The SimplyBiz Group has acquired Regulus Topco, owner of Defaqto, for £74.3m.
The company also announced a conditional institutional placing at 180p per share to raise £29.1m.
SimplyBiz Group, based in Huddersfield, is the largest independent provider of compliance and business services to financial advisers and financial institutions in the UK, with over 3,700 professional clients.
Defaqto will remain operating as an independent business within the Group and keep its offices in Haddenham, Buckinghamshire. Its management, led by CEO Zahid Bilgrami, will also remain in place.
Defaqto continuously assesses over 43,000 financial products in the UK of which nearly 10,000 are funds and fund families.
The SimplyBiz Group told IFA Magazine that the acquisition will provide Defaqto with greater resource to develop its products and services and to fully realise its potential in the FinTech space.
Neil Stevens & Matt Timmins, Joint CEOs of The SimplyBiz Group, said: “We are delighted to announce the successful acquisition of Defaqto, which will play an important role in building on the Group’s strong momentum and enabling us to unlock a wide range of additional growth opportunities.
“Collectively the two businesses will work to enhance our proposition to the Banking and General Insurance sectors whilst continuing to invest in the leading FinTech platform.
“Having long respected the Defaqto management team, we also recognise not just the strong strategic fit of the business, but also its cultural alignment. Defaqto is a business built upon industry leading talent and we look forward to working with our new colleagues as we continue to enhance services to financial intermediaries and product providers and deliver value for shareholders.”
Zahid Bilgrami, CEO of Defaqto added: “We are absolutely delighted with SimplyBiz’s decision to acquire Defaqto. It opens an exciting new chapter in our development as a leading financial information business, and we look forward to the many opportunities that being part of a larger Group will present.
“While it will enable us to continue operating in an independent and autonomous manner, it will also carry many advantages of being a part of a listed entity. It will enable us to develop new technology faster, and thus continue to develop market-leading products for our clients at a time of vast technological change in the Financial Services sector.”
