NEC Seeks Digital Finance Expansion with Avaloq Acquisition

“NEC’s leadership believe that the acquisition will allow it to establish a solid footing in the digital finance field while also strengthening its presence in the area of digital government.”

NEC is looking to expand into the digital finance sector through the acquisition of Avaloq, a Swiss firm offering digital banking and wealth management services.

The latter firm has over 150 clients in 30 countries, with an important part of its business being the provision of Software-as-a-Service and “Business-Process-as-a-Service” solutions for wealth management. The company has also become increasingly active in FinTech pertaining to technologies like AI and blockchain in recent years.

In a statement announcing the acquisition, NEC Corporation CEO Takashi Niino explained that the companies will work “to create new solutions that combine Avaloq’s software with NEC’s cutting-edge technologies,” with the latter including biometric authentication technologies and its AI brand, “NEC the WISE“.

“NEC will also promote global sales expansion of Avaloq’s software by taking advantage of NEC Group sales channels, including KMD, a leading European software and IT services provider that NEC acquired in February 2019,” the chief executive added.

NEC’s leadership believe that the acquisition will allow it to establish a solid footing in the digital finance field while also strengthening its presence in the area of digital government.

For Avaloq’s part, CEO Juerg Hunziker explained that the acquisition “will help further enlarge our geographical footprint across the globe,” adding later that NEC is “a strong partner… who supports our long-term vision and offers us continuity, stability and an exciting future of accelerated growth in new markets.”

The acquisition is expected to close by April of next year, and is valued at approximately 2.05 billion Swiss Francs, or about $2.2 billion USD.

(Originally posted on Mobile ID World)