Paychex Expands With Lessor Acquisition

Payroll and human capital management company Paychex is growing through the acquisition of industry peer Lessor Group.

The companies said Thursday (March 1) that small business (SMB)-targeting Paychex will acquire the payroll software company, which is based in Denmark. Lessor offers its own platform with Microsoft Dynamics as well as a cloud-based platform, offered to businesses under various brand names across northern Europe.

“Paychex’s international strategy has been to grow in Europe beyond our Germany operation,” said Paychex President and CEO Martin Mucci in a statement. “This acquisition gives us significant client and revenue growth opportunities, and it will deliver value for business owners that helps make it easier for them to be efficient and compliant. Our two organizations share a commitment to businesses in the markets we serve, and the combination of Lessor’s payroll and [human capital management (HCM)] software products and Paychex’s full-service [business process outsourcing (BPO)] service bureau capabilities will provide a complete technology-enabled services platform in our markets.”

The executive added that Paychex will continue international expansion over the next couple of years, with a focus on Europe.

In another statement, Lessor Group CEO Peter Colsted said he is “proud Paychex recognizes our history of market leadership, the strength of our solution portfolio and the dedicated team which we have built over the past couple of years in particular.”

“Becoming a part of Paychex will enable us to build new, innovative solutions by leveraging Paychex’s expertise within the HCM market, as well as accelerate our international growth,” Colsted added.