Bottomline Technologies
The 1989 paper-check-killer that IPO'd in 1999 and spent 23 years as a public fintech before Thoma Bravo's $2.6B take-private in May 2022 — a textbook PE deal with a 42% premium and a day-one CEO swap.
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- Location
- Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States
- Country
- United States
- Founded
- 1989, in Exeter, New Hampshire, by Daniel McGurl (co-founder Jim Loomis)
- Headquarters
- Pease International Tradeport, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
- Ownership
- Private since May 2022 (Thoma Bravo); formerly Nasdaq-listed (IPO 1999)
- Known for
- B2B payments, cash management, fraud and financial-crime software for banks and corporations
- Take-private
- Thoma Bravo, all-cash $2.6B at $57/share, completed May 13, 2022
Overview
Bottomline Technologies spent 33 years trying to kill the paper check — and ended as a textbook private-equity take-private. Founded in Exeter, New Hampshire in 1989 by Daniel McGurl, with co-founder Jim Loomis shaping product strategy and culture, the company was built on the then-novel idea that businesses did not need pre-cut paper checks to make payments and could use an electronic automated system instead (NH Business Review). It went public in 1999 at $19 a share and spent 23 years as a listed fintech before Thoma Bravo’s $2.6 billion all-cash acquisition closed on May 13, 2022, at $57 a share — ending its run on Nasdaq (NH Business Review; NH Business Review). The take-private is independently verified across multiple reports: announced December 2021, overwhelmingly approved by shareholders on March 8, 2022, and completed that May (NH Business Review; PitchBook).
What Bottomline sold
By the time of the sale, Bottomline had grown far beyond check replacement into a diversified B2B financial-technology provider: payments and cash management, fraud and financial-crime management, securities management, and financial-documentation automation for financial institutions worldwide (Electronic Payments International). Its customer list included UK digital bank Starling, Revolut, Hargenant Group and TD Bank, and in November 2021 it had closed the purchase of Bora Payment Systems, adding bank channel relationships to its Paymode-X electronic payment network (Electronic Payments International). The company employed roughly 2,000 people worldwide — about a quarter of them at its 100,000-square-foot, four-story headquarters at the Pease International Tradeport in Portsmouth, built in 2000 — with additional offices across the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific (NH Business Review).
The deal and the day-one CEO swap
The transaction’s shape was classic late-stage private equity. Thoma Bravo — the San Francisco software-focused firm with more than $91 billion under management — agreed to pay $57 in cash per share, a 42% premium to the price Bottomline stock traded at before the company announced it was exploring a sale, and a 41% premium to its 30-day volume-weighted average price on October 19, 2021 (NH Business Review; Electronic Payments International). Bloomberg broke the news of the possible sale and Barron’s confirmed it, after Bottomline had hired Deutsche Bank to explore strategic options (NH Business Review). At the announcement, Eberle called the deal “an exciting next chapter” that would bring resources to build on the company’s leadership position and accelerate go-to-market efforts, while Thoma Bravo managing partner Holden Spaht pointed to the large and growing B2B payments market as the opportunity (NH Business Review).
NHBR’s account of the closing captures the PE playbook in miniature. Three days before the deal closed, Bottomline filed its last quarterly report as a public company: $795 million in assets ($118 million in cash) against $379 million in liabilities, leaving $417 million in equity; the quarter brought $132 million in revenue — nearly all subscriptions, up 12% year over year — but a $7.5 million net loss, wider than the prior year’s $4.8 million (NH Business Review). Fiscal-year-to-date the company had lost $29 million while paying executives $42 million in stock-based compensation; CEO Rob Eberle alone had been paid $6.4 million the prior fiscal year, $5.8 million of it in stock awards (NH Business Review). One of Thoma Bravo’s first acts was to replace Eberle — CEO since 2006, at the company since 1998 — with Craig Saks, formerly of ACI Worldwide, whose SEC filing noted an “existing relationship with Thoma Bravo” without elaborating (NH Business Review). Eberle stayed on as a strategic advisor through June 30 for a $34,476 monthly consulting fee (NH Business Review).
