Polaris Software Lab, a financial technology company, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100 percent of Laser Soft Infosystems in an all cash deal for about Rs 52 crore ($11 million). The acquisition will be completed subject to regulatory approvals.
As per the terms of the agreement, Rs 35 crore will be paid in cash on closing and the balance amount will be paid out in two years contingent to performance, and will be funded entirely through internal accruals. The acquisition will be EPS accretive for Polaris.
Established in 1986, Laser Soft is a banking software products company, specialising in serving the unique needs of India and emerging markets. The company has proven solutions in Core Banking, Trade Finance, Treasury, Cash Management, Mutual Funds and Loans serving over 50 customers including banks such as Corporation Bank, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Mashreq bank, Catholic Syrian Bank, Andhra Bank, EXIM Bank of Tanzania and KEP Trust, Kosovo.
“This acquisition is in line with our stated Polaris 3.0 vision of achieving market leadership in Financial Technology through focus on account expansion and Intellect expansion. Together, we will bring a complementary solution-set that is uniquely suitable for emerging markets and will support our market proliferation plan. With this merger we are also expanding our strategic capacity by 600 banking and technology experts,” said Arun Jain, founder, chairman and CEO, Polaris Software Lab.
Suresh Kamath, founder and managing director, Laser Soft Infosystems, said, “At this inflection point in our growth journey, we were looking for a partner, who is large and deeply entrenched in Banking and Financial services, and can help us with investments and strong market connects. We believe our merger with Polaris is highly synergistic in its focus of domain, strength of complementing solutions and organisation ethos. Together with Polaris, we will present a compelling and long-standing technology proposition for our customers and prospects.”