M&A Acquirer Playbook

Paylocity Holding Corp acquisition history.

Every deal, price, and strategic rationale.

Company Paylocity Holding Corp

SEC CIK 0001591698

Tracked filings EDGAR · 8-K

Total deals tracked

Disclosed 8-K acquisitions, 2020 — present.

Aggregate disclosed value

$470M

Approximately $470 million across 5 disclosed acquisitions — from sub-$20M product tuck-ins to the $325M Airbase platform deal.

Active acquisition years

2020 · 2021 · 2022 · 2024

a steady cadence of one to two tuck-ins per active year.

Primary sectors

Cloud HR & payroll software extending into the modern workforce and the Office of the CFO

collaboration & video (VidGrid, Samepage), global payroll (Blue Marble), integration automation (Cloudsnap) and spend management (Airbase).

Verified 5 deals on this page · sourced from SEC filings + 5 earnings transcripts

7 cross-references pending verification

* March 2018: BeneFLEX (benefits administration)
* April 2020: VidGrid (video-based learning platform)
* November 2020: Samepage (team collaboration solution)
* September 2021: Blue Marble Payroll (international payroll services)
* January 2022: Cloudsnap (video platform for employee engagement)
* December 2023: Trace (headcount planning tool)
* September 2024: Airbase Inc. (spending management software)

Cross-references found in other public sources (e.g., Wikipedia) but not yet incorporated into the deal book. Comprehensive deal-count verification (incl. sub-material tuck-ins) is pending 10-K Business Combinations integration.

Timeline

5 deals, $470M deployed.

Plotted by close date where disclosed, otherwise announcement. Click any marker to jump to the deal entry.

The playbook

The rationale that repeats.

Three patterns show up across Paylocity Holding's deal book — what the team buys, how it pays, and how it integrates. The patterns are the throughline; the individual deals below are the evidence.

Acquisition criteria

Buy the partner, then own the roadmap.

Paylocity repeatedly acquired companies it had already worked with - it ran a video-enabled LMS with VidGrid for years and had partnered with Blue Marble since 2013 - converting proven integrations into owned product. The pattern lowers integration risk: by the time a deal closes, the target's technology is already validated inside Paylocity's suite.

VidGridSamepage Labs Inc.Blue Marble PayrollCloudsnapAirbase Inc.

Capital deployment

Tuck-ins that fill product gaps, not buy revenue.

The first four deals (VidGrid, Samepage, Cloudsnap, Blue Marble) were small, all-cash purchases under $61M, each described as immaterial or sub-2% of revenue and each adding a specific capability - video learning, collaboration, integration automation, international payroll - rather than scale. They were funded from cash or short-lived credit draws repaid within the same quarter.

VidGridSamepage Labs Inc.Blue Marble PayrollCloudsnapAirbase Inc.

Integration approach

Airbase marks the step-change into the Office of the CFO.

After years of sub-$61M tuck-ins, the ~$325M all-cash Airbase merger in 2024 was an order-of-magnitude larger and strategically different: it pushed Paylocity beyond HCM into finance and spend management, aiming to let its ~40,000 clients manage payroll and non-payroll spend on one platform. It was funded by a revolving-credit draw, signaling a willingness to lever up for a platform-expanding deal.

VidGridSamepage Labs Inc.Blue Marble PayrollCloudsnapAirbase Inc.

Deal book · 5 acquisitions

The full deal book.

5 acquisitions. Click any row to see the deal value, financing structure, target revenue, executive commentary, and the original SEC filing — the evidence behind the patterns above.

VidGrid is an interactive video platform that goes beyond recording, hosting and sharing to turn video into a two-way conversation, enabling peer-to-peer video learning courses. Paylocity had already worked with VidGrid for several years to deliver a video-enabled learning management system (LMS) to clients before acquiring it.

Why it was attractive

01 Existing multi-year partnership powering Paylocity's LMS
02 rising client demand for video communication created a clear path to expand the relationship into ownership

Capabilities acquired

Interactive videopeer-to-peer video learningvideo-enabled LMSworkplace video communication

We are constantly looking for opportunities to make our product suite even more useful for our clients. We believe video will play a critical role in transforming workplace communication. VidGrid's approach aligns with our culture of caring deeply for our clients and we couldn't be more excited to welcome their talented and innovative team to Paylocity.

Steve Beauchamp CEO, Paylocity

We couldn't be more proud to join forces with a company like Paylocity. The Paylocity team shares our vision that video has the power to shape the future of workplace communication, and we're looking forward to driving stronger collaboration for organizations everywhere.

Nick Stokman Co-founder and CEO, VidGrid

Post-close · earnings-call commentary

Steve Beauchamp, FY2020 Q4 earnings call: "we also deepened our strength in video communication capabilities via the acquisition of VidGrid in early April, a leading video platform provider that enables peer-to-peer video learning courses. We believe video will play a critical role in transforming workplace communication, and we see an opportunity to leverage VidGrid's video capabilities more broadly."

