Thomson Reuters Offers $626 Million for eInvoicing Firm Pagero

Thomson Reuters plans to acquire Swedish eInvoicing firm Pagero for $626 million.

The technology and content company said in a Thursday (Jan. 11) press release that the offer follows a partnership between the two companies launched last year to create a suite of global indirect tax, reporting and eInvoicing capabilities as countries increasingly shift toward real-time digital tax systems.

“Pagero is a leading global provider of eInvoicing and indirect tax solutions, supporting customers as they navigate an ever-evolving regulatory and technology landscape,” Thomson Reuters President and CEO Steve Hasker said in the release. “Our successful commercial partnership with Pagero provides confidence in the strategic and cultural fit, and the opportunity to bring its eInvoicing capabilities together with our ONESOURCE indirect tax offerings — we’re excited about the growth potential of this combination.”

ONESOURCE, unveiled in October, is a centralized platform designed to streamline electronic invoicing management for multinational companies and help businesses comply with eInvoicing regulations that are being mandated worldwide.

The need for eInvoicing compliance has become more important as more than 80 countries have mandated this practice. That number is expected to increase by next year as nations prioritize tax reform and real-time reporting.

“We’re seeing an abundance of tax reforms and greater sophistication of tax authorities worldwide, and for tax departments in multinational corporations, this requires a step change in how they keep pace with new rules and regulations to mitigate risks for their business,” Ray Grove, head of product, transactional compliance, at Thomson Reuters, said at the time.

PYMNTS explored some of the changes to tax reporting rules in the U.S. in a December interview with Wendy Walker, solution principal at Sovos, who said these changes could catch some businesses off guard.

Companies that want to file forms like 1099s with the IRS must have transmitter control codes (TCCs) in place, she said These are issued by the IRS to identify who’s sending third-party information to the agency.

For years, getting a TCC was a paper-based process. Now, however, things are getting more digital. She cautioned that businesses need to pay attention to the TCC modernization.

“You don’t want to roll the dice here,” she said, and hope that last year’s 1099 filing process still holds up.