Questions and Answers with Key Executives from Akcelerant and Hear what the CEOs are saying... G.A. (Jay) Mossman III Founder & CEO David Arnott Chief Executive Officer Why is this event significant and exciting for financial institutions in the US market? Jay Mossman: has worked on over 1600 global deployments within financial A: services, and we have found that their vision is very much aligned with Akcelerant s. We both strive to offer pioneering tools to enable financial institutions to succeed in a market place which is evolving faster than ever, forcing these institutions to use technology in order to secure their future sustainability, retain and acquire customers and ultimately be more profitable. While has a range of product offerings, Akcelerant s loan and account origination, service, collections, recovery and profitability products will enhance the product strategy. In return, Akcelerant will now have availability to provide customers with back end products such as business intelligence, compliance, core processing, wealth management, payments and more. The combination of Akcelerant and creates an organization with greater strength in the US to provide financial institutions a complete product offering from a vendor with in-depth knowledge of the financial services sector.
has previously stated that they would either go into the US in a big way or not at all how does this deal meet that criteria? David Arnott: As most people know, has high market share globally, and we have A: a strong desire to improve our foot print in the Americas, especially within the US. Adding Akcelerant to the family is a huge step forward because this immediately adds over 600 prominent financial institutions to growing customer base. In addition, this will add a suite of products we believe to be best in class which will round out the product portfolio. The Akcelerant brand is credible and one the industry has come to trust and respect. We are investing in a successful organization, infrastructure, and leadership team which will play a key role in scaling our business in the US as well as the Americas overall. Strategically, we view this as a move that propels forward in the US at a rate that we could simply have not achieved on our own. now has a very clear presence as a financial services software company in the US market. What does the integration plan look like going forward as Akcelerant joins? Jay Mossman: believes in Akcelerant and our plans for the future, and they see great A: value in our product roadmap, and the potential opportunities that will be available for our customers. Therefore, Akcelerant will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of. This means that the relationship we have with our customers will not be impacted, and the executive team at Akcelerant remains intact and will continue to lead the company. My role will still be the CEO of Akcelerant and now also join the executive team. Emily Steele will remain as President and COO of Akcelerant and be responsible for the product delivery, all professional services and day to day operations of the company. Akcelerant is committed to our customers and the industry and will not waiver from our reputation of delivering quality products and exceptional customer care. In fact, brings additional resources and capabilities to bear which we plan to take advantage of such as additional human and capital resources that can benefit the United States market right away. We will not change just for the sake of change. It must be to the benefit of our customers and the industry as a whole. All this to say, you can expect business as usual at Akcelerant. What should financial institutions expect in the short term out of this key deal in the US for? David Arnott: Perhaps one of the biggest things the US market at large should expect is an A: immediate increase in the awareness of the brand, its products, services and success worldwide. We believe the voice of Akcelerant is a great platform to continue to raise awareness within the US market as to who is, as an advocate of financial institution success through technology and certainly more importantly, how we have helped other, leading financial institutions in material and measurable ways. Our story is compelling and our success is real. As for Akcelerant s customers, we plan to hit the ground running with the Akcelerant team and take full advantage of each other s resources, learning from each other s success. Our engagement with the Akcelerant customers will start from day one, ensuring they better understand and the partnership, our products portfolio and being able to rely on resources to meet the growing expectations from their customers.
Hear what the operational team is saying... Mike Davis Client Director Emily Steele President & COO What does Akcelerant bring to the table operationally that was seen as valuable to? Mike Davis: We were very impressed with Akcelerant s strong foundation. We are looking to A: build off of the success that Akcelerant has found within the US market. Similarly, and Akcelerant are structured around constant collaboration and open communication. We have been impressed with the Akcelerant team and processes they have developed and implemented to optimize the company s operations. The company has a strong focus on continual improvement and we think this is something we can leverage as we grow our North American business. In addition, the team has many years of experience in working with the leading North American Credit Unions which will help us as we tailor our offerings specifically for the North American market. How do you see the operational aspects of both organizations impacting Akcelerant customers in the US? Emily Steele: Operationally nothing changes day to day at Akcelerant. We really want to A: impress upon our customers that is allowing us to run as a wholly owned subsidiary. We have mentioned several times that a key component of this deal for Akcelerant was that it cannot impact our customers business and agrees. I am proud of the fact that a big part of the value saw in Akcelerant was our operational excellence. Our teams remain intact and we know that above all else, we cannot drop the ball on our commitment to our customers. We have seen other acquisitions fail for this very reason and we are not willing to allow that to happen. We are committed to nothing but the best for us customers. In fact, I believe will even provide opportunity to wow our customers even more. It s all upside for the Akcelerant customer family! What additional resources does bring to the US operating environment by combining these two leading technology providers? Mike Davis: brings really, really rich knowledge of financial services worldwide. A: has deep resources of research material, industry data and statistics, subject matter expertise, and regulatory and compliance knowledge, all of which spans thousands of employees, decades of experience and some of the brightest minds around the globe. We feel confident that we can impart this onto what we see as an exceptional team at Akcelerant with outstanding process and procedure. Akcelerant is on a fast track to success alone, and with the added resources of in these areas, Akcelerant will quickly become the trusted advisor every credit union or community bank will naturally reach out to.
