Acquisition strengthens Sovos’ position as a leading global solution for modern tax amid worldwide acceleration of continuous compliance mandates
Global tax software provider Sovos today announced it will
acquire Istanbul-based Foriba, a leading player in e-invoicing, e-delivery
notes, e-receipts and periodic value-added tax (VAT) reporting in Turkey and
beyond. Following Sovos’ recent acquisitions of other real-time tax compliance
leaders Invoiceware, Paperless and TrustWeaver, Foriba will further strengthen
Sovos’ global tax solution built for a digital world, with tax determination,
e-invoicing compliance and tax reporting solutions that help multinational
companies Solve Tax for GoodTM everywhere they do business. With expert teams
in Latin America, North America, western Europe and now Turkey, Sovos has the
global capability to address the challenge of continuous VAT compliance as
governments worldwide pivot to such mandates.
Turkey has had complex and mandatory digital VAT
controls since 2014, and it’s one of the few countries outside of Latin America
with a mature e-invoicing mandate. As one of Turkey’s leading providers, Foriba
continued to extend its digital tax compliance capabilities with services for
additional Turkish mandates on electronic customer receipt reporting, the
mandatory transfer of accounting ledgers, e-delivery notes and other
requirements. With Spain, Hungary, Portugal, the U.K., Italy and other
countries investing in real-time and near-real-time transaction control
requirements, Sovos will use Foriba’s experience to help customers address this
new wave of digital taxation.
“By 2025, companies in VAT economies are
expected to exchange more than 75 percent of all invoices electronically with
tax administrations in real time or very shortly after the invoice-exchange
process,” said Andy Hovancik, CEO, Sovos. “Sovos’ acquisition of Foriba, along
with other recent investments, helps us safeguard customers as countries around
the world adopt e-invoicing, e-archiving and e-receipt regulations for B2B and
B2C transactions.”
Foriba was founded in 1999 as an SAP systems
integrator and remains rooted in the market through its SAP OEM agreements and
blue-chip clients. With the operational structure to scale, Foriba further
solidifies Sovos’ SAP strategy to make it easier for multinational corporations
to approach tax compliance globally. Sovos will integrate Foriba solutions into
the Sovos S1 platform, which enables companies with multi-country operations to
centralize compliance to meet all global indirect tax requirements.
“Sovos has amassed the talent of entrepreneurs
and regulatory experts to deliver a leading scalable, end-to-end solution
capable of ensuring e-invoicing compliance in more than 60 countries,” said
Koray Gultekin Bahar, co-founder and CEO of Foriba. “Both Foriba and Sovos have
enthusiastic teams focused on product quality, customer experience and
competitive differentiation, and together we’re the clear choice in a global
market poised for growth.”
Steve Sprague, vice president and general
manager of the global VAT line of business at Sovos, said, “Combined, Sovos and
Foriba teams will provide expanded operational capabilities for professional
services, support and large-scale SAP projects. Our customers will also benefit
from Foriba’s solid R&D foundation and reliable products as we integrate
them into the S1 Platform and bring them to a broader market in Europe and
beyond.”
The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sovos
is owned by Hg, the London-based specialist private equity investor focused on
software and service businesses. Deloitte served as financial advisor to Sovos,
and Skadden and Akol provided legal counsel. Gökçe provided legal counsel to
Foriba and its investors, Revo and IFC.
“Turkey is a major world trade center, where
many of the world’s best-known brands have significant presence, and Foriba has
a tier-one client base running global ERP systems,” said John Gledhill, vice
president of corporate development for Sovos. “The company’s entrepreneurial
spirit is a cultural fit with Sovos, and together, we’re uniquely positioned to
fulfill our shared mission to help companies thrive in the new world of digital
tax.”
