Blackline is a leader in accounting automation software. It will pay $150 million in cash for Rimilia.

Blackline (NASDAQ: BL) helps businesses automate their manual accounting processes with its cloud-based solutions and customer service. It announced October 2 the acquisition of Rimilia, a SaaS platform that helps automate Accounts Receivable (A/R) using the cloud.

Blackline will pay $150 million in cash. Of this, $120 million is payable at close and an additional payment of up to $30 million is payable upon certain earnout conditions being met. The acquirer met the payment obligation from its cash on hand. (CPA Practice Advisor)

Rimilia acquisition logic

Blackline specializes in the automation of the financial closing activity. It transforms the chaos surrounding financial closing, as deadlines loom, with automation that ensures control and efficiency.

Furthermore, it has been recognized as a leader in a Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud Financial Close Solutions for four years in a row.

“The acquisition expands BlackLine’s capabilities into an adjacent area, adding A/R automation to financial close automation and accelerating BlackLine’s larger, long-term plan for transforming and modernizing Finance & Accounting,” the company said in a statement.

Rimilia’s SaaS platform helps companies control cash flow and cash collections in real-time using AI. This results in a substantial reduction in sales debtors’ outstanding and working capital. That translates into savings of interest and cost.

“With most companies using legacy, repetitive, and manual processes to manage their order-to-cash, our customers and partners have long been asking for a solution that will enable better cash and liquidity management.  This is especially critical now in these difficult economic times,” said Marc Huffman, president & COO of BlackLine. “This acquisition addresses that need and further expands our position as an indispensable platform for the Office of the Controller.”

COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has upturned the world for accounting professionals and back offices. Remote working, distributed workflows, and cloud-based solutions are now indispensable.

“We believe these challenges present an opportunity for finance leaders to move beyond legacy accounting processes and prepare their organizations for the future of work with changes that will outlast the pandemic,” Blackline Founder and CEO said on the company’s last earnings call.

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Image: Blackline president & COO Marc Huffman (Source: Blackline)