Merger of French and Swiss business software firms heralds new unicorn

ZURICH (Reuters) -A merger between French business software provider LumApps and its Swiss peer Beekeeper will create a new unicorn worth about $1.1 billion, the two companies said. The deal announced on Wednesday, which is due to complete this month, is backed by British private equity group Bridgepoint, which was previously a major shareholder in LumApps and will hold a majority stake in the new firm. The new firm's headquarters will be in Lyon, the home of LumApps, whose CEO Sebastien Ricard will lead the business.