strategic plan, putting Edenred in the best position to be the most trusted global Employee Benefits & Engagement platform. It opens the door for Edenred to accelerate the strengthening of its Employee Benefits value proposition. This move offers global corporations and enterprises international consistency in every market that we operate in," says Arnaud Erulin, Global COO Employee Benefits Solutions of Edenred.

Listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange, Edenred is part of the CAC Next 20 index with a market capitalisation of over €14.5 billion. The company has 10,000 employees worldwide and generated more than €2 billion in revenue in 2022. Reward Gateway has over 650 employees across the UK, US, Australia and Bulgaria and has enjoyed continued double-digit revenue growth and consistently high profitability over the recent years. It forecasts to generate £95 million revenue and £45 million EBITDA in FY2023.

“The combination of Reward Gateway’s operations and technology with Edenred’s position as a global market leader across 1 million corporate clients in 45 countries, offers an accelerated path to achieve our mission of ‘making the world a better place to work’. As we will aim at a single unified platform, we will benefit from economies of scale to build tailored solutions for specific markets. Bringing together our collective strengths, from commercial reach to product innovation and advanced technology, will be putting us in a position to provide HR leaders with a truly market-beating solution,” says Nick Burns, Global CEO of Reward Gateway.

“Our goal is to unite and connect people with organisations that are set up and armed to support their workforces. This deal solves the macro social issues that exist in today’s workforce,” he adds. 

The transaction is expected to close in the coming days.