Wilco International has acquired TCA Synergo from the Terence Chapman Group in a deal believed to value the UK supplier of private client stockbroking systems at £15.5 million.
The agreement, which is subject to shareholder approval later this month, covers the assets and business of TCA Synergo, including the Tarot2000 e-broking and private client investment management system and affects over 100 staff currently working in TCA Synergo's London office.
TCA Synergo's Tarot package is installed principally at the higher volume, execution-only segment of the retail stockbroking market. Clients include some of the biggest names in the business, but the company has struggled to expand beyond this niche. AT TCA, the volatile software products business has sat uneasily next to the steady consultancy fees earned by the parent group, and expected synergies between the two operating units have failed to materialise.
Wilco, which is owned by Automatic Data Processing, says it is fully committed to the ongoing development of Tarot2000, despite the recent acquisition of the functionally similar Summit system from Computershare.
Steve Bloomer, CEO at Wilco International says: "This is the latest development in our strategy for the international retail markets. It also represents another contribution by Wilco that will further extend the functional coverage of ADP's strategic platform, the Global Processing Solution (GPS)."