BILL Explores Sale After Pressure From Activist Investor Group

Finance platform BILL is reportedly considering a sale amid activist investor pressure from Starboard Value.

The potential sale is one of the options the company is exploring, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (Nov. 11), citing unnamed sources. BILL is working with a financial adviser to gauge interest from rivals and private equity outfits.

BILL did not respond to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

BILL, which provides payments and expense management services for hundreds of thousands of small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), has been struggling with lower customer spending and stiff competition, the report said.

The company is competing in an increasingly competitive B2B FinTech space.

“Incumbents like Intuit QuickBooks, PayPal and American Express, as well as newer players such as Ramp and Brex, are targeting SMBs with financial automation solutions, payments infrastructure and embedded finance products,” PYMNTS reported in February. “BILL’s differentiation, per its executives, lies in its integrated approach, offering a comprehensive suite that spans AP, AR, spend management and expense tracking.”

According to the Bloomberg report, Starboard Value formed a cooperation agreement with BILL last month after disclosing a stake earlier in the year. BILL named four new independent directors, including one Starboard pick, and announced it would hold an investor day in the first half of 2026.

There is ongoing consolidation among payments companies, with larger players and buyout firms buying up smaller companies, the report said. April brought one of the industry’s largest deals ever, when Global Payments agreed to buy Worldpay for more than $22 billion.

Mary Kay Bowman, executive vice president and general manager of payments and financial services at BILL, discussed the use of artificial intelligence in the SMB space with PYMNTS in June.

“Smaller businesses can’t compete with bigger businesses on scale, so they need to compete on smarts,” she said. “The smartest thing small businesses can do is use AI to unlock top-tier finance expertise and tools that were only ever available to enterprise companies.”

The best AI tools for SMBs aren’t flashy tech add-ons but rather ones designed specifically for small businesses, she said.

“Silicon Valley needs to be delivering AI that actually delivers tangible outcomes that small businesses need, saving time, improving accuracy and freeing up bandwidth to focus on growth,” she said.

For all PYMNTS B2B coverage, subscribe to the daily B2B Newsletter.