What this profile does not claim
- It does not claim anything about Bottomline’s scale, financials or strategy after May 2022 — no fetched source covered the private company, and private-company figures are not independently available.
- It does not treat the 41% and 42% premium figures as conflicting: they measure against different baselines (30-day VWAP vs. unaffected closing price, both as of October 19, 2021), and both are stated with those baselines.
- It does not repeat the exact announcement day; only December 2021 is stated, per the verified record.
- It does not cite the Paypers’ voting-agreement/regulatory-approval details (page failed to load) or Bloomberg Law’s adviser item (paywalled).
- The Eberle and Thoma Bravo quotes above come via NHBR’s and EPI’s independent reporting of the announcement, not from company-issued materials.
Timeline
- 1989
- Daniel McGurl founds Bottomline in Exeter, New Hampshire, with co-founder Jim Loomis, on the idea that companies could replace pre-cut paper checks with an electronic automated system.
- 1999
- Bottomline goes public; its stock opens at $19 a share.
- 2021
- In December, Thoma Bravo agrees to acquire Bottomline in an all-cash $2.6B deal at $57 a share, a 42% premium to the unaffected closing price; the company will become privately held on completion.
- 2022
- Shareholders approve the deal on March 8 and Thoma Bravo completes the acquisition on May 13; CEO Rob Eberle is replaced by Craig Saks and the stock leaves Nasdaq.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- The exact announcement day (a Friday evening in December 2021) is reported by NHBR's Dec 19, 2021 piece; the profile states December 2021 to stay within the verified record.
- The 41% and 42% premium figures use different baselines (30-day volume-weighted average price vs. unaffected closing price, both as of Oct 19, 2021); both are stated with their baselines.
- No fetched source gave Bottomline's post-2022 private-company financials; the profile claims nothing about its current scale or performance.
- The Paypers' report of voting agreements and HSR/FCA approvals failed to load on fetch and is not cited; Bloomberg Law's adviser item was paywalled and is not cited.
Sources
4 sources (4 tier 2), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
Built entirely from independent sources fetched and read in full; no first-party sources used per editorial policy. Wikipedia used only as a lead index, never cited. The Thoma Bravo take-private is verified from multiple independent reports, not company statements.
- Supports: Dec 2021 announcement (Thoma Bravo all-cash $2.6B, $57/share); founded 1989 in Exeter by Daniel McGurl, co-founder Jim Loomis, to replace pre-cut paper checks; IPO 1999 opened at $19; Pease International Tradeport HQ (100,000 sq ft, four stories, built 2000); ~2,000 employees, offices across US/Europe/APAC; founders left board in 2016; Bloomberg broke the sale story, Barron's confirmed; Deutsche Bank explored strategic options; expected Q2 2022 close; Thoma Bravo >$91B AUM (Sept 30, 2021); Eberle announcement quote as reported Open original source
- Supports: Deal completed May 13, 2022 at $57/share; announced in December, shareholders approved March 8; 42% premium to pre-sale price; last quarterly report as a public company (filed 3 days before close): $795M assets ($118M cash), $379M liabilities, $417M equity; Q3 FY (calendar Q1): $132M revenue (+12% YoY, nearly all subscriptions), $7.5M net loss (18 cents/share); FYTD loss $29M vs $42M executive stock-based compensation; Eberle prior-FY pay $6.4M ($5.8M stock awards); Eberle replaced by Craig Saks (ex-ACI Worldwide; 'existing relationship with Thoma Bravo' per SEC filing); Eberle CEO since 2006, joined 1998; strategic advisor through June 30 at $34,476/month Open original source
- Supports: All-cash ~$2.6B; $57/share = 41% premium to 30-day VWAP on Oct 19, 2021; expected Q2 2022 completion taking Bottomline private; board approved, awaiting regulator/shareholder clearance; product lines (payments and cash management, fraud and financial crime management, securities management, financial documentation automation); customers Starling, Revolut, Hargenant Group, TD Bank; November 2021 Bora Payment Systems acquisition adding bank channel relationships to the Paymode-X network Open original source
- Supports: Confirms the completed take-private at approximately $2.6B Open original source
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