Are there any operational synergies in a larger company like, that can provide competitive advantages for Akcelerant? Emily Steele: As with any new joint effort, we are confident that this relationship between A: Akcelerant and will strengthen the expertise and knowledge of each team. For example, has many locations. We see many places for expanded customer care capabilities due to time zone benefits brings. We see benefits to our professional services due to additional skills-training and access to powerful pools of specialized talent that larger organizations bring to the table. We believe that the resources of will bolster Akcelerant s ability to provide our customers with increased levels of opportunity in nearly every aspect of our business. We feel as though our customers are family. We place such a high value on our relationships and commitment to quality that it s exciting to think about what more we can do for our customers with access to resources that a larger organization has available. We are eager to work with right from the start to see what things we can begin to add to our operating teams which our customers will find valuable. Hear what Regional Management is saying... Eric Snyder Chief Business Development Officer Russell Taylor President North America David Brasfield Chairman USA What does this deal mean to the US financial institutions shopping for new technology today? Eric Snyder: From Akcelerant s perspective, we are now able to offer a full suite of products A: from front line solutions to manage relationships with account holders, to deep back office products where compliance, business intelligence and account transactions occur. We really want to increase our relationships with customers as trusted advisors, where we can impact all facets of their business with technology. Adding the strength of allows us to truly provide that level of value. Is there room in the US market for another large scale player like, considering the current US provider landscape? Russell Taylor: Yes, without a doubt. is certainly expanding into a competitive A: space in the US, but what cannot be ignored is the results has produced in every market it operates in. research proves that our customers have a 42% higher return on equity and a 32% higher return on assets compared to that of their peers using legacy technology, which demonstrates the impact of our software. The US technology landscape is moving fast and the financial institutions I speak with each day want more choice and a fresh approach to stay competitive in today s disruptive financial services market.
What does bring to the US market in the form of differentiating products that US financial institutions can benefit from? Russell Taylor: For one thing, is a global leader. This means that all around the world, they A: can see the best use of technology in many markets, along with the impact it provides to a financial institution. Mobile, for example has been advancing at a rapid pace in Europe and across the globe. It s had to, where some countries do not have physical infrastructure. Mobile is also very strong now in the US. has some highly advanced tools to help financial institutions mobilize, like its edgeconnect platform for enhanced customer experience. This is just one example. What success has had already in the Americas overall which is transferable value to US financial institutions? David Brasfield: We have over 1300 customers in the US with Trinovus, 40+ customers in A: Canada and a further 40 in Latin America. With this knowledge in financial services combined, and the breadth of skills amongst the Americas team, we are very well equipped to add value to US financial institutions. We have a diverse and complete product offering which is compliant for the requirements of the US financial institutions along with a strong partner model spanning our local and global network. Hear what the product team is saying... Mark Winterburn Group Product Director Mark Price Chief Technology Officer What Akcelerant products were attractive to in this strategy? Mark Winterburn: We have a very common philosophy of being software product companies A: first and foremost and striving for technological excellence. We are very impressed with Akcelerant s current products and the strategic product road map Akcelerant has going forward. The Framework Collections product is a market leader, being used by 18 of the top 25 US Credit Unions. finds tremendous value and a great potential with the platform strategy Akcelerant brings to market, and we are particularly impressed with their recent innovations in their loan and account origination technology. As well as the products, we value the team s knowledge of the North American financial services market, will help us immensely in tailoring T24 and our other market leading products for the US and Canada. Many times, when companies are combined, there are disparate technology assets that can make integration difficult. Do you expect that here? Mark Price: No, it has always been important for Akcelerant to find companies and partners A: that provide technology that we could seamlessly connect to. technology is very advanced and sophisticated. For instance, we were able to integrate the Akcelerant Framework to the edgeconnect platform in only 30 minutes! Both Akcelerant and are leaders in cutting-edge technology that provide the industry with extensive capabilities, and I don t anticipate any difficulties with future integrations between our products.
Both Akcelerant and pride themselves in heavy product investing and visionary product design. What does this deal bring to the US that is not here already? Mark Winterburn: Yes, it is true that Akcelerant and reinvest capital back into the A: products at a rate much higher than our peers. North American financial institutions face the same challenges as institutions in the rest of the world in that they are mainly serviced by old, legacy platforms which are not able to adapt to the increasingly digital and mobile world where and T24 excels. We plan to deliver strong products with an open API and a new level of extensibility that the market has yet to see. Akcelerant s expertise in the US market paired with the technology we integrate and develop together will provide the industry and our customers with unparalleled advantages. Do you expect the Akcelerant product road map to be disrupted at all? Mark Price: No, is confident with Akcelerant s future and committed to its product A: roadmap. They believe strongly in continuing to invest in our products and they have no intention of disrupting the Akcelerant road map. They are excited for what is to come from the Akcelerant team, and we look forward to working with them on these new initiatives. is embracing our products to complement its existing offerings. This really is an outstanding fit from a product and technology perspective. Hear what the finance team is saying... Kathryn Thompson Chief Financial Officer Max Chuard Chief Financial Officer What is the financial impact of the acquisition? Kathryn Thompson: We have achieved great success over the last 15 years as an independent A: company, however, the opportunity is far greater than that we can address by ourselves. We can and want to achieve much more but were held back from a financial perspective. Joining forces with, a global half a billion dollar company, puts us in a different league in terms of market presence and financial clout. With financial strength behind us we can invest more aggressively and make the most of the opportunity available to the combined business. Max Chuard : Akcelerant is a well-run company with strong financial processes and controls. A: One of the attractions of the company was its impressive levels of recurring revenue and therefore future revenue visibility. 75% of the company s revenues are recurring in nature. It has made significant investments in developing its newer products and is already seeing the benefits of this, having achieved strong historic levels of growth. We expect this growth to continue going forward. The impact of the acquisition is expected to be non-ifrs EPS neutral in 2015 and 2% accretive from 2016 onwards.