By RTN Staff - 10.22.2021
On-demand restaurant commerce platform Olo will reportedly acquire Wisely, a customer intelligence and engagement platform designed to help restaurant brands to personalize the guest experience to maximize customer lifetime value. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Olo will acquire Wisely for approximately $187 million, comprising of $77 million in cash and $110 million in Olo’s Class A common stock (subject to customary purchase price adjustments). The transaction is expected to close before the end of the year.
Through the acquisition, Olo will broaden its platform to include Wisely’s suite of customer intelligence products, giving its customers the ability to curate their optimal technology stack from an expanded portfolio of solutions in conjunction with solutions from Olo’s open ecosystem of over one hundred technology partners.
“Since partnering with Wisely, we have seen clear synergies between the two platforms and a close cultural alignment of putting restaurants first. We both succeed when our restaurant brands succeed, and there are clear areas of opportunity to provide intelligent products to better serve them,” said Noah Glass, Founder and CEO of Olo, in a press statement. “Wisely’s customer engagement platform, operations intelligence, and data capabilities complement Olo’s on-demand commerce platform and will together create a differentiated and wide breadth of product offerings that will accelerate our restaurant brands’ digital transformation.”
Wisely’s software solutions include an all-in-one Customer Relationship Management (CRM) with marketing automation including email and SMS; Host, a table management, waitlist, and reservations solution; a guest sentiment tracker with aggregated and annotated guest reviews and feedback; and the first-ever Customer Data Platform (CDP) purpose-built for restaurants.
The acquisition of Wisely is expected to provide a number of benefits to restaurants, their guests, and Olo, including in the integration of Wisely’s complementary solutions streamline restaurants’ digital transformation efforts, which position brands to improve overall service, deepen relationships with its guests, and enhance its top and bottom line performance.
Wisely is expected to accelerate Olo’s data ambitions and will allow brands to create a unified guest profile from disparate data sources, providing guests a better, more personalized ordering experience, which is designed to help restaurants win the competitive battle for digital dollars. Wisely’s differentiated portfolio creates an opportunity to introduce offerings to and drive incremental value for Olo’s approximately 74,000 restaurant locations.
Fiserve Acquires BentoBox
Global payments and financial services technology solution provider Fiserve has signed a definitive agreement to acquire BentoBox, a digital marketing and commerce platform provider that delivers a “frictionless diner experience” dedicated to accelerating growth and helping restaurants connect with their guests. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
This transaction expands the company’s Clover dining solutions and industry-leading commerce and business management capabilities, which enable nearly 200,000 restaurants of all sizes to deliver unique and differentiating diner experiences, from quick and casual to full service.
Founded in 2013, BentoBox reportedly works with more than 7,500 restaurant concepts across 14,000 locations, providing a robust platform that includes website design, online ordering and marketing tools, all built with the goal of driving growth and engagement for restaurants and their diners. By converting visitors into loyal customers, BentoBox helps restaurants generate new revenue streams and create differentiated customer experiences.
Combining the BentoBox solution with the end-to-end management platform and omnicommerce capabilities of Clover is expected to drive increased operational efficiencies for restaurants and enable operators to deliver seamless and distinct hospitality experiences for their diners.
“The addition of BentoBox’s premier website capabilities to the business management solutions of Fiserv will strengthen our omnichannel platform, providing restaurants of all sizes and types with an integrated offering that delivers a customizable consumer experience,” said Frank Bisignano, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fiserv, in a press statement. “We look forward to welcoming the BentoBox team to Fiserv, as we build on our strategy to deliver blended digital and in-person customer experiences across channels that drive deeper engagement and increased loyalty for our clients.”
