Why BlackLine (BL) Is Buying Rimilia For $150 Million

By Noah Long ● Oct 5, 2020
  • BlackLine, Inc. (Nasdaq: BL) — a leader in accounting automation software —  announced that it has completed the acquisition of Rimilia. These are the details.

BlackLine, Inc. (Nasdaq: BL) — a leader in accounting automation software —  announced that it has completed the acquisition of Rimilia, an AI-powered cloud-based platform that enables accounts receivable automation and digital transformation. With Rimilia, BlackLine will be strengthening its position with the Office of the Controller by driving end-to-end automation of the cash lifecycle and ensuring greater data integrity.

This acquisition expands BlackLine’s capabilities into an adjacent area, adding AR automation to financial close automation and accelerating BlackLine’s larger and long-term plan for transforming and modernizing Finance & Accounting. Based in the United Kingdom, Rimilia is a leading provider of accounts receivable automation solutions that enable organizations to control cash flow and cash collection in real-time.

And using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) platform simplifies the order-to-cash process by automating both the collection and allocation of customer cash. The same-day cash allocation results in an unrivaled reduction in the number of days of sales outstanding, improve working capital, and drives significant cost savings.

Built for large and medium-sized enterprises and capable of integrating with nearly all ERP, bank, and currency platforms, Rimilia is used by leading companies in major verticals.

The accounts receivables market is a natural adjacency to the financial close with a shared buyer and similar pain points. And in addition, cash flow optimization has become increasingly relevant following the onset of the pandemic.

BlackLine had completed the acquisition of Rimilia on Oct. 2, 2020.  And in accordance with the terms and conditions of the transaction, BlackLine will acquire Rimilia for $150 million in cash — of which $120 million was payable at the close with additional cash payments of up to $30 million upon certain earnout conditions being met.  And BlackLine funded the transaction with existing cash-on-hand.

There is no material impact on third-quarter results. And additional details regarding the anticipated financial impact of the acquisition will be provided in conjunction with BlackLine’s third-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020.

BlackLine will introduce Rimilia to the broader BlackLine community at the company’s annual user conference BeyondTheBlack 2020:  The Modern Accounting Virtual Experience — which will take place Tuesday to Thursday, Nov. 17th to 19th.

KEY QUOTES:

“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. This acquisition addresses that need and further expands BlackLine’s position as an indispensable platform for the Office of the Controller.  Rimilia has created great value for its customers, and we are thrilled to build on the momentum the company has established to date while entering a new market and expanding our total addressable market opportunity.”   

“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.”

— Marc Huffman, president & COO of BlackLine – who will assume the BlackLine CEO title on Jan. 1, 2021

“Rimilia and BlackLine share a vision to drive digital transformation for Finance & Accounting with intelligent automation. BlackLine will provide the scale to further drive adoption of Rimilia’s platform and deliver additional value to our customers. 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.”   

— Kevin Kimber, CEO of Rimilia