Acquisitions

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Business Combinations [Abstract]

Acquisitions

7. Acquisitions

Business Ink, Co.  On February 28, 2018, we acquired Business Ink for a purchase price of approximately $70 million.  Business Ink was a central communications provider of outsourced, customized business communications services to the telecommunications, healthcare, financial services, utilities and government sectors across statements, email, mobile messaging and more.  The acquisition extended the scale of our operations and platform capabilities, expanded our customer base into new verticals, and further solidified our customer communications footprint.     

Forte Payment Systems, Inc.  On October 1, 2018, we acquired Forte for a purchase price of approximately $93 million (approximately $85 million, excluding cash acquired), of which approximately $13 million of the purchase price was initially held back subject to certain tax filings, and then paid in July 2019.  Forte was a leading provider of advanced payment solutions.  The acquisition accelerated our ability to offer a comprehensive suite of next generation payment solutions that enables service providers to provide a differentiated customer experience while also strengthening our position in the revenue management and payment sector and allowed us to grow our footprint into new verticals.  The purchase agreement also includes provisions for $18.8 million of potential future earn-out payments over a four-year measurement period.  The earn-out payments are tied to performance-based goals and a defined service period by the eligible recipients and is being accounted for as post-acquisition compensation.  As of December 31, 2019, we have accrued $2.5 million related to the potential earn-out payments. There were no material changes to Forte’s purchase accounting estimated fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed during 2019.

Subsequent Event – Tekzenit, Inc.  In January 2020, we acquired certain assets of Tekzenit, Inc. (“Tekzenit”) for a purchase price of approximately $10 million.  This acquisition will allow us to accelerate our go-to-market approach serving clients who are focused on improving their customers’ experience while transforming their business.  The purchase agreement includes provisions for additional purchase price payments in the form of earn-out and qualified sales payments for up to $10 million over a three-year measurement period upon meeting certain financial and sales criteria.  The results of Tekzenit will be included in our results of operations for the period subsequent to the acquisition date.