Trans-Tasman small business accounting group Xero has expanded its offering of workplace accounting and management tools with a $284 million takeover of a European employment management company based in Denmark.
Xero is buying Planday which was founded in Denmark in 2004 and integrates with platforms like Xero and lets business owners schedule employees, manage payroll and forecast their staffing costs.
The cost could eventually rise to $285 million if the purchase pays off, making it the company’s biggest acquisition to this point.
Planday’s cloud-based scheduling platform has over 350,000 employee users across Europe and the UK.
Xero said Planday will “expand its presence into other markets where Xero operates” following the acquisition.
Completion of the transaction is expected to occur in the June quarter of this year (which is the first quarter of the March 22 balancing Xero).
“Transaction, integration and operating costs are anticipated to have a modest negative impact on Xero’s FY22 EBITDA,” the company said in the statement.
Xero CEO Steve Vamos said in Thursday’s statement the acquisition aligns with Xero’s purpose of streamlining operations for small businesses.
“Planday also addresses the growing need for flexibility and rising compliance demands within the workplace”, he said.
The shares fell 2.9% to $115.50 in a market that sold off all session to be down more than 1%.
