i-Flex to acquire US company Mantas for $122.6 million

i-Flex Solutions, the country's leading software products company in which global software major Oracle Corp is the major shareholder, has announced a significant overseas acquisition. The company would buy the whole of US-based Mantas Inc for $122.6 million in an all cash deal.

Mantas is headquartered in Virginia with offices in New York, the UK and Singapore. Leading global financial institutions like ABN Amro, Barclays Capital, Charles Schwab, Citibank, Merrill Lynch, and Credit Suisse are among the company's clients.

Mantas is currently privately owned and leading shareholders are IT services company SRA International and venture capital firm Safeguard Scientists

Mantas Inc is a leading provider of anti-money laundering, fraud detection and various compliance software solutions to the financial services sector. Its compliance and anti-money laundering products have been judged as the best in recent years.

Mantas's software products are based on behaviour detection technology and are targeted at three broad areas – compliance, loss prevention and revenue generation. Under compliance, it provides solutions to meet regulatory requirements for financial traders, mutual funds and brokers. Loss prevention products include software for fraud detection and operational risk analysis.

The acquisition would widen and significantly enhance the product portfolio of i-Flex as it would bring very strong competencies in risk management and compliance. The market for risk and compliance management software is expected to touch $20 billion by 2008 by some analysts.

"Through our acquisition of Mantas we gain access to an industry-leading behavior detection and compliance solution, coupled with deep financial services industry expertise," said Rajesh Hukku, Chairman & Managing Director, i-flex solutions. "Mantas' growing client list reads like a 'who's who' of Tier 1 global financial institutions, and Mantas' ability to continue to deepen their relationships with top-tier clients is testimony to the exceptional value their clients receive from Mantas solutions. Together we are poised to become a leading player in the risk and compliance marketplace."

Simon Moss, chief executive officer, Mantas, said, "The Mantas team is excited to join forces with one of the strongest and most rapidly growing solution providers to the global financial services industry. Our joint efforts will enable our clients to leverage their risk and compliance activities and drive process improvements, thereby enjoying better governance and performance throughout their organisations. i-flex solutions' leadership in risk and compliance in financial institutions, combined with Mantas' extensive leadership in financial services compliance, particularly in Institutional Brokerage and Capital Markets, offer the most comprehensive solution for our clients."