IRESS, the Australian-based supplier of financial market and wealth management systems, is expanding in Asia, acquiring the software provider SENTRYi, the firm said in a statement.

Singapore-based SENTRYi develops, distributes and supports investment planning software designed for the Asian marketplace.

Its software has multi-lingual and multi-location capability, the firm said, adding that the software is at the moment deployed in three countries where it is used by tied agency forces and independent planning groups.

“SENTRYi has made a solid start in Singapore and the region, and with IRESS providing financial confidence and capacity and with technology synergies, we are confident in the opportunity to grow our Asian wealth management business,” said IRESS managing director, Andrew Walsh.

“Our immediate starting component for growth will be the existing SENTRYi software and the strong relationships already developed by SENTRYi with current and potential key customers,” he said.

“Beyond this, our goal will be to localise existing software functionality and services available in IRESS for the Asian market. Our initial focus is on fresh opportunities, such as extending our risk research and analytics capability for the Singapore market,” he added.

The total cost of the SENTRYi acquisition will ultimately be contingent on future growth, and was structured with modest up-front payments.

The transaction structure represents an acceptable up-front commitment with upside to the vendors based on meaningful growth outcomes, the firm said. The upfront cash payments amount to S$1.296 million ($933,000). The final payment will be assessed in three years based on business growth over that period. The total acquisition price (including the initial payment) will be one times recurring revenue at that time.