Tech giant Sage has sold its Swiss business for nearly £40m, as part of its ongoing efforts to streamline its business.
The Newcastle-headquartered business has sold its Swiss arm to Infoniqa for CHF 50m (£39m). The sum is payable in cash on the completion of the deal, which is subject to adjustment for net debt and working capital.
Sage, which specialises in creating accountancy software for businesses, announced its Swiss division was held for sale in its full-year results on November 20.
During the year ending September 20 2020, Sage's Swiss business brought in revenues of £25m and made an operating profit of £4m. This compares to its 2019 full-year results, which saw it bring in £29m in revenue and £8m in operating profit.
Sage added that the sale of the business is expected to complete within the next 12 months but is subject to certain closing conditions.
The international tech firm has been streamlining its business for a number of years by selling off business which it believes do not align with its core strategy, which largely relies on software as a service products.
Bosses at the firm first revealed in November plans to sell the division, which was first bought for £10.7m in 2005. The company said at the time it wanted to create a “simpler and more focused business” to reduce “exposure to non-core business lines and geographies”.
In December 2020 the company sold its Asian and Australian business for £95m but kept a number of its products which it said were still part of its core growth strategy.
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Earlier this year Sage tapped into the bond market for the first time and managed to raise £350m.
The FTSE 100 firm said it was planning to use the money to refinance its debt as well as put the cash to work on a number of general uses.
As well as its disposals, Sage has made a number of acquisitions in recent months.
Last month it bought Israeli AI firm Task Sheriff, saying the deal would strengthen its the experience it offers to its customers as emerging and advanced technologies drive benefits for businesses.
Sage has also invested more than £20m since December into start-ups aiming to help small and medium sized businesses simplify and digitise back-office operations including an investment in London fintech Countingup and a £17m minority stake in Brightpearl, which has bases in Bristol and Austin, Texas.