IFDS buys Percana Group

Financial services company International Financial Data Services (IFDS) has bought Percana Group for an undisclosed sum.

The company, which is a joint venture between State Street Corporation and DST Systems, acquired an initial interest in Percana in 2008. Percana provides outsourcing services and software to the global life and pensions industry anhd employs more than 250 people at its Dublin headquarters. It signed up a major new client, Pearl Group, in January.

A spokesman for Percana said it would be "business as usual" for staff. The company intends to continue its recruitment plans, and will add a further 20 jobs before the end of 2010. It has already recruited 60 new positions this year, mainly in IT development, quality assurance and policy administration and fund accounting.

IFDS chief executive Paul O'Neill said the purchase of Percana was part of the next phase of IFDS' growth.

"We are committed to expanding our product scope and market reach throughout our existing investor record keeping and transfer agency solutions hand-in-hand with increasing our presence in the life assurance and pensions market," he said. "The life assurance market is a key growth area for IFDS, and the purchase of Percana brings an established and robust technology platform which is endorsed by a respected selection of leading institutions in the market."

In conjunction with State Street, IFDS currently supports financial institutions, distributors, platforms, advisors and investors in Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Singapore, Switzerland and the UK.