S1 Corporation is selling its Edify business, which supplies interactive voice response (IVR) technology to financial firms, to Dallas-based Intervoice for $33.5 million in cash.
Atlanta-based S1 originally put the Edify business up for sale in 2003 but called off talks after failing to agree a price with prospective buyers.
The acquisition by Intervoice is expected to close in December 2005. Going forward, S1 says it will continue as a reseller of the joint voice banking products developed with Edify.
Intervoice says its merger with Edify will strengthen its position in the voice automation market. The Edify business will also provide it with added revenues and resources that will enable it to accelerate the development and delivery of multi-channel, automated information systems for both its enterprise and network customers.
Over the last four fiscal quarters, Intervoice and Edify had combined revenue in excess of $200 million. At closing, the combined company is expected to have more than 850 employees around the world.
Craig Holmes, EVP and CFO of Intervoice, says: "We believe this acquisition is a good investment for our shareholders. Edify's recurring maintenance revenues, voice-automation solutions and world-class customer base will immediately drive revenue growth following the closing."
"We expect this acquisition to be accretive to gross margins, operating margins and earnings per share within the first year," he adds.
Following the acquisition, Bob Ritchey will continue as president and CEO of Intervoice, while Edify president and CEO Mitch Mandich will stay with the company through a transition period as an advisor.