The combined entity will yield a company that has more than $200 million in sales, 1,000 employees and a presence in global markets.
Itiviti and Ullink are merging and taking steps to leverage their combined resources to become “a full-service technology and infrastructure provider” for financial institutions across the globe, according to the board of directors of Itiviti.
The official announcement that Itiviti acquired Ullink was made public on March 14; both companies declined to reveal financial information about the transaction. In addition, the board Torben Munch appointed CEO of the combined entity.
The parent company Itiviti Group Holding AB is owned by Itiviti AB, which is in turn ultimately owned by Nordic Capital Fund VII (part of private equity investor Nordic Capital), and the management and key employees of the Itiviti Group, officials say.
The combination of Itiviti and Ullink will yield one vendor that has annual sales of more than $200 million, 1,000 employees and a presence in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, officials say. The initial announcement of the Itiviti and Ullink merger was made Nov. 28, 2017.
Itiviti will get from Ullink:
- Multi-asset trading and connectivity software for buy-side and sell-side market participants;
- A portfolio of modular trading and connectivity software solutions for cash equities and derivatives;
- Low-touch (direct market access) and high-touch offerings for the sell-side;
- And the NYFIX Network, one of the largest FIX-based electronic trading communities;
The combined entity will lead to a broad range of solutions and services “spanning asset classes and trading applications (high-touch, low-touch, market making, connectivity) based on modern, flexible technology architected for performance and updated to meet latest compliance requirements,” officials say.
The merger of Itiviti and Ullink will not change “our global approach to capital markets,” Lee Griggs, head of EMEA operations for Itiviti, tells FTF News. “Both companies are already global providers and have been for some time. The merger will increase the solutions available from a single provider reducing operational complexity and providing synergies from which customers can benefit.”
The combined offerings include:
- Broad scope of products and solutions spanning asset classes and trading applications (high-touch, low-touch, market making, connectivity);
- Cross-asset connectivity capabilities;
- Connectivity services and tools available separately from trading solutions;
- A low-touch offering with purpose-built product and value-add modules;
- A modular offering designed to facilitate integration with external providers;
- And deployment options such as on-premise, hosted, co-location, fully managed services and hybrid models.
Ullink’s CEO Didier Bouillard is leaving the company, paving the way for Munch to run the combined company.
“I would like to thank Didier for his significant contributions, including his support for facilitating this merger. I wish Didier all the best in his future endeavors,” says Per E. Larsson, chairman of the Board, Itiviti, in a prepared statement.
Munch “has built a great team and has successfully applied a keen strategic vision coupled with a passion for customer satisfaction,” Larrson says.
The merger “will be judged by our delivery,” Munch says in a statement. “Our products, solutions and the services we provide must validate that we are growing into an even more capable supplier and partner; one that can best satisfy the needs of the customers’ business, enabling their strategic initiatives as well as providing unfaltering daily support to sell-side and buy-side financial institutions.”
Munch, who became Itiviti’s first CEO in February 2016, came from Orc Group where he joined as CEO in 2012, officials say. He is also chairman of the board for Vizrt Group. He also held the position of chief operating officer (COO) and executive vice president at SimCorp A/S, and before that post managing director of SimCorp GmbH from 1996, officials say.
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