The Sage Group Signs Deal to Acquire Connected Accounting Leader Lockstep®

Lockstep, the leader in connecting the world's accounting teams, today announced it has signed an agreement to be acquired by The Sage Group plc (FTSE: SGE), the leader in accounting, financial, HR, and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses. The acquisition brings the resources of Sage to Lockstep to accelerate the pursuit of automating accounting workflows between companies and gives Sage access to the complementary tools and skills to deliver on its ambition to become the trusted network for SMBs. Under the acquisition, Sage will support Lockstep's continued investment in innovative solutions, support it to expand developer APIs, and in the development of accounting integrations for third parties to create new applications and drive choice.

"Over the years it has become abundantly clear that Lockstep and Sage have the same vision for the future of the industry," said Peter Horadan, CEO and Co-founder of Lockstep. "Since inception, our mission has been to improve and transform the way companies do business with one another. This acquisition will provide Lockstep with the resources and global reach it needs to accelerate the development of connected accounting which is imperative for accountants, finance teams, and the companies they serve."

Lockstep launched publicly in October 2020 and closed a $10 million Series A in February of 2021. Lockstep solutions include applications to automate accounts receivable and accounts payable, the first and only free inbox solution allowing accounting staff to automate customer and vendor workflows in a single application. Lockstep's Platform API also enables third parties to develop financial and accounting applications. Today the platform already enables network connections into more than 40 different accounting solutions. Combined, its solutions have enabled Lockstep to build an informal digital network of over 26,000 companies. The acquisition will provide the additional resources needed to further entrench and expand Lockstep's existing partnerships and integrations with some of the accounting industry's leading businesses.

"We are incredibly excited about the resources this acquisition will bring, including new solutions for joint partners and new business benefits for our joint customers," said Horadan.

"Lockstep is a strategically important milestone in our growth strategy. Its complementary portfolio of solutions, resources, and know-how will accelerate our ambition to become the trusted network of SMBs. Working together we will continue to remove the barriers that limit accounting teams by streamlining their workflows, allowing them to drive productivity and efficiency, turning the back office into the catalyst for SMB digitalization and all the benefits that delivers," said Aaron Harris, Chief Technology Officer, Sage.

For more information on Lockstep, please visit: https://lockstep.io/

For more information on Sage, please visit: https://www.sage.com/en-gb/

About Lockstep:

Award-winning Lockstep® connects the world's accounting teams to help them work better together. The pioneer in Connected Accounting, Lockstep develops tools and platforms for fintech developers and accounting teams to automate workflows between the accounting systems that are at the heart of all businesses. For developers, Lockstep API is the easy, modern platform for building fintech applications that work with their customers' accounting systems. For accounting teams, Lockstep's applications automate accounts receivable and accounts payable workflows improving efficiency and cash flow. Based in Seattle, Lockstep has won numerous awards including the 2022 BIG Innovation Award and 2021 Top Cash Management Solution by CFO Outlook. Visit www.lockstep.io for more information.

About Sage:

Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of small and mid-sized businesses served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitizing business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis.