Dublin software firm Allfinanz has been acquired by reinsurance giant Munich Re for €48 million in cash.

Allfinanz provides business processing and underwriting automation software to life insurance companies.

Since January of this year, as a result of a global marketing and co-operation agreement between the two companies, Allfinanz has been able to ship its software with Munich Re's underwriting rules pre-integrated.

David Wall, chief executive of Allfinanz said there was a very natural fit with Munich Re as the Irish firm's biggest competitors were re-insurance companies.

Both Swiss Re and Reinsurance Group of America (RGA), the largest life re-insurance firms in the world other than Munich Re, have their own software systems which compete with Allfinanz.

According to documents filed with the Companies Office FM Systems, the parent company of Allfinanz, recorded a profit of €91,000 last year but had retained losses of €11.69 million.

The Munich Re relationship was recognised as Partnership of the Year at the Irish Software Association's annual awards presented last week.

Allfinanz employs 58 staff at offices in Dublin and Sydney, Australia. Mr Wall said the management team would stay on and Allfinanz would retain its brand, trading as a separate company within the group. He said the company was enjoying rapid growth in Asia and would leverage the Munich Re relationship to grow in Europe.

Just over 20 per cent of the firm is held by employees. Mr Wall said Allfinanz had received backing from three venture capital investors: Bank of Scotland (Ireland), ACT Venture Capital and Dutch investor Parc-IT. The company was founded in 1987 and initially traded as FM Systems.