Cred buys corp expense mgmt company Happay for $180mn

Bengaluru: Credit card bill payment platform Cred is buying corporate expense management firm Happay in a cash and stock deal valuing the latter at $180 million (Rs 1,350 crore).
The move will bring in synergies between Cred, the majority of whose members are professionals who use it to manage personal payments across multiple credit cards, and Happay, a unified platform for business expenses, payments, and travel bookings.While Happay will operate as a separate entity, the team will work closely with Cred's leadership to leverage its ecosystem, build distribution, expand the product offering and drive scale. Happay’s 230-member team will get all the benefits extended to Cred team members, including its ESOP programme.
Happay was founded by IIT Kharagpur graduates Anshul Rai and Varun Rathi. Both graduated in 2010. Rai then spent two years at Microsoft Research Lab, and Rathi at the Tata Group. They founded Happay in 2012.
Happay serves over 6,000 businesses, and manages work-related expenses for over 1 million users globally with $1 billion in annual spending. Its customers include the Tata group, PwC, Maruti, Oyo, Byju's and Udaan. Happay’s software stack and in-house payment engine along with its ease of use will complement the card management experience that Cred members enjoy for their personal expenses.
Kunal Shah, founder of Cred, said, “Turning the pain of credit card management into a delight has enabled Cred to grow rapidly over the past three years. With professional expenses forming a significant portion of credit card spending, bringing professional expense management into the Cred ecosystem is a natural extension of our proposition. Happay’s product strength, customer experience, and vision align with our intent at Cred to reward responsible financial behaviour and we’re excited to partner them in their journey towards leading the category.”
Rai, CEO of Happay, said they invested in building a category-defining product. "The next phase of our growth will come from building scale, brand, and distribution,” he said.