IRESS announced today the acquisition of SENTRYi Pte Ltd to initiate its wealth management presence in Asia, and is a valuable step in extending IRESS’ investment and growth strategy in Asia. The total cost of the SENTRYi acquisition will ultimately be contingent on future growth, and was structured with modest upfront payments. The acquisition was made through IRESS’ newly founded subsidiary in Asia, IRESS Market Technology (Singapore) Pte Ltd. SENTRYi is an independent software provider, based in Singapore, which develops, distributes and supports its investment planning tools designed for the Asian marketplace. SENTRYi’s software has multi-lingual and multi-location capability and is already deployed in 3 countries where it is used by both tied agency forces and independent planning groups. SENTRYi has its foundation in the emerging wealth management advice markets in Asia, and with IRESS’ backing and technology offerings, is well placed to establish a major role in the region.
IRESS Managing Director, Andrew Walsh said, “SENTRYi has made a solid start in Singapore and the region, and with IRESS providing financial confidence and capacity and with technology synergies, we are confident in the opportunity to grow our Asian wealth management business. Our immediate starting component for growth will be the existing SENTRYi software and the strong relationships already developed by SENTRYi with current and potential key customers. Beyond this, our goal will be to localise existing software functionality and services available in IRESS for the Asian market. Our initial focus is on fresh opportunities, such as extending our risk research and analytics capability for the Singapore market” said Walsh.
The transaction structure represents an acceptable upfront commitment with upside to the vendors based on meaningful growth outcomes. The upfront cash payments amount to SGD 1.296 million, with the final payment assessed in three years based on business growth over that period. The total acquisition price (including the initial payment) will be one times recurring revenue at that time.