Deal value

$17.3M

$17.3 million (cash; $17,256 thousand purchase price per FY2020 10-K)

Terms

AnnouncedApr 2020

ClosedApr 2020

StructureFull acquisition

Considerationall cash

Financials

Cash impact / synergiesDeeper native video across Paylocity's learning and collaboration modules; expanded employee engagement and retention tooling.

Deal facts

GeographyUnited States

SegmentModern workforce / employee collaboration & learning (video platform)

Integration unitFolded into Paylocity's modern workforce / LMS product suite

Integration timelineClosed April 3, 2020; announced April 6, 2020. Integration into the learning suite began immediately post-close.

Not disclosed in filing Target revenue / EBITDA

Fundingall cash.

SEC 8-K · VidGrid

Paylocity FY2020 Q4 earnings call (Quartr)

Samepage is an all-in-one team collaboration suite delivering work solutions through a cloud-based platform, combining file sharing, task management, screen sharing and real-time document co-editing for the modern workforce.

Why it was attractive

01 Collaboration tooling that extended Paylocity's existing Community module and answered client demand to consolidate the number of daily-use workplace solutions

Capabilities acquired

Task managementfile sharingreal-time document collaborationscreen sharingteam workspaces

We've always viewed our clients as the co-creators of our products, and joining forces with Samepage is another way we're responding to their needs. We're thrilled to add Samepage's solutions to our portfolio, as this will provide us the opportunity to offer advanced collaboration capabilities extending beyond what is currently available to our clients in our Community module.

Steve Beauchamp CEO, Paylocity

We are thrilled to join the Paylocity family. The Paylocity team shares our vision that organizations are far more productive when their employees can communicate, manage projects, collaborate and share screens in a single workspace.

Scott Schreiman Founder and CEO, Samepage

Post-close · earnings-call commentary

Paylocity earnings commentary: "in November, we announced our acquisition of Samepage, which provides an all-in-one team collaboration solution that includes task management, file sharing, real-time document collaboration, and more. We are now focused on building the Samepage collaboration functionality into the Paylocity suite."

Deal value

$15.0M

$15.0 million (cash; $15,018 thousand purchase price per FY2021 10-K)

Terms

AnnouncedNov 2020

ClosedNov 2020

StructureFull acquisition

Considerationall cash

Financials

Cash impact / synergiesAdvanced collaboration capabilities embedded into the Paylocity suite beyond the existing Community module; improved remote-work productivity and engagement.

Deal facts

GeographyUnited States

SegmentModern workforce / team collaboration software

Integration unitIntegrated into the Paylocity modern workforce suite / Community module

Integration timelineClosed November 13, 2020; announced November 16, 2020. Collaboration features were being built into the Paylocity suite post-close.

Not disclosed in filing Target revenue / EBITDA

Fundingall cash.

SEC 8-K · Samepage Labs Inc.

Paylocity FY2021 Q2 earnings call (Quartr)

Blue Marble Payroll is a global payroll provider whose platform enables U.S.-based companies to manage payroll for employees outside the U.S. across more than 150 countries, serving roughly 450 clients with about 75 employees. Founded in 2013, it had partnered with Paylocity since its start to support shared clients' international payroll needs.

Why it was attractive

01 An eight-year partner already serving Paylocity's shared clients' international payroll needs
02 with a differentiated hybrid service model and reach across 150+ countries

Capabilities acquired

International payroll across 150+ countriesglobal payroll compliancehybrid service model with U.S.-based project managers and local payroll experts

As the hybrid workforce becomes more predominant, there is an opportunity to help companies expand internationally, deliver greater automation, and unify payroll systems. With this move, we have the ability to work with a trusted partner to build an automated, fully integrated customer experience -- with clients able to manage domestic and international payroll in one platform.

Steve Beauchamp CEO, Paylocity

Post-close · earnings-call commentary

Paylocity CFO, FY2022 Q2 earnings call: "we are maintaining the margin percentage guidance despite the roughly 50 basis points of dilutive impact of Blue Marble and Cloudsnap."

Deal value

$60.0M

$60.0 million in cash at closing ($60,961 thousand total purchase price per FY2022 10-K)

Terms

AnnouncedSep 2021

ClosedAug 2021

StructureFull acquisition

Considerationall cash

Financials

Target revenue / EBITDAExpected to represent less than 2% of Paylocity total revenue in fiscal 2022 (per announcement)

Cash impact / synergiesUnified domestic and international payroll on one platform; greater automation and compliance for clients managing international workforces.

Deal facts

GeographyUnited States headquartered; international payroll operations across 150+ countries

SegmentGlobal / international payroll

Integration unitOperated as Paylocity's international payroll capability within the broader payroll suite

Integration timelineAcquisition completed August 31, 2021 (equity interests acquired at signing); announced September 1, 2021. An entity affiliated with Chairman and largest stockholder Steven I. Sarowitz was the largest Blue Marble equityholder (related-party transaction).

Fundingall cash.

