Report: Bain Could Sell Payroll Firm Zellis for $2.5 Billion

Bain Capital is reportedly weighing a sale of British payroll software company Zellis.

A sale could value Zellis at around $2.5 billion, Bloomberg News reported Thursday (Jan. 18), citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

Those sources said Bain has been talking about exit options with potential advisors and could begin the sale process earlier this year. The buyout firm could begin the process to sell Zellis — which it agreed to buy in 2017 — later this year, though Bain could also decide to hold onto the company, the sources said.

Reached by PYMNTS, Bain declined to comment.

The news comes a little more than a month after Bain sold a $448 million stake in India’s Axis Bank, which the company had purchased in November 2017, to a group of buyers that included Societe Generale, Goldman Sachs, UBS and Morgan Stanley.

According to the Zellis website, the company’s services include human resources and payroll software for companies in Ireland and the U.K., helping roughly 5 million employees get paid each month. Clients include Credit Suisse, carmakers Land Rover and Jaguar, Irish airline Aer Lingus and British department store Harrods.

Last year, the company teamed with Wagestream to debut its workforce finance platform MyView PayNow in the United Kingdom.

The platform is designed to provide financial wellness to employees and have a positive impact on recruitment, retention and productivity for employers, the companies said.

“Financial wellbeing is a strategic priority for HR leaders and boardrooms around the country,” Zellis CEO John Petter said in a news release. “It’s also one of Zellis’ key [environmental, social and governance (ESG)] commitments, supporting wellbeing for all through employee experiences which can be a catalyst for change.”

The company last year also found itself at the center of a widespread cyberattack, when a hack led to breaches at Pharmacy chain Boots, British Airways, the BBC and Aer Lingus.