Sale of Akao to Sage
Advised by Largillière Finance, Akao joins Sage to accelerate the digitalization of businesses
- This acquisition positions Sage as one of the leading providers of end-to-end digital invoicing solutions
- A strategic decision aimed at helping French SMEs and mid-market companies prepare for the electronic invoicing reform scheduled for September 2026
Akao, a French expert in flow automation and digitalization, joins Sage, a leader in accounting, financial, HR, and payroll technologies for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This sale, advised by Largillière Finance, enables Sage to strengthen its position in a market profoundly transformed by the arrival of electronic invoicing in September 2026.
Akao is a long-standing partner of Sage as an Independent Software Vendor (ISV), serving more than 2,700 SMEs and mid-market companies and processing over 100,000 invoices per day. The Akao solution covers the entire invoicing lifecycle, from receiving and processing supplier invoices to issuing customer invoices. It enables companies to simplify and digitalize their operations, strengthen their internal controls, and improve their productivity and the visibility of their financial process by leveraging a comprehensive workflow engine and document management capabilities.
As technological innovations accelerate and the electronic invoicing reform draws closer, companies must reach a critical milestone in their digital transformation. Indeed, according to a recent study by Sage, only one in four SMEs feels ready to tackle these changes, despite the significant impact expected on their financial processes. Akao’s AI-based SaaS solution provides a concrete response to these challenges by combining accounting automation, document digitalization, digital archiving, compliance, and comprehensive process management—offering companies a reliable and fully digitalized environment to manage their invoicing flows.
Fully integrated into Sage 100 and Sage FRP 1000 since 2020 under the names Sage Automatisation Comptable and Sage FRP 1000 Dématérialisation, the solution is now an integral part of the Sage Network, ensuring that customers benefit from a unified, compliant, and scalable platform.
2026
Largillière Finance Experts
- Nathanaël Blanc
- Guillaume Segonne
Counterpart
Millions of businesses in France are adapting to prepare for the electronic invoicing reform. By joining forces with Akao, Sage is uniquely positioned to support companies through this crucial transition, helping them to easily maintain compliance while reaching new levels of efficiency, traceability, and growth
Arnaud Petit
Managing Director, Sage Southern Europe
Our solution was designed to offer the most comprehensive integration for Sage 100 and Sage FRP 1000 on the market. This acquisition is the logical next step in that work, and the support of the Largillière Finance teams has enabled us to carry out this ambitious project while protecting the interests of the company and its employees. By joining Sage, we can accelerate innovation and offer fully connected automation solutions to even more businesses
Abdel Halitim
Founder and CEO of Akao
This transaction illustrates our ability to support management teams in structuring transactions in the tech and AI sectors, which are at the core of our expertise. Akao's full SaaS solution is ideally positioned for Sage customers as they transition toward electronic invoicing. This is the second successful sale we have completed with Sage within a year
Nathanaël Blanc
Managing Director at Largillière Finance
Press contact
Margie
Aliénor Miens - +33 6 64 32 81 75 - alienor.miens@margie.fr
Largillière Finance, the independent M&A advisor for growth companies
As an independent specialist in mid-cap transactions, Largillière Finance advises executives and shareholders on their capital transactions, including disposals, acquisitions, LBOs, financing solutions (equity and/or debt), financial engineering (valuation, etc.) and financial strategy advisory.
With more than 45 investment bankers and professionals, a strong presence in Paris, across the French regions (Bordeaux, Lyon, Nantes) and internationally, Largillière Finance has completed nearly 400 transactions and established itself as a leading market player.
Largillière Finance is a member of REACH Cross-Border M&A, a global M&A advisory network specialized in the mid-market segment, bringing together more than 400 investment bankers across major financial centers in over 30 countries.
