Online ordering provider Olo is making its first acquisition.
The company said Thursday it will buy Wisely, a maker of customer relationship management software, for $187 million in cash and stock.
Olo said adding Wisely will help restaurants better use data to understand and market to their guests.
Wisely's technology includes automated marketing tools; reservations, waitlist and table management software; and an innovative customer data platform (CDP) that allows restaurants to build profiles of individual guests. Olo offers online ordering tools and integrations.
Under the newly formed entity, restaurants will be able to compile data across various channels that would otherwise be siloed to create a single view of each guest. They can then use that information to market to guests in a more personalized way.
Olo said it is a crucial step in its goal to digitize the restaurant industry.
“Tools that help brands harness customer data and turn it into applicable insights will be essential for them to better serve guests and manage the restaurant enterprise as a whole,” said Noah Glass, founder and CEO of Olo, in a statement.
Olo's system has integrated with Wisely for about five years, and the companies have seen "clear synergies" between their products, Glass said. He declined to say which of Olo's 400 restaurant customers also use Wisely.
The $187 million acquisition is made up of $77 million in cash and $110 million in Class A common Olo stock.
Glass said that until now, Olo has preferred to build its own technology rather than buy it.
"In this case, we saw a platform in Wisely that we thought was one of the best platforms out there," Glass said on a conference call Thursday. "This was a much more compelling acquisition opportunity for us to make our first acquisition."
Notably, the deal gives Olo marketing capabilities for the first time.
It is the fourth deal this week involving restaurant technology companies, which are using an influx of cash to consolidate and expand their services.
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