Netik Breaks Off From BNY Mellon, Buys Capco Reference Data Unit
Palo Alto, CA (February 10th, 2008) In a two–step reorganization, data warehouse provider Netik has used funding from private equity firm Symphony Technology Group (STG) to spin off from majority–owner Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and acquire Capco’s reference data management arm. The financial terms of the deals, completed in January but announced today, were not disclosed.
Netik officials said that Palo Alto, Calif.–based STG, a technology holding company, now holds a majority stake of undisclosed size in the company; Bank of New York Mellon, which previously owned 51 percent, retains a minority interest.
The former Bank of New York purchased its stake in Netik in late 2003 and has been using the company’s InterView7 data hub for its fund administration and investment operations outsourcing businesses. BNY Mellon subsidiary Pershing has also installed InterView7 for its new prime brokerage operations.
Netik founder and CEO John Wise will stay on in that role while Colin Close, chief information officer, will take on the newly created title of president, which will incorporate his CIO functions.
Netik’s 110 staffers will be bolstered by the 160 employees of Capco Reference Data Services (CRDS), which provides end–to–end reference data services to securities firms. Brian Lott, chief operating officer of CRDS, which has offices in Sunnyvale, Calif., Bangalore, New York, Brussels and London, will continue in that position. In September 2006, Capco entered into a buyout agreement––terms were not disclosed––in which its management and STG purchased all of the capital markets consultancy’s outstanding shares.
"We are excited by the opportunity to work with Netik’s management to capitalize on Netik’s positioning as a leading supplier of data management and reporting solutions to the investment industry, as well as the opportunity to combine this capability with CRDS to deliver compelling value to the entire global securities marketplace," said STG managing director William Chisholm in a statement.
Marlin & Associates served as the strategic and financial adviser to Netik’s management. Netik’s decision to replace its majority owner was unrelated to Bank of New York’s acquisition of Mellon Financial Corp. in July, said Wise. The former Mellon relied on a data warehouse from its Eagle Investment Systems subsidiary.
However, Ivan Royle, a Bank of New York Mellon spokesperson in London, said that, while its investment in Netik was successful, "we feel the sale of our stake in Netik will help its growth and allow us to use our resources to develop Eagle." Royle said that the bank’s legacy clients will continue to rely on Netik’s platform.
Netik’s InterView has 50 customers––including Bank of New York Mellon––of which half are fund managers and the rest are prime brokers, fund administrators and custodian banks. According to Wise, the Capco unit has 35 customers; one–third are mutual clients.
Though Netik links to firms’ internal applications and a handful of external data vendors, it ultimately depends on the client to provide it with a "primary" application system from which to source the reference data. With the purchase of CRDS, Netik can populate its data warehouse with a single, cleansed stream of reference and market data provided by more than 100 worldwide vendors and exchanges.
"Netik’s clients and prospects wanted Netik to provide pre–populated, multisource and multiview reference data content to data warehouses and deliver this via fully managed services," said Wise. "Such an undertaking would have been difficult for us to do on our own. With CRDS, clients no longer have to handle dozens of source data feeds that require programmers and operational resources to deliver what is now an off–the–shelf service provided by Netik."
About Marlin & Associates
Founded in 2002, Marlin & Associates New York LLC is a boutique investment banking and strategic consulting firm focused on providing highly strategic, transaction–related services to U.S. and international middle–market firms engaged in technology, information, on–line media and business services. Marlin & Associates’ professionals have advised on over 200 successfully completed transactions in the sector. The firm is based in New York City with a Washington, DC office and has been the recipient of numerous awards.
In December, Marlin & Associates was recognized as the Middle Market Investment Banking Firm of the Year. In addition, Marlin took top honors in three "Deal–of–the–Year" categories. In July, the firm was acknowledged as the Middle Market Financing Agent of the Year — Equity, and also was awarded honors in three Middle Market Financing "Deal–of–the–Year" categories.
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