NEW YORK, N.Y. – Information technology and media company Thomson Reuters (TSX:TRI) is selling its Portia financial software portfolio to SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:SSNC) for US$170 million.
Thomson Reuters had been planning to sell the business since last April, along with about $1 billion worth of other properties it no longer considers core to its operations, as it looks to bulk up its information technology offerings.
“The commercial synergies of the deal should drive growth and investment for our business, and deliver significant incremental value to our clients,” Portia president Christy Bremner said Wednesday in a statement.
“We have a highly talented team, with an impressive track record, excellent product offerings, and loyal customers and as part of SS&C, we will be better positioned to deliver innovation to the global financial markets community.”
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Portia allows investment managers to track and manage day-to-day activity in their investment portfolios. About 140 Portia staff in Boston, Bangalore, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Tokyo and Bangkok will join SS&C Technologies, which provides software to the global financial services industry. Bremner will continue to lead the company.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.
Thomson Reuters, which is based in New York but trades its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange, has been looking to shore up revenue as it faces a tough economy and weaker results in its financial markets operations, which provide specialized data to banks, brokers and other financial companies.
Earlier this month, the company reported a US$2.57-billion fourth-quarter loss after taking a non-cash $3-billion writedown related to its financial services business. Stripping out one-time items, however, the company said it earned an adjusted 54 cents per share, compared with 37 cent in the year-ago period.
For the full year, Thomson Reuters posted a loss of $1.39 billion, $1.67 per share, compared with a profit of $933 million, $1.08 per share, in 2010. Revenues for 2011 came in six per cent higher at $13.8 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were up 27 per cent at $1.98.
The company announced a management shakeup in December that will see Tom Glocer step down as CEO.
Thomson Reuters, which is controlled by the Toronto-based Thomson family, has offices in Toronto, New York, and London, and employs 55,000 people.
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