Wolters Kluwer Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) today announced it has signed an agreement to sell its indirect loan origination solutions, including the AppOne software platform, to The Reynolds and Reynolds Company, a provider of software, documents, and professional services to automotive retailers, for €32 million in cash.
Wolters Kluwer’s intended divestment is in line with the GRC division’s strategy to focus its financial services group of businesses on growing its market-leading compliance content and expert solutions for banks and other financial institutions globally.
The company’s AppOne indirect loan origination platform, compliance documents and risk mitigation services are used primarily by automotive, marine, powersports and recreational vehicle dealers across the U.S. to facilitate interaction with lenders. Wolters Kluwer expects to report a €13 million book gain, net of tax, on the divestment. Reynolds and Reynolds anticipates extending offers of employment to 36 Wolters Kluwer employees as part of the transaction.
“As a leader in automotive dealership solutions, Reynolds and Reynolds is well-positioned to continue to support the unique needs of indirect loan origination customers,” said Richard Flynn, CEO of Wolters Kluwer’s GRC division. “Wolters Kluwer will continue to invest in our core regulatory compliance business which serves thousands of banks, credit unions, and mortgage lenders globally.”
“At the same time, we remain committed to providing these banks and other licensed lenders with our proven regulatory expertise, solutions and services for their mortgage, consumer and commerical lending as well as investment and insurance businesses,” said Steven Meirink, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Compliance Solutions business unit for Wolters Kluwer’s GRC division.
“We continually look for ways to grow our business,” said Jerry Kirwan, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Reynolds Document Services at Reynolds and Reynolds. “Reynolds already offers an extensive documents product portfolio, along with well-known expertise in business forms compliance for dealerships. By acquiring these additional documents, software and services business, Reynolds will be able to serve an even broader set of markets and customers even more effectively.”
The divestiture is expected to close by the end of 2016.