UK banking-to-healthcare software firm Misys has agreed to sell its IFA services division, Sesame, to life and pensions outfit Friends Provident. The vendor has also named Jim Malone as its new chief financial officer.
In a statement Misys says it will receive £75 million in cash for the Sesame unit and will also see a reduction of £17 million in the existing guarantee that it is required to fund.
The surprise sale follows Misys' announcment in March that it was planning to sell a 60% stake in its Sesame division to management in a deal that would have resulted in a loss of £50 million.
Misys says following that announcement it received a proposal from Friends Provident for the Sesame unit "which significantly reduces the loss on disposal and delivers value which is certain".
Under the terms disclosed today, Misys now estimates that the loss on disposal of Sesame to fall from around £50 million to between £25 and £30 million.
Commenting on the disposal, Mike Lawrie, Misys CEO, says: "Sesame is a great business but it is not consistent with Misys' strategy going forward. Friends Provident is an ideal home for Sesame."
AS well as finally disposing of Sesame, Misys has appointed Jim Malone as chief financial officer, replacing Howard Evans who is leaving at the end of June.
Malone joins Misys from Trizetto, which provides technology to the health insurance payer community, where he has been CFO since 2004. Prior to this Malone was CFO and CAO at IMS Health, A Nyse-listed healthcare and pharmaceutical information provider.