BlackLine, which makes financial close software, has acquired Rimilia, which makes artificial intelligence-powered, cloud-based accounts receivable automation. This buy adds a significant new offering area to BlackLine’s portfolio, which until now has focused on financial close automation.
The deal, which closed on Oct. 2, 2020, is valued at $150 million, which BlackLine will pay in cash.
For some time now, BlackLine has had a focus on European markets. The company’s first (and last, before Rimilia) acquisition was of Runbook, based in the Netherlands. That same year, 2016, BlackLine opened a new Germany office which now serves Germany, Austria and Switzerland. BlackLine’s current strategy is to continue to focus on its presence in its existing EMEA markets: London, Paris, Frankfurt, The Netherlands, Switzerland and South Africa.
Rimilia is headquartered in the United Kingdom. Its software-as-a-service accounts receivable platform automates the collection and allocation of customer cash, using embedded artificial intelligence. The software is designed for large and medium-sized enterprises and capable of integrating with ERP, bank and currency platforms.
"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 and chief operating officer of BlackLine, in a statement. "[...]With accounts receivables serving as the single largest asset for most businesses, Rimilia's ability to unlock working capital and reduce risk is top of mind for today's controllers and CFOs.”
Huffman has been tapped to take over as CEO when founder Therese Tucker steps down from the role in January.
"Rimilia and BlackLine share a vision to drive digital transformation for finance and accounting with intelligent automation. BlackLine will provide the scale to further drive adoption of Rimilia's platform and deliver additional value to our customers," said Kevin Kimber, CEO of Rimilia, also in a statement. "At the same time, Rimilia meets a need in the office of the controller that is highly complementary to BlackLine. Our AR automation platform enables organizations to make faster and more accurate decisions, and I look forward to helping the thousands of BlackLine customers that are already enjoying the benefits of modern accounting."
BlackLine plans to introduce Rimilia to the broader BlackLine community at the company's annual user conference