SEC 8-K · Blue Marble Payroll

Paylocity FY2022 Q2 earnings call (Quartr)

Cloudsnap is a flexible, low-code solution for integrating disparate business applications. Its integration automation platform facilitates development and deployment of API integrations, allowing clients to automate data flows across systems such as HR, ERP, CRM and financial applications.

Why it was attractive

01 Low-code integration technology that let Paylocity connect its HCM data to clients' ERP
02 CRM and other mission-critical systems
03 closing a gap legacy HCM vendors had left open

Capabilities acquired

Low-code API integrationintegration automation (iPaaS)automated data flows across ERPs/CRMs/HCMsseamless system integration

Legacy HCM vendors have not designed their systems to support end-to-end processes and data flows across third-party systems, yet HR touches virtually every part of an organization. This acquisition will accelerate the speed and flexibility with which organizations can connect data and insights from Paylocity to other mission-critical business applications.

Steve Beauchamp CEO, Paylocity

Data drives businesses, but organizations still struggle with multiple systems that don't connect to each other, and integration continues to pose major challenges to business agility. We're thrilled to join Paylocity at a time when the HR function is so instrumental for a company's success.

Matt Bradley CEO, Cloudsnap

Post-close · earnings-call commentary

Paylocity CFO, FY2022 Q3 earnings call: "we've driven scale across our business to more than offset the roughly 50 basis points of dilutive impact of the Blue Marble and Cloudsnap acquisitions."

Deal value

$50.0M

$50.0 million (cash; $50,002 thousand purchase price per FY2022 10-K)

Terms

AnnouncedJan 2022

ClosedJan 2022

StructureFull acquisition

Considerationall cash

Financials

Target revenue / EBITDAExpected immaterial impact to Q3 and fiscal 2022 financial results (per announcement)

Cash impact / synergiesModern, automated integrations and data sharing across HR, Finance and Benefits; greater platform flexibility and faster client integrations.

Deal facts

GeographyUnited States

SegmentIntegration automation / iPaaS for HCM and finance systems

Integration unitIntegration automation capability within the Paylocity platform

Integration timelineClosed January 18, 2022 via merger; announced January 19, 2022. Funded in part by a $50.0 million credit-facility draw that was repaid in the same fiscal quarter.

Fundingall cash.

SEC 8-K · Cloudsnap

Paylocity FY2022 Q3 earnings call (Quartr)

Airbase is a modern finance and spend management software solution combining bill pay / accounts payable automation, expense management, corporate cards and procurement. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in San Francisco, it had approximately 300 employees across the U.S., Canada, India and the Philippines and more than 500 clients, focused on the 100-5,000 employee segment.

Why it was attractive

01 A modern
02 multi-product spend-management suite serving 500+ mid-market clients that extended Paylocity's reach from HR into finance and the Office of the CFO
03 with a unified payroll-plus-spend value proposition

Capabilities acquired

Bill pay / AP automationexpense managementcorporate cardsprocurementintegration ecosystem (NetSuiteSage IntacctQuickBooks)workflow automation

I'm very excited about the acquisition of Airbase, which we believe will allow us to provide companies with an integrated software platform to manage all aspects of their operational spend. Airbase represents an exciting opportunity to expand our relationship with our nearly 40,000 clients to offer an integrated software platform for running their business operations.

Toby Williams President and CEO, Paylocity

Post-close · earnings-call commentary

Paylocity earnings Q&A (FY2026): management was asked to "build on the Airbase acquisition, just kind of the strategic rationale and how should investors be thinking about the synergies or the strategic aspects there," tying it to the company's product-expansion growth algorithm and the ability to sell more product across the target market.

Deal value

$325M

Approximately $325 million in cash at announcement ($320.2 million net of cash acquired at close, per FY2025 10-K)

Terms

AnnouncedAug 2024

ClosedOct 2024

StructureMerger

Considerationall cash

Financials

Cash impact / synergiesSingle pane of glass across payroll and non-payroll spend; real-time visibility, faster financial close, improved planning and stronger financial controls as a differentiator against HCM-only competitors.

Deal facts

GeographyHeadquartered in San Francisco; employees in the United States, Canada, India and the Philippines

SegmentSpend management / Office of the CFO (finance software)

Integration unitAirbase finance / spend management offering integrated with the Paylocity HCM platform

Integration timelineAnnounced August 29, 2024 (press release September 4, 2024); merger closed October 1, 2024. Funded by a $325.0 million draw on the revolving credit facility, of which $162.5 million was repaid in the second half of fiscal 2025.

Not disclosed in filing Target revenue / EBITDA

Fundingall cash.

SEC 8-K · Airbase Inc.

Paylocity FY2026 earnings call (Quartr)

End of deal book

5 acquisitions · $470M deployed ·2020 — present

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5 deals, $470M deployed.

The rationale that repeats.

Buy the partner, then own the roadmap.

Tuck-ins that fill product gaps, not buy revenue.

Airbase marks the step-change into the Office of the CFO.

The full deal book.

Bring this depthto every deal.

Bring this depth
to every deal.