Clear strengthens compliance suite; acquires CimplyFive for undisclosed sum

Fintech SaaS company Clear (formerly ClearTax) announced the acquisition of CimplyFive, a cloud-hosted application that automates Company Law and SEBI Listing Obligations (LODR) compliance in an all-cash deal. The financial details of the deals were not disclosed.

This is Clear’s second company acquisition in 2022 after it acquired Xpedize, an invoice discounting platform, in March. Clear has made four acquisitions, including YBANQ in 2021 and Karvy's GST business in 2020.

Timely and accurate compliance is a crucial purview of the CFO's office. An essential component of compliance is adhering fully to the Companies Act. Clear saw that CFOs and Board of Directors have started to be proactive on strong governance and controls with respect to the Companies Act and want to be highly organised and transparent with record-keeping and reporting, said the company in a statement. CimplyFive will further expand Clear’s CFO compliance suite to other areas beyond Direct and Indirect Tax. 

With this acquisition, Clear’s enterprise customers will have access to comprehensive Compliance Risk Management Software that eliminates many procedural non-compliance under the Companies Act, 2013. 

“This acquisition will not just make our compliance suite larger but also stronger. We are committed to serving the CFO's office comprehensively”, said Archit Gupta, Founder and CEO, Clear, at the acquisition announcement. 

Founded in 2014 by Shankar Jaganathan and invested in by prominent ex-CFOs like Mohandas Pai and Suresh Senapaty, CimplyFive has scores of enterprise customers, including Fabindia, Premji Invest, Crompton, Tata-Hitachi, TVS Group, Jubilant Group and Wipro, among others. The founder and the team of CimplyFive will function as an independent platform for now as a part of Clear. Founder Shankar J will continue to lead this business.