India’s Wipro to buy Finastra partner Encore Theme Technologies

Written by Ruby Hinchliffe
30th October 2020

Wipro, a $14.4-billion-valued technology provider based in India, has announced it will acquire Encore Theme Technologies.

The soon-to-be-bought Chennai-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) and cloud provider specialises implementation for financial services firms.

Encore Theme claims to be one of Finastra’s “fastest growing partners”

The acquisition is still subject to customary closing conditions, but if approved, it’s expected to land before the end of this year.

Extent of Finastra partnership

In the last ten years, Encore Theme has focused exclusively on implementing trade finance solutions developed by Finastra, the firm dubbed one of the world’s largest fintechs.

Throughout this decade, the firm says it has deployed some “75 large-scale” Finastra Trade Finance projects to banks across the Middle East, Africa, India and Asia Pacific.

It claims to be the “fastest growing partner” of Finastra’s in these regions. No financials are available, both around the deal and around Encore Theme’s recent financial performance.

According to Crunchbase, Encore Theme landed an undisclosed non-equity funding from Dubai-based investor DIFC FinTech Hive back in 2018.

Reasons for the deal

Wipro calls trade finance “a strong revenue generation stream”, and a “high cost base structure”. These observations point to reasons for its acquisition of Encor Theme.

The global trade finance market hit $63.540 billion in 2019. Estimates say it will hit $79.41 billion by the end of 2026, according to Valuates Reports.

But the resilience of the sector, tested by broken supply chains closed borders and disrupted trade routes, isn’t the only reason for the deal.

Angan Guha, Wipro’s global head of banking, financial services and insurance, says the firm’s “significant delivery experience of Finastra solutions” are another major reason for the deal.

He specifically cites the implementation of both Finastra’s trade finance and cash management solutions.

Founded in 2006, Encore Theme has since been headed up by R.K. Kanthimathinathan. The companies did not say what will happen to the leadership team at Encore Theme following the transaction.