It buys one mortgage software business and secures majority stake in another
Global software investor Bain Capital Tech Opportunities has announced its acquisition of the Mortgage Sales and Originations (MSO) software business from Iress, as well as its majority investment in finova, another UK mortgage software provider.
Bain Capital Tech Opportunities is known for partnering and investing in technology companies at critical growth and expansion phases, and with its latest moves, the plan involves merging the acquired mortgages business from Iress with finova to create a new entity.
In an announcement, Iress confirmed that Bain Capital has agreed to purchase its UK mortgages division, MSO, for £85 million, with the sale proceeds set to be applied towards reducing debt.
MSO, located in Cheltenham, has been a key player in the mortgage software industry since 2014, focusing on residential mortgage and buy-to-let origination software for banks and building societies.
London-based finova, meanwhile, offers a wide range of SaaS solutions that facilitate efficient management of pricing, underwriting, application processing, and loan servicing for specialist lenders, equity release lenders, savings institutions, and brokers.
“We are excited to back a compelling combination of robust platforms with complementary product suites and customer bases,” said James Stevens (pictured), managing director of Bain Capital Tech Opportunities in London. “The combined scale of these two businesses will allow us to offer more competitive and innovative products in a dynamic market, ultimately bringing more choice to consumers across the country.”
Paraag Davé, executive chairman of finova, said Bain Capital’s investment in each business will strengthen and invest in the capabilities of both platforms and help deliver increased value to customers.
“We are thrilled to blend finova’s SaaS expertise in complex solutions such as pricing, decisioning, specialist lending, savings, and loan servicing with MSO’s leadership in residential mortgage originations,” he added.
Similarly, Andrew Simon, chief executive of MSO, regarded the acquisition as an ideal outcome for enhancing their software solutions and expanding their product range.
“Bain Capital is fully committed to investing in MSO to ensure our customers continue to benefit from software that is among the best in the market,” Simon said. “Through the combined business, we’re looking forward to bringing a broader set of innovative products to market.”
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