Intuit to acquire Singapore’s TradeGecko for a reported $80m

US business and financial software company Intuit said it has entered into an agreement to acquire TradeGecko, a Singapore-based software-as-a-service company that develops online inventory and order management software for small businesses.

Financial details were not disclosed, but Intuit is said to be paying more than US$80 million for the deal, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.

TradeGecko CEO and co-founder Cameron Priest / Photo credit: TradeGecko

The transaction, which is expected to close in September, will see TradeGecko’s co-founders join Intuit and play roles in product and team integration, according to a statement.

Read: A cheat sheet of tech acquisitions in Southeast Asia

TradeGecko’s inventory and order management capabilities will also be integrated with Intuit-developed accounting platform QuickBooks’ suite of financial, payment, reporting and accounting tools.

According to a statement, the acquisition will allow the customers of QuickBooks Online to launch and manage products across both online and offline sales channels as well as manage orders and inventory fulfillment from various channels and across several inventory locations.

“Small businesses around the world are struggling to survive in this rapidly changing environment,” said Alex Chriss, executive vice president and general manager of QuickBooks. “The need for a single tool that can reduce operational complexity for product-based businesses is acute.”

Founded in 2012, TradeGecko served customers in more than 100 countries, processing over US$5 billion in gross merchandise volume. Its investors include Openspace Ventures, Wavemaker Partners, and 500 Startups, among others.

QuickBooks, meanwhile, serves more than 7 million small businesses around the world. It helps companies get paid, manage capital, and pay employees.

Cameron Priest, CEO and co-founder at TradeGecko, described the deal as an opportunity that his company “couldn’t pass up.”

Earlier this year, the startup laid off 35 of its 125 employees in an effort to “reduce costs and maintain growth,” Priest previously told Tech in Asia. He also said that the company was on track to break even this year.