French business software provider Cegid has agreed to buy European Fintech Shine, as the accounting and payroll specialist pushes deeper into payments and prepares for a wave of mandatory e-invoicing reforms across the region.
The companies said they had signed a definitive agreement to combine, with Shine to sit inside Cegid’s small-business division after closing.
Financial terms were not disclosed and the transaction is subject to customary regulatory and other approvals.
Cegid, which sells cloud software for finance, HR, and retail, said the deal would expand its reach in small businesses and accountancy firms by adding Shine’s more than 400,000 customers and its banking-style digital business accounts and payments tools.
The combined group would serve more than one million SMBs and 15,000 accountants across markets including France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Belgium.
For Cegid, the tie-up is also a bet that small firms want fewer vendors.
Rather than stitching together invoicing, payroll, tax, and banking from different providers, Cegid is pitching a single hub that blends accounting workflows with embedded finance, a strategy that has gained momentum as software groups look for sticky, recurring revenue and more daily usage.
Shine, founded by entrepreneurs Rico Andersen and Martin Hegelund, offers digital business accounts and payments alongside invoicing, accounting and payroll tools for small firms.
It operates across France, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany, and is regulated in France as a payment institution.
Cegid said Shine’s technology stack would help it speed up product rollout and strengthen its offer to accountants, who often act as gatekeepers for small-business software purchasing.
Christian Lucas, chairman of Cegid and a managing partner at technology investor Silver Lake, said the combination would support the shift to e-invoicing across Europe.
Cegid reported revenue of 967 million euros for 2024 and said it sells in 130 countries, with more than 5,000 employees.