SS&C is back on the acquisition trail with a $1.45 billion definitive agreement to acquire Eze Software from alternative asset firm TPG. The company backed out of the bidding for Fidessa in April 2018 after ION Trading made a late offer to acquire Fidessa and gazumped initial bidder Temenos. The SS&C acquisition of Eze Software, which is expected to close by the fourth quarter of this year, underlines the trend of back- and middle-office solution providers making acquisitions to strengthen their presence in the front office – witness, State Street’s $2.6 billion acquisition of Charles River earlier this month.
SS&C’s acquisition of Eze Software will add the latter’s flagship Eze Investment Suite, which offers order management, execution management and portfolio accounts, to SS&C’s range of asset management services and solutions – which, like Eze Software, are mostly the result of acquisition – as well as elements of portfolio analytics and modelling, compliance and regulatory reporting, and commission management.
It will also add more than 2,500 clients, and 1,050 employees in 15 offices around the world.
Bill Stone, chairman and CEO of SS&C Technologies, and a seasoned acquisitor, states: “Our clients are focused on reinventing their organisations. The addition of Eze Software aligns with our strategy to transform today’s investment operations.”
Jeffrey Shoreman, CEO and president at Eze Software, concurs, saying: “I am very pleased for Eze to join SS&C as we share the same vision for the future of investment operations. We look forward to extending our ideas and offering, and believe this is a game-changing moment for our clients and team. SS&C’s outsourcing services, combined with our technology platform, will enable us to further distance ourselves from the competition.”
In 2017, Eze Software had total revenues of $280 million and adjusted EBITDA of $105 million. SS&C expects $30 million of run-rate costs savings to be achieved by 2021 and for the transaction to be immediately accretive.
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