Empresas y finanzas

TA Associates Investment to Accelerate Growth at SmartStream



    SmartStream Technologies, the market leading provider of
    Transaction Lifecycle Management (TLM(R)) solutions, today announced
    that TA Associates has completed its buyout of the firm from
    SmartStream's previous majority shareholder 3i. TA Associates is one
    of the world's leading buyout and private equity firms.
    SmartStream's fully integrated, multi-product solutions enable
    enterprise-wide Transaction Lifecycle Management from trade inception
    to settlement in a single scalable platform. The product portfolio
    includes solutions for Reconciliations, Business Process Automation,
    Corporate Actions, Enterprise Exception Management, Cash Management,
    Financial Messaging, Trade Process Management and Compliance
    Solutions. SmartStream has a 38% market share and over 1,000 clients
    globally, including more than 70 of the world's top 100 banks. The
    company is headquartered in the UK, with direct operations in London,
    Bristol, Paris, Vienna, Zurich, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan,
    New York, Singapore, Beijing, Sydney and Mumbai.
    The transaction has been made following SmartStream's recent
    record results. SmartStream's dramatic growth and expanding market
    leadership has positioned the company to move to the next stage of its
    corporate development with a new partner. TA Associates' investment
    provides the support and market skills to ensure the success of this
    strategic plan, including a potential floatation.
    "We are delighted to be partnering with TA Associates. This is a
    critical step in executing our growth acceleration strategy and moving
    to the next stage of the firm's development," said Ron Mackintosh,
    Chairman, SmartStream. "The record results for financial year ending
    June 2006 are testament to SmartStream's success and continued ability
    to out compete the market with our highly attractive suite of TLM
    products and solutions. With TA Associates' substantial experience in
    growth software companies, we are perfectly positioned to achieve our
    strategic plan."
    Commenting on the investment led from TA's London office, Ajit
    Nedungadi, a Principal at TA Associates and Director of TA Associates
    Ltd., said, "SmartStream is a highly successful, profitable and
    growing business making it an ideal fit for TA's growth private equity
    model. We believe this is a great opportunity to invest in a global
    brand leader in a dynamic market with a talented group of employees to
    secure the next stage of its development."
    "We are confident that this partnership will prove very beneficial
    to SmartStream's clients and employees; ensuring a successful,
    innovative software company remains a self sufficient force in the
    industry," said Jonathan Meeks, a Principal at TA Associates. "In an
    environment facing increasing regulatory pressure and growing volumes
    of electronic trading, SmartStream offers financial institutions
    compelling solutions to control their risk, cost and compliance
    issues."
    Founded in 1968, TA Associates is one of the world's leading
    private equity firms and has invested over $1 billion in financial
    technology companies. Some of TA's prior investments in the financial
    technology and financial services sectors include Affiliated Managers
    Group, AIM Management Group (AMVESCAP), Datek Online Holdings
    (Ameritrade Holding Corporation), eSecLending, GlobeOp Financial
    Services, The IntercontinentalExchange, ION Trading Group, The Island
    ECN (Instinet Group Incorporated), Lava Trading, Numeric Investors,
    OpenLink Financial and Thomson Advisory Group (PIMCO).
    With TA Associates' ownership, there will be a change in Board
    members; TA Associates' Ajit Nedungadi and Jonathan Meeks will join
    the Board and Lord Blackwell, Mark Austen and Martin Brown will be
    stepping down. Martin Brown will be transitioning out of his current
    role as CEO of SmartStream Technologies to pursue other business
    interests. In the interim, he will remain as CEO with the full support
    of the Board and assist in selecting a successor.
    The Royal Bank of Scotland's Corporate & Structured Finance team
    provided senior debt for the investment. Goodwin Procter LLP and
    Travers Smith served as legal counsel for TA Associates. Macfarlanes
    provided legal counsel to SmartStream Technologies and Deutsche Bank
    acted as sole financial adviser to 3i in this transaction.

    About SmartStream Technologies

    SmartStream Technologies is the undisputed market leading provider
    of Transaction Lifecycle Management solutions. The company has a 38%
    market share and over 1,000 clients globally, including more than 70
    of the world's top 100 banks.
    By delivering state of the art software, implementation and global
    24x7 support services, SmartStream is uniquely positioned to respond
    to the demands of its clients for increased efficiency and reduced
    operational risk.
    SmartStream Technologies delivers integrated, multi-product
    solutions that enable enterprise wide Transaction Lifecycle
    Management, from trade inception to settlement in a single scalable
    platform, all within the framework of its STP Control Architecture.
    SmartStream's product portfolio includes solutions for:
    -0-
    *T
    -- Reconciliations

    -- Business Process Automation

    -- BPM

    -- BAM

    -- Corporate Actions

    -- Enterprise Exception Management

    -- Cash Management

    -- Financial Messaging

    -- Trade Process Management

    -- Compliance Solutions
    *T
    SmartStream's Reconciliations and Trade Finance solutions are
    SWIFTReady Gold accredited and universally regarded as Best of Breed.
    Their flexible design enables deployment across the full range of
    financial institutions.
    The company is headquartered in the UK with direct operations in
    London, Bristol, Paris, Vienna, Zurich, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Madrid,
    Milan, New York, Singapore, Beijing, Sydney and Mumbai.

    About TA Associates

    Founded in 1968, TA Associates is one of the largest and most
    experienced private equity firms. With offices in Boston, Menlo Park
    and London, the firm manages $10 billion in capital and has invested
    in more than 360 companies. TA Associates provides growth equity
    capital, leveraged recapitalization and management buyout financing
    primarily for technology, financial services, business services,
    consumer and healthcare businesses. More information about TA
    Associates can be found at www.ta.com.

    Safe harbor statement under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation
    Reform Act of 1995: Statements made in connection with this release
    which are not historical fact, such as forward-looking statements
    concerning future financial performance and growth, involve risk and
    uncertainties. Such statements are subject to various factors that
    could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth
    in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements
    represent the best judgment of TA Associates as of the date of this
    release. TA Associates disclaims any intent or obligation to update
    any forward-looking statements. This document is approved for issue in
    the UK by TA Associates Ltd., which is regulated by the FSA.