Synthesis Software Technologies, a specialised financial technology company that provides software development, consulting and integration services to financial institutions, has been acquired by JSE-listed Capital Appreciation.

Capital Appreciation, a special purpose acquisition company in South Africa, has acquired 100% of the company for R132.1m.

Synthesis is a specialised financial technology company that provides software development, consulting and integration services to financial institutions. 

Current clients include blue chip financial organisations such as Investec, Absa, Standard Bank, Capitec and Nedbank. 

It will remain independent, operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Capital Appreciation. 

Synthesis will continue to grow as a specialised financial technology provider with access to capital and other resources within Capital Appreciation to further invest in the business and expand its offerings.

Bradley Sacks, joint CEO of Capital Appreciation, said: “This acquisition is in line with Capital Appreciation’s value creation objectives and its strategy of providing established and emerging financial services companies with fintech services.” 

“Synthesis is well positioned to capitalise on financial institutions’ on-going requirements to invest in innovation, increase customer reach, reduce operating costs and enhance regulatory compliance.”

“It is also the first Amazon Web Services (AWS) Consulting Partner to reach Advanced Partner status in the African and Middle East regions which enables clients to effectively utilise cloud technology,” he said.

Synthesis, founded in 1997, offers highly specialised software development, consulting and integration services and technology based product solutions to banking and financial institutions in South Africa and other emerging markets. 

Its focus is on the biggest impact areas for fintech: cloud, digital channels, blockchain, big data. In addition Synthesis addresses upcoming trends such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

Executed in close collaboration with their clients, the Synthesis digital channel initiatives deliver an exceptional end-user customer experience. 

The Synthesis team recognises customers’ priorities and focuses on delivering highest business value in these projects. 

As an accredited AWS Consulting Partner, Synthesis’ cloud transformation initiatives assist financial institutions in becoming cloud ready, to execute mass migrations, to harness the benefits of big data analytics and to extract the cost savings and regulatory benefits of compliance. 

This is an increasing priority for financial services institutions across Africa. 

Synthesis’ offering for banks and financial services institutions also include online banking and regulatory reporting solutions for both SARS (tax) and SARB (balance of payments).

Michael Shapiro, MD of Synthesis, said: “Synthesis started as a team of passionate software developers intent on transforming financial services for its customers in a meaningful way. As part of this journey, we earned their trust, built rewarding partnerships and provided high impact services. This vision will be enhanced by the strong leadership and vision of the Capital Appreciation team.”