Box acquires SignRequest for $55 million to expand into e-signatures

Cloud storage and collaboration giant Box has announced plans to acquire SignRequest, a cloud-based electronic signature (e-signature) startup based in the Netherlands, in a deal worth $55 million. The move comes as businesses across the spectrum have rapidly embraced remote work due to the global pandemic, meaning more processes have had to transition to the cloud — including signatures.

Founded out of Amsterdam in 2014, SignRequest offers an e-signature tool that can be integrated with many other enterprise tools, including Salesforce, Google Drive, Zapier, and Dropbox (a Box rival of sorts). Dropbox entered the e-signature realm in 2019 when it snapped up HelloSign in a $230 million deal, and last summer Dropbox revealed it would embed HelloSign’s technology as a native feature inside its own offering.

Currently, Box offers e-signature functionality via third-party integrations such as DocuSign and HelloSign, but native support has so far been lacking. So alongside the acquisition, Box has announced Box Sign, a new e-signature product built on SignRequest’s technology that will be integrated natively into Box.

The new product is expected to launch in general availability in summer 2021, with the acquisition expected to close by the end of April, according to a Box press release. Box Sign will be included as part of the Box business and enterprise plans, though SignRequest will continue to operate as a standalone business serving existing and new customers from its current online platform.