Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tax solutions provider Avalara Inc. has raised $96 million in a round that included Sageview Capital, Battery Ventures, Warburg Pincus and Technology Crossover Ventures.

According to reports, $50 million of the raise will go towards further expansion, while the remaining $46 million will be used to buy out existing investors.

Founded in 2004, Avalara offers a cloud-based platform that makes it simple for businesses to create cost-effective tax solutions that integrate with their existing software to provide transparent transactions and accurate tax compliance. The company offers compliance solutions related to sales tax and other transaction taxes, such a value-added tax. Avalara’s platform offers hundreds of pre-built connectors into leading accounting, ERP, e-commerce and other business applications, and has so far assisted companies process billions of tax transactions for customers and users, files hundreds of thousands of tax compliance documents and tax returns, and manage millions of exemption certificates and other compliance related documents.

According to The Seattle Times, the company has had an aggressive acquisition strategy since its founding 12 years ago, buying 15 companies that specialize in different tax areas.

“This financing offers some long-term individual shareholders a liquidity event, while enabling more recent institutional investors to increase their stake,” Avalara Chief Executive Officer Scott McFarlane said in a statement.

Interesting

A company founded in 2004 raising more money and using it in part to pay out existing investors is unusual. Usually, a venture capitalist is looking for a three- to seven-year return. At 12 years old, Avalara is getting long in the tooth for a company that is still essentially a startup but has neither gone public nor managed to find a buyer.

On paper, its financials seem reasonable, but even if some of the early investors have been now paid out of the company, those remaining would have to be asking themselves by now if and when an exit may happen at some time in the future. Including the new round, Avalara has raised $319.63 million over 8 rounds.

Image credit: Avalara