Swiss in £1.4bn swoop on City tech pioneer

ANotheR British tech star looks set to be bought by an overseas rival after a swiss bank made a £1.4bn bid for Fidessa.

in a takeover deal that will net the Ftse 250 financial data company’s top investors hundreds of millions of pounds, Geneva-based banking software maker temenos is poised to offer 3647p per share.

David taylor, the former iBm typewriter salesman who founded Fidessa, stands to make £42.1m while chief executive Christopher Aspinwall could make £4.5m.

the company’s top five shareholders, including schroders and Blackrock, stand to make more than £600m in total.

Bosses at Fidessa yesterday said they were prepared to back the proposals.

Fidessa shares rose 22.5pc, or 655p, to 3570p – a record high – after the announcement.

it came after the company reported a 7pc boost in annual sales and a 2pc rise in profits on monday.

A Fidessa spokesman confirmed yesterday that the company’s board is in ‘advanced discussions’ with temenos regarding a deal.

the spokesman said if a ‘firm offer’ is made, the board will urge shareholders to accept it.

however, he added: ‘there can be no certainty that any offer will be made.’

Fidessa makes software used by finance firms to view market data and execute trades. it reported sales of £354m for the year to December 31.

its shares closed at 2915p on monday, giving it a market capitalisation of £1.13bn.

When markets closed yesterday that had risen to £1.38bn, with shares just 77p below temenos’ total offer price.

Analysts said the deal would allow the banking software giant to expand its reach while cementing Fidessa’s position in London.