Fintech firm Khatabook on Thursday announced the acquisition of the city-based Biz Analyst (BA), a software as a service (SaaS) company providing analytics solutions to small business, in a USD 10 million cash and equity deal.
Bengaluru-based Khatabook, which has raised USD 85 million from venture investors over its three year journey, was looking at internally developing the solutions offered by BA which are helpful data-driven decisions, and the acquisition will help it go faster to market, its co-founder and chief executive Ravish Naresh said.
Naresh said talks with BA had been on for over a year after the company saw the synergies and added that BA has 80,000 paid users as well.
After the deal, financial details of which were not shared by the companies, BA will continue to be run independently, its founders will join Khatabook’s leadership team and all the 70 staffers of BA will continue to work, Naresh said.
BA is a cash flow positive business which achieved total sales of Rs 4 crore in FY20, and its co-founder Vaibhav Vasa said the business has doubled its user base since then.
Post transaction, BA is targeting to double its user base in 2021, Naresh said, adding that increasing the reach and revenue will be a key focus area going ahead.
Khatabook provides digital ledger services, especially to small merchants, and has received funding from a host of backers including DST Global, Sequoia India, Tencent, cricketer Mahendra Dhoni, B Capital Group.
Naresh said the cash component of the deal will be funded through the money raised from investors and declined to share the stake which BA’s co-founders will be holding in Khatabook. The company is comfortable on capital and the deal will not lead it to go for a newer round of fund infusion, he added.
Khatabook is planning to tie-up with banks and non-bank lenders (NBFCs) to offer supply chain financing solutions to its users going forward, Naresh said.
He said the merchants’ requirements on the payments front, including money paid to staff as salaries, are being handled through internally created solutions but it will require tie-ups on the financing side for easy solutions.