Intuit Inc. is on a roll lately, what with plans to enter the online
brokerage business and today announcing the acquisition of Fort Worth,
Texas-based CBS Employer Services Inc., an outsourced payroll operation.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company agreed to pay
about $78 million for the company, which operates CBS Payroll. Approximately $74.5
million will be paid in cash and the remainder will be paid in Intuit stock.
Intuit said it expects CBS Payroll to contribute in excess of $30 million in
revenue in its fiscal year 2003, which begins next August.
“Intuit is committed to providing ‘right for my business’ solutions to small
business owners,” said Steve Bennett, Intuit’s president and chief executive
officer. “Providing the full range of payroll services — from do-it-yourself
products to a complete outsourced solution — is critical to meeting the
different needs of our customers.”
He added that down the road, CBS Payroll’s service will be integrated with
Intuit’s QuickBooks business accounting software package.
CBS Payroll was founded in 1966 as an accounting and income tax service for
small businesses and began providing payroll services in the 1980s. The
company has more than 12,000 customers nationwide.
Intuit plans to combine CBS Payroll’s payroll services with its existing
outsourced payroll services business. Micheal Sykes, CBS Payroll’s chief
executive officer, will run the combined business.
Intuit last week established an alliance with Siebert Financial Corp. to offer online and telephone brokerage services for users of
its flagship Quicken software and Quicken.com online services. The companies
will share revenues and expenses.