The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    SAP picks up minority stake in Icertis, valuation likely tops $5 billion

    Synopsis

    Icertis, a cloud-based enterprise contract management platform that counts Airbus, Cognizant, Microsoft, and Roche as customers, is expected to deepen its existing partnership with SAP following the investment.

    softwareETtech
    German enterprise software maker SAP has picked up a minority stake in Software as a Service (SaaS) firm Icertis, the two companies said in a statement on Tuesday.

    Icertis, a cloud-based enterprise contract management platform that counts Airbus, Cognizant, Microsoft, and Roche as customers, is expected to deepen its existing partnership with SAP following the investment.

    Elevate Your Tech Prowess with High-Value Skill Courses

    Offering CollegeCourseWebsite
    IIM LucknowIIML Executive Programme in FinTech, Banking & Applied Risk ManagementVisit
    IIT DelhiIITD Certificate Programme in Data Science & Machine LearningVisit
    MITMIT Technology Leadership and InnovationVisit
    The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

    In September, Japan’s SoftBank Vision Fund purchased secondary shares from Icertis's existing investor Eight Roads at a valuation of around $5 billion, catapulting the company to the top league of SaaS startups in India.

    Icertis, which has dual headquarters in Bellevue, Washington and Pune, joined the likes of Postman, BrowserStack, Innovaccer, Zenoti, Druva, Mindtickle and HighRadius, which have all hit the $1 billion valuation mark or more– turning unicorns - over the past two years.

    Chennai-based SaaS firm Freshworks listed on the Nasdaq last year giving a major push to valuations in the sector.

    SAP and Icertis said their partnership will also involve a joint product roadmap and deeper technological integration for clients.

    Samir Bodas, founder and chief executive of Icertis, told ET that the partnership also means that SAP will co-sell Icertis products.

    “We have many common customers like automaker Daimler AG, The Boeing Company, among others. There is tremendous alignment between our products....SAP will integrate with our products and co-sell them...," he said.

    The partnership builds on the existing relationship between SAP and Icertis, which began in 2020, Bodas said.

    Bodas also confirmed SoftBank’s funding through a secondary purchase of shares.

    He said Icertis had clocked a growth rate of 50% in its annual recurring revenue (ARR) as well as its recurring revenue between January and December 2021.

    ARR is a key metric used by SaaS companies which have a defined contract length.

    Icertis’ other investors include B Capital Group, Greycroft, and Premji Invest.

    “The expanded cooperation with Icertis will help our customers take advantage of market-leading innovations for contract management from Icertis while managing core business processes with SAP solutions,” said Christian Klein, CEO and member of the Executive Board, SAP SE. “This partnership is a great complement to our portfolio, with multiple touchpoints to SAP systems across ERP, finance, procurement, sales and HR.”
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in