
Divestment of Lessor Group to Paychex, Inc.
FIH Partners advised Axcel, a leading Nordic private equity firm, on the divestment of Lessor Group, a market-leading provider of payroll and human capital management (HCM) software solutions headquartered in Denmark and serving clients in Northern Europe to Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX).
Since 1972, Lessor has been the market-leading provider of payroll and human capital management (HCM) software solutions for small-, medium-, and enterprise-sized companies. Lessor provides services under two models – one a software-as-a-service (SaaS) payroll and HCM suite through its Lessor platform and Microsoft Dynamics, and the other a market-leading, do-it-yourself, cloud-based platform operating as Danløn in Denmark and under the following brands elsewhere in Northern Europe: Ilohngehalt (Germany), Norlønn (Norway), and Swelön (Sweden). Lessor is headquartered in Denmark and is currently doing business in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Germany.
The acquirer, Paychex, Inc., is a leading US-listed provider of integrated human capital management solutions for payroll, HR, retirement, and insurance services. By combining its innovative software-as-a-service technology and mobility platform with dedicated, personal service, Paychex empowers small- and medium-sized business owners to focus on the growth and management of their business. Backed by 45 years of industry expertise, Paychex serves approximately 605,000 payroll clients as of May 31, 2017, across more than 100 locations and pays one out of every 12 American private sector employees.
Paychex will continue to look at expanding market penetration in four countries Lessor is in as well as other European countries over the next 18-24 months.
FIH Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Axcel.
The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial details of the transaction.