The Bucharest-based Catalyst Romania Fund I has sold its remaining shares in SmartBill, a Romanian provider of cloud-based invoicing, inventory, and accounting services, to the Norwegian Group Visma. The deal amount was undisclosed.

About Smartbill

  • SmartBill was co-founded in 2006 by Ioana and Radu Hasan and Mircea Căpățînă. The company launched its solution in 2011 and released its first cloud invoicing product in 2014. In February 2016, SmartBill raised a €1.1 million funding round led by Catalyst Romania and together with Gecad Ventures. According to the company’s data, SmartBill has experienced nearly 20-fold growth since Catalyst’s initial investment, with annual revenue increases ranging from 30% to 60%.
  • Since March 2024, more than 6.5 million documents have been issued via the platform every month. For 2024, the company estimates a 60% increase in turnover and expects to exceed the threshold of 150,000 customers.
Catalyst Romania and SmartBill teams.
Catalyst Romania and SmartBill teams. Image: Catalyst Romania

The deal details

  • Catalyst Romania is a fund manager that launched the first private equity and venture capital fund dedicated to Romania in 2012, funded through JEREMIE. The fund focuses on Technology & Internet, Media & Communications, and Technology Services investments.
  • In recent years, it has invested more than €12 million in 10 Romanian technology companies, such as Vola.ro, AvocatNet.ro, 123FormBuilder, Simartis, SmartDreamers, OmniConvert, SeedBlink, evoMAG, and ESX.

The journey of growth with Catalyst as an investor and partner has been remarkable, witnessing a tenfold expansion over the span of eight years. Marius’s invaluable advice played a pivotal role during crucial junctures in the business, contributing significantly to our success. It’s partnerships like these that shape the trajectory of a company, and we’re grateful for the support and guidance provided by Catalyst and Marius throughout this journey,

Radu Hasan, CEO and co-founder of Smartbill, said.

In 2020, Visma acquired more than 50% of Smartbill to accelerate its growth rate and the development of the SmartBill ecosystem. Now, Catalyst Romania has sold the remaining shares for an undisclosed amount of the deal.