ASPone Limited ("ASPone"), a leading-edge financial technology supplier and Earthport plc (AIM: EPO, "Earthport"), a cross-border payments service provider and an important existing customer of ASPone, have reinforced their customer-supplier relationship by the entry into an agreement whereby Earthport will procure a 45% stake in ASPone in four years' time.

For ASPone this is a strong vote of confidence in our long acknowledged technical capabilities which derive from our teams in Europe and Asia. This new stage in an established relationship will see ASPone developing new strategic capabilities, building on the momentum that Earthport has created with several new blue-chip client signings in recent months. In tandem Earthport is seeking to leverage ASPone's sophisticated and highly scalable development capabilities to better serve its existing and future clients, and continue to enhance the functionality of its leading payments platform.

The existing ASPone network and trading system business lines will continue to operate alongside the burgeoning payments systems business, providing a balanced portfolio of technology services for a range of financial markets.

ASPone is specialised in the development and provision of technology and communication based solutions for the finance industry.  It has a broad international presence with offices in Istanbul, Moscow, Singapore, Hong Kong and London. The company has deep expertise in fast, high-volume, highly robust transactional systems tailored to the needs and constraints of financial companies. We are organised around two divisions: (i) a systems division that sells trading solutions, as well as architecting, developing, maintaining and/or hosting bespoke financial software solutions, and (ii) a networks division that sells voice and data connectivity solutions to financial markets. 

Patrick McGrath, CEO ASPone said: “This addition of Earthport plc, a major player in the cross border payments market to the existing list of premium financial institutions who partner with ASPone networks and systems for their business is a seal of approval for our business vision. It is especially encouraging that Earthport saw fit to evolve their position as a client to become a shareholder in ASPone”

Hank Uberoi, CEO Earthport, said “Our reinforced partnership with ASPone will allow us to leverage their technology assets more extensively to better serve our customers and to achieve scale at pace. In addition, we believe that the financial terms secured provide a prudent level of protection whilst also reflecting our belief in the strength of the ASPone team and offering. We have had a strong working relationship with ASPone for some time; going forward, we look forward to further solidifying this relationship and working more closely together to service our global clients and, in some cases, accelerate their ability to adopt our solution."