PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:
Sopra Steria (Paris:SOP), a European leader in digital transformation, today announced its acquisition of lending solutions provider Sword Apak, a subsidiary of Sword Group.
Sopra Steria has acquired, through its subsidiary Sopra Banking Software, 100% of Sword Apak, which develops specialised lending solutions for car loans and asset finance.
Sword Apak currently has more than one hundred clients, including major international banking groups and carmakers’ captive finance companies. Its flagship offering, Wholesale Finance System (WFS), is a vehicle fleet and inventory financing solution for car dealers. WFS is available through either a traditional licence/maintenance model or an ASP1 model.
Sword Apak was founded in 1979 and acquired by Sword Group in 2007. In 2017 it posted revenue of €27.5m. More than two-thirds of its revenues are recurring. EBITDA came to €7.1m in 2017. Over the past three years, the compound annual growth rate for revenue has been 19%. At 30 June 2018, Sword Apak had 250 employees.
This acquisition gives Sopra Banking Software an unrivalled position in the asset finance software market. It rounds out Cassiopae’s offering (loan financing and fleet or personal leasing) with inventory financing solutions for car dealers and other distribution networks. It also further consolidates its strong position with major groups that are already clients of the two companies by leveraging cross-selling opportunities, and provides a global, integrated, end-to-end solution covering all the sector’s financing needs.
The acquisition of Sword Apak fits perfectly with Sopra Banking Software’s strategy in the promising lending market. It is also aimed at strengthening the company’s business model by boosting its share of recurring revenue. As such, this acquisition reaffirms group’s confidence in Sopra Banking Software’s strategy and its capacity to address financial transformation-related challenges through its digital platform offerings.
Sopra Steria will consolidate Sword Apak in its accounts in October 2018.
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Publication of Q3 2018 revenue on Friday, 26 October 2018 (before market)
About Sopra Steria
Sopra Steria, a European leader in digital transformation, provides one
of the most comprehensive portfolios of offerings on the market,
spanning consulting, systems integration, industry-specific solutions,
infrastructure management and business process services. It provides
end-to-end solutions to address the core business needs of large
companies and organisations, helping them remain competitive and grow.
Combining added value with innovative high-performance services, Sopra
Steria excels in guiding its clients through their transformation
projects to help them make the most of digital technology. With nearly
42,000 employees in more than 20 countries, Sopra Steria generated
revenue of €3.8 billion in 2017.
Sopra Steria (SOP) is listed on
Euronext Paris (Compartment A) – ISIN: FR0000050809
For more
information, please visit our website: www.soprasteria.com
1 ASP: Application Service Provision, under which enterprise software is made available remotely on an on-demand subscription basis.
