Independent information technology firm Iress has cemented its leadership position in the sector after making a successful bid to buy planning software provider VisiPlan.
The deal, which includes the financial advisory software business owned by IWL, was clinched for 5.95 million shares in Iress, worth about $48.2 million at the current Iress share price.
"Our commitment to the wealth management space is demonstrated by the acquisition of Xplan in 2003 and its subsequent very strong growth, followed by the PlanTech acquisition in 2006, and now VisiPlan," Iress managing director Peter Dunai said.
The majority of Visiplan staff will be retained said Iress Wealth Management general manager Andrew Walsh. Technology and teams will be consolidated over time, he added.
The approach was the second by Iress for VisiPlan, initially made in February, and followed a failed attempt to merge with IWL in 2002/03. The parties had completed legal and commercial due diligence and signed an implementation agreement but the deal collapsed.
Iress bought VisiPlan competitor Xplan for $5.1 million in March 2003. Other competitors include Macquarie's Coin, AdviserNET gain and internal solutions.
"It's reasonably competitive if we consider who's chasing the adviser licence revenue," Walsh said.
Xplan acquired PlanTech, a risk research and analytics provider, in September 2006 for $15 million.
Iress is the principal provider of market information and trading systems in the Australian share market.
