EQT closes $1.7B Billtrust acquisition, names new CEO

Just days after EQT X fund – part of global investment organization EQT – closed on its previously announced $1.7 billion acquisition of BTRS Holdings, the company announced a new chief executive officer. 

First announced Sept. 28, the acquisition of Lawrenceville-based BTRS Holdings – more commonly known as Billtrust – received shareholder approval on Dec. 13. Under the terms of the deal, Billtrust shareholders will receive $9.50 per share in cash. 

On Dec. 19, Billtrust said Sunil Rajasekar was named CEO, succeeding company founder Flint Lane, who will remain on the board of directors of the now-private company. 

Experienced leading B2B and financial services companies, Rajasekar most recently was president of Mindbody, a leading experience technology platform for the fitness, wellness and beauty industries. 

Before that, he was general manager at e-commerce company eBay, chief technology officer for Lithium Technologies and vice president at Intuit. Rajasekar also serves on the board of Duck Creek Technologies and Storable. 

“Today marks the beginning of the next chapter for Billtrust, and I’m excited to see Sunil, a strong business leader with a robust technology background, take the reins to lead the company through its next stage of growth and maturation,” Lane said in a statement.  

Lane, who thanked all parties involved in the deal, said he was “immensely grateful for the opportunity to have led the remarkable Billtrust team for the past 21 years, and I look forward to working closely with Sunil and the management team as a member of our board of directors.” 

Rajasekar said he was “honored” to lead Billtrust, describing it as “a special company with a great culture that solves a real business need for customers by removing the challenges around their order-to-cash processes,” a function that he said is even more important “in today’s macro environment where managing a company’s cash flow and customer satisfaction is critical.” 

Rajasekar added that he was eager to collaborate with Lane as a board member. 

Billtrust provides its customers cloud-based software and integrated payment processing solutions in order to simplify and automate B2B commerce. 

For the acquisition, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Billtrust, and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP acted as legal counsel to Billtrust. 

Evercore served as financial advisor to EQT, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP acted as legal counsel to EQT.