Australian fintech Stakk Limited (ASX: SKK) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100 per cent of US-based artificial intelligence company ParaScript for US$63 million ($91 million), in a deal that will transform the small-cap into a combined document intelligence and fraud detection business with pro forma revenue of more than $41 million.
ParaScript, headquartered in Longmont, Colorado, has spent more than 30 years developing proprietary AI technology for automated document processing, signature verification and fraud detection, serving customers across the US financial services, insurance and government sectors.
Stakk has revealed to the market that ParaScript became available through a deceased estate realisation.
The acquisition consideration is structured as US$25 million in cash at completion, US$19 million in Stakk shares issued at 2.2c per share, and US$19 million in deferred cash payments spread over four years.
The deal implies acquisition multiples of approximately 2.7 times revenue and 7.1 times EBITDA based on ParaScript's expected FY2026 contribution of $27.6 million in revenue and $10.4 million in EBITDA.
"The acquisition of ParaScript represents the next decisive step in Stakk's long-term strategy to become one of the world's leading AI-native Digital Trust infrastructure providers for regulated industries," says Stakk director Arthur Lo.
"This transaction brings together two highly complementary businesses to create a differentiated platform at the intersection of artificial intelligence, identity, fraud prevention and document intelligence, addressing one of the largest and fastest-growing technology markets globally.
"With a profitable, scaled and globally distributed business, an expanded enterprise customer base, strengthened governance and an experienced leadership team, we believe Stakk enters its next phase of growth with the financial profile, technology platform and organisational capability to execute its long-term strategy."
Lo says the company's current focus will be on "disciplined execution" in integrating the two businesses and delivering "sustainable long-term value for shareholders".
On a combined unaudited pro forma basis, the merged entity is expected to report FY2026 revenue of about $41.3 million and EBITDA of about $12.3 million, growing to $55.2 million in revenue and $18.5 million in EBITDA in FY2027.
The deal marks a significant step up for Stakk, which in late June flagged it expected to post its maiden profit on standalone annual revenue of $13.55 million for FY26.
To fund the cash component, Stakk has secured $27 million in firm commitments through an institutional placement, with directors and management subscribing $5 million of that total. The company also holds about $17 million in existing cash.
ParaScript's capabilities span handwriting and signature recognition, document classification and data extraction powered by machine learning.
In May this year, the company announced a partnership with global intelligent automation firm ABBYY to deliver end-to-end document intelligence solutions, combining ParaScript's recognition technology with ABBYY's intelligent document processing platform.
Under the terms of the deal, ParaScript chief executive Emiliano Giacchetti will become CEO of the combined entity following completion.
The acquisition is subject to shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting expected to be held on 10 August this year, with completion targeted for 14 August.
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