SunGard snaps up UK’s Monis

US trading and risk technology supplier SunGard has acquired Monis, the derivatives software company, in a move designed to combine the former’s straight-through processing (STP) expertise with the latter’s pricing systems. The move is part of an ongoing acquisition strategy by SunGard.

London-based Monis provides analysis systems designed to equip derivatives buyers and sellers with trading strategies, including software used to manage and price equity options, foreign exchange options, interest rate derivatives and credit derivatives.

“We believe it is now necessary to partner with an industry leader like SunGard to capture valuable synergies and strengthen our resource base,” said Emanuel Mond, co-chairman of Monis.

SunGard said Monis will operate as a separate trading unit of the business, and will be combined with the company’s TrueCalc convertibles pricing model.

Jim Ashton, chief executive officer of SunGard Trading and Risk Systems, commented: “As part of our strategy to integrate best-of-breed applications to create complete solutions, Monis will provide enhanced derivatives trading support to all of SunGard’s trading and risk management solutions.”

Monis was set up in the late 1970s as a department within the London Business School. It was subject to a management buyout in 1994. It then acquired venture capital partners, Kennet Capital and Intel Corporation, in 1998. SunGard developed a link with the company in February when one of its subsidiaries, Front Capital Systems, entered an agreement to let its customers access Monis software.

A spokeswoman for SunGard would not comment on the financial terms of the deal.