Sovos, a company specializing in tax compliance solutions, has finalized an agreement to acquire the Tax Technology ASP business unit from IRIS Business Services, a global regtech company based in APAC. This strategic move aims to significantly extend Sovos’ global reach and enhance its offerings, particularly in the rapidly evolving tax environments of the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions.
Kevin Akeroyd, CEO of Sovos, stated, “Every compliant enterprise must have a global strategy for e-invoicing mandates and VAT compliance. We are the only provider with a truly global tax compliance platform. With the IRIS GST acquisition, we just extended our leadership and dramatically enhanced the immediate value for customers and partners worldwide.” The acquisition is expected to strengthen Sovos’ competitive standing by expanding its coverage capabilities into these key regions.
This addition not only broadens Sovos’ immediate market presence but also accelerates its capacity to establish compliance solutions in new jurisdictions globally. The tax technology product portfolio from IRIS brings complementary capabilities to Sovos’ Indirect Tax Suite for enterprises. These include modules for notice and litigation management, tax analytics, and e-way bill (electric transport) compliance.
Alex Pavel, Managing Director APAC at Sovos, commented, “Establishing a strong Asia Pacific footprint has been a key strategic priority for Sovos. This move positions Sovos to serve the rapidly growing Asia Pacific market more effectively for both businesses based here and conducting operations in this region.” Countries in APAC and the Middle East feature complex and dynamic tax environments, characterized by comprehensive Continuous Transaction Controls (CTC) and GST systems that necessitate sophisticated compliance solutions.
Integrating these capabilities with Sovos’ Global Tax Compliance Cloud is intended to provide a unified experience for multinational businesses navigating global compliance complexities. Sovos and IRIS have maintained a long-standing partnership, which is expected to ensure a seamless transition. Customers, supported by local expert teams and thousands of established relationships, are anticipated to quickly experience the benefits of this transaction.
Gautam Mahanti, Business Head of IRIS’ Tax Tech business, shared, “We are excited about the synergies this business combination brings. We believe it will unlock opportunities to add value more rapidly to our customers in APAC and globally.” Sovos received advisory support for this acquisition from Khaitan & Co and Burness Paull.
Sovos, an always-on tax compliance company, offers the Sovos Tax Compliance Cloud platform, designed to enable businesses to identify, determine, and report on tax obligations globally. The platform processes over 16 billion transactions annually, supporting companies in scaling their compliance strategy across nearly 200 countries. Over 100,000 customers, including half of the Fortune 500, utilize Sovos’ tax and regulatory expertise.
IRIS Business Services, listed on BSE and NSE, is a Mumbai-based global RegTech company that provides solutions to regulators, enterprises, and financial institutions worldwide. Its flagship product, IRIS iFile, is employed by over 30 financial regulators in more than 20 countries for regulatory compliance data collection. IRIS Carbon, a SaaS-based platform for Disclosure Management, including collaborative Financial and Sustainability reporting, is used by 4,200 enterprises across Europe, the UK, Africa, India, and the Americas.
