VIRTU SYSTEMS integrates the team and product range of Laboratory of Open Information Systems in Perm
The transaction agreed between the shareholders of VIRTU and LOIS will see the management team of LOIS as well as its programming and sales divisions joining VIRTU. LOIS’s products and services will be transferred to VIRTU and LOIS’s clients will be offered to be serviced by VIRTU going forward. Following the integration, VIRTU will have just under 100 full-time employees, which makes it the largest focused player in the market of front-end software solutions for distribution of insurance products in Russia. The Company’s shareholders appoint Oleg Ryashentsev as new General Director.
The integration will expand VIRTU’s team of experts and programmers as well as its product range and distribution arrangements.
VIRTU continues to be supported by its largest shareholder: the New Europe Insurance Fund (“NEIF”). NEIF invests in the insurance and insurance related sectors of non-EU Eastern Europe with a principal focus on Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. NEIF is advised byEMF Capital Partners, a UK based private equity firm, dedicated exclusively to the financial services industry in emerging markets.
Oleg Ryashentsev, General Director of VIRTU, comments: “Integrating the LOIS team into VIRTU allows us to access the very talented pool of experts that LOIS has built in Perm and to build a much stronger product offering to our clients. Combining the client base and product offerings of both companies brings us a large step closer to creating a market standard for how financial products such as insurance are sold in Russia.
Sergey Ananiev, co-founder of LOIS and COO of VIRTU comments: “VIRTU and LOIS have had different positioning in the Russian front-end insurance software market. VIRTU was focused on larger insurers while LOIS had a stronger position with smaller regional insurers as well as car dealers. We look forward to start tapping into the synergies between VIRTU’s operations in Mitishchi and downtown Moscow as well as the LOIS team in Perm.”
Peter Lovas, CEO of EMF Capital Partners, comments: “Just like the Russian insurance market, the front-office software market is in need of consolidation to create a stronger player that has the resources to lead in terms of innovation and providing new exciting distribution models. We continue to support VIRTU in being a key player in this important market segment and to possibly finance additional opportunities for consolidation.”
Notes to the Editor:
About EMF Capital Partners
The EMF New Europe Insurance Fund, sponsored by EMF Capital Partners, was established to pursue investment opportunities in the insurance and insurance related sectors in non-EU Eastern Europe. EMF is based in London with a local presence in Moscow and Istanbul. Its UK subsidiary, EMF Capital (UK) Limited, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.