Coupa Makes First Takeover As Public Firm

Corporate spend management software company Coupa has made its first takeover since going public last year.

The company announced Tuesday (Jan. 10) that it reached a deal to acquire Spend360, a U.K. firm that provides digital data management solutions, including data analytics, using machine learning and artificial intelligence, for corporate finance and procurement teams.

“Embedding Spend360 intelligence in the Coupa platform will make it easier for businesses to reduce risks in their supplier base, grow savings opportunities and increase efficiency and agility,” Coupa said in its announcement, adding that their combined data warehouse will manage the data of $1.3 trillion in corporate spend that has passed through the Coupa platform so far.

“When we created Spend360, we set out to automate the complex task of accurately classifying business spend data using the power of deep learning technology,” Spend360 Founder Paddy Lawton said in a statement. “Coupa gives us an opportunity to share our innovations with more customers and even larger data sets with a focus on network insights. We’re thrilled to be a part of the team.”

The companies added that Spend360’s solutions will be integrated into Coupa’s platform and available for corporate users later this year.

The takeover, the financial details of which were not disclosed, marks Coupa’s first acquisition since its IPO last October. The U.S. company saw a promising start on the public market after its shares more than doubled on its first day of trading.

Analysts at the time said the strength of the IPO underscored investors’ appetite for technology companies even if, like Coupa, they have yet to turn a profit. Its float came soon after the firm reported a net loss of $46.16 million for the 2015/16 fiscal year, a sharp increase from the $27.3 million loss it posted the same period a year prior.