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M&A

Deel Buys Device Management Startup Hofy in a ‘Win-Win’ Acquisition

News on HR 6 ArdorComm Media Group Deel Buys Device Management Startup Hofy in a ‘Win-Win’ Acquisition

The HR tech sector is currently booming, with investment rounds and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) continuing at a brisk pace. The latest news comes from Deel, which has made its third acquisition this year. Read on to find out more about Deel’s purchase of Hofy and what it means for both companies’ existing HR customers. The HR tech market remains robust and resilient despite challenging macroeconomic conditions. Investments into the sector continued unabated, as do HR tech mergers and acquisitions (M&As). The latest M&A news comes from global HR company Deel – it has acquired Hofy, a London-based device management startup. Hofy enables its 700 customers across the world (including Canva, Veeva, and Fujitsu) to equip their teams with work devices in just one click. Hofy also manages the entire lifecycle of the company device. The Hofy acquisition is Deel’s third acquisition in 2024 – back in the spring, Deel bought German performance management company Zavvy and Africa-based payroll giant PaySpace. The latest news with Hofy is a full circle moment for its Co-Founder and CPO Michael Ginzo – he was an early employee at Deel and left in 2020 to start Hofy. A Bright Future for Deel and Hofy? Founded in 2019, Deel has seen impressive growth over the past five years – it now employs 4,000 people in 100 countries, has raised $630 million, has reached a $12 billion valuation, and has $500 million in annual recurring revenue. Deel helps 35,000 companies look after their teams – standout customers include Nike, BCG, Shopify, and Calvin Klein. UNLEASH was keen to find out why purchasing Hofy was the right next move for Deel and its customers. Speaking exclusively to UNLEASH, Deel’s Co-Founder and CEO Alex Bouaziz shares: “By bringing Hofy’s best-in-class services and device lifecycle management in-house, we hope to simplify global business complexities for our customers with a unified platform that handles everything from device delivery and management to software provisioning and app access. Now we’ll be able to handle this in 120+ countries – it’s going to radically simplify device management and IT support for global teams.” For Bouaziz, Deel’s purchase of Hofy is “another way we’re building a simpler, more consolidated infrastructure for global companies and their teams.” Hofy’s Ginzo also spoke to UNLEASH – he adds: “Hofy and Deel share a vision of simplifying hybrid work – including facilitating remote workforces with a hassle-free onboarding experience. I saw a massive opportunity in the global hiring movement when I was working at Deel on the product team. Hofy has helped meet this demand by delivering and managing devices in 120+ countries around the world. We’ve seen huge growth, and now it’s time to take that to the next level. With Hofy joining Deel, customers will be able to enjoy all the benefits of our device management platform, alongside Deel’s compliance, payroll, HRIS, immigration, and people management products. It’s a win-win, and we couldn’t be happier to combine forces.”  

India Inc Registers 501 Deals Valued at $21.4 Billion in Q2 2024: Report

News on HR 3 ArdorComm Media Group India Inc Registers 501 Deals Valued at $21.4 Billion in Q2 2024: Report

India Inc has recorded a total of 501 deals valued at USD 21.4 billion in Q2 2024, according to Grant Thornton Bharat Dealtracker. As per the consultancy firm, Q2 2024 witnessed the highest quarterly volumes in two years, while values declined due to the absence of big-ticket M&A transactions. The merger and acquisition (M&A) and private equity (PE) deals taken together stood at 467, valued at USD 14.9 billion, reflecting a 9 percent increase in volumes but a 28 percent decrease in value, primarily due to the previous quarter’s USD 8.5 billion Reliance-Disney mega-merger, Grant Thornton said. The just-ended quarter featured a one-billion-dollar deal and 30 high-value deals (over USD 100 million), which translates to a 58 percent increase in high-value deals compared to the previous quarter. “Indian corporates are increasingly investing domestically, reflecting strong confidence in the local investment climate,” Grant Thornton said in a release. Despite declining cross-border deals due to geopolitical instability, traditional sectors grew in volumes over the previous quarter. “With recent election results and anticipated policy clarity from the upcoming budget, political stability is expected to boost investor confidence and drive deal activity in the next six months,” it said. Shanthi Vijetha, Partner, Growth at Grant Thornton Bharat, noted that the quarter witnessed robust private equity activity and large domestic deals. “Despite a decline in cross-border deals due to geopolitical uncertainties, domestic investment remained strong. Traditional sectors like pharma and manufacturing also saw strong deal flows, collectively contributing nearly half of the deal values,” Vijetha said. According to Vijetha, the industry anticipates policy continuity, which should positively drive the deal activity.

Payhawk Looks to M&A After 86% Revenue Jump

News on HR 1 1 ArdorComm Media Group Payhawk Looks to M&A After 86% Revenue Jump

Spend management platform Payhawk is reportedly entering acquisition mode. Co-founder and CEO Hristo Borisov stated in an interview with CNBC on Thursday (June 6) that the company aims to acquire early-stage startups that have already raised significant funds. He asserted that Payhawk has a better “product-market fit” than its competitors, who have achieved multibillion-dollar valuations by offering free corporate cards to other startups. Payhawk issues smart cards for employees to make payments and track expenses, and it has seen significant growth in the first quarter of the year, with revenues up 86% and a 57% increase in customers. To build on this growth, Borisov mentioned that the company hopes to merge with or acquire other firms. “Many businesses that got funded in the last two or three years are now in a position where they’re looking at strategic options,” Borisov said. “This is something we’re actively doing. We’re looking for companies to buy.” “Our vision is to be able to provide a single platform that provides a homogeneous environment for your corporate expense needs with a single provider,” he added. “There is going to be some market consolidation.” These efforts coincide with the shift from traditional expense management methods to digital solutions that speed reimbursement times and reduce the risk of human error. This trend was highlighted in a recent PYMNTS report, which discussed how businesses are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms to optimize procurement and spend management strategies. Edwin Poot and Jonathan Vaux, global chief technology officer and head of propositions and partnerships at Thredd, discussed with PYMNTS how the largest corporations in America still use very old, monolithic systems to manage their treasury functions. Ernest Rolfson, CEO and founder of Payments-as-a-Service solution Finexio, pointed out the inefficiency of manually filing reporting and reconciliations, advocating for automated, digital solutions. Research by PYMNTS Intelligence has shown that virtual cards and digital spend management solutions can help finance departments close books faster while also guarding against fraud.