Kansas City, MO-based H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) is to acquire Wave Financial, Inc., a Toronto, Canada-based financial solutions platform for small business owners to manage their finances, for $405m in cash.
The acquisition – expected to close within the next few months, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions – expands H&R Block’s product and client portfolio and enhances its position in the small business market.
Based on the expected timing of closing, H&R Block estimates that the transaction will generate $40 to $45m of revenue for fiscal 2020.
Led by Kirk Simpson, co-founder and CEO, Wave provides SMEs with free accounting, invoicing, and receipt-tracking software generating revenue by offering payment processing, payroll services, and bookkeeping services, with additional products currently in development.
All of these products and services are offered through a platform used by over 400,000 small businesses globally every month.
Led by Jeff Jones, president and CEO, H&R Block is a global consumer tax services provider. Tax return preparation services are provided by professional tax preparers in approximately 11,000 company-owned and franchise retail tax offices worldwide, and through H&R Block tax software products for the DIY consumer.
The company also offers adjacent Tax Plus products and services. In fiscal 2019, H&R Block had annual revenues of $3.1 billion with over 23 million tax returns prepared worldwide.
Following the closing of the transaction, Wave will maintain its leadership team, including Kirk Simpson, operating independently within H&R Block from its headquarters in Toronto, Ontario.
FinSMEs
13/06/2019