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Deel Acquires Capbase to Launch a New Equity Management Product

Deel Acquires Capbase to Launch a New Equity Management Product
  • Payroll and compliance company Deel is acquiring digital governance platform Capbase.
  • Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
  • Deel will leverage Capbase’s expertise to launch a new product dedicated to equity management and issuance.

It has been a week of consolidation in the capitalization table management space. Fidelity announced plans to acquire Shoobx this week, and payroll and compliance company Deel recently unveiled that it is acquiring digital governance platform Capbase.

Deel, which launched as a payroll and compliance platform for international employees and contractors, has acquired one of the biggest players in the capitalization table management arena, Capbase. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Deel will leverage Capbase’s expertise to launch equity management and issuance services that can help businesses operating with legal and tax questions such as taxable events, local laws, required reporting, and more– across 90 different geographic regions.

“We looked at U.S. compliance and realized it was a very, very hard thing to do,” Deel Co-founder Alex Bouaziz told TechCrunch in an interview. “Equity is such an important part of companies, so enabling other companies to grant it across geographies and at scale felt like something we should tackle.”

Capbase was founded in 2018 to help startups manage the complexities of securities transactions. The company’s services range from helping companies with incorporation, setting up their board, purchasing shares, managing their capitalization table, finding funding, and facilitating due diligence for potential investors and buyers. Capbase has raised a total of $6 million in funding.

After the deal closes, Capbase will continue with business as usual, but Deel will leverage the company’s expertise to launch a new product dedicated to equity management and issuance. All of Capbase’s 20 employees will join the Deel team.

San Francisco-based Deel was founded in 2018 and enables companies to hire employees across the globe and pay them in more than 150 currencies. The company was valued at $12 billion last May and has raised a total of $680 million in funding. Deel has made a total of five acquisitions, including this week’s Capbase buy. Deel’s previous acquisitions have focused on payroll, HR, and work visa management.


Photo by Karolina Grabowska