Pento, founded in Copenhagen, Denmark and now headquartered in London, has been acquired in a £32 million deal.
Israeli human resources tech giant HiBob – the leading HR platform in the UK – has moved for the payroll automation platform. The deal is subject to closing conditions.
Founded in 2017, Pento raised approximately $54 million and is backed by investors including Tiger Global, Seedcamp, The Phoenix Group/LocalGlobe, General Catalyst and Avid Ventures.
Following the release of HiBob’s Payroll Hub in 2021, the acquisition represents the next step in the company’s payroll offering. It will enable HiBob to provide an ‘all-in-one’ experience with payroll as part of the Bob offering, allowing UK businesses to efficiently solve payroll complexity.
Pento leverages real-time payment automation to deliver a fast, simplified, and error-free approach to payroll management. The company’s forward-thinking, self-service approach to payroll stands in stark contrast to the error-prone manual processes prevalent with traditional payroll processes.
Pento has reduced payment processing from weeks to minutes for more than 400 UK customers, many of which are already using the Bob platform.
“Payroll and HRIS work hand-in-hand with strong synergies. The ultimate goal is an ‘all-in-one’ solution, where all aspects of people management are handled from a single platform. The deeper the integration, the better the overall experience,” said Ronni Zehavi, CEO and co-founder at HiBob.
“With this acquisition, we are providing our thousands of customers in the UK with more flexibility and ease of use in how they manage their number one asset – their people.
“Pento’s modern approach, along with their strong founders and proven track record, make them a solid complement to our business. We are thrilled to be welcoming their team to HiBob.”
Jonas Bøgh Larsen, co-founder and CEO at Pento, added: “We are incredibly proud of what the Pento team has achieved over the years, and this milestone is no different. We can’t wait to see the opportunities it will unlock when we pair this with the best HRIS on the market.”
Deutsche Bank served as strategic advisor for HiBob and Menalto Advisors was the advisor for Pento on the transaction.