OpenLink Financial, Inc (OpenLink), a leading provider of energy, commodities, trading, and risk management (C/ETRM) solutions, which support the entire transaction lifecycle, is to acquire SolArc, a leading provider of commodity management solutions for companies operating across the commodity supply chain, with particular strength in logistics associated with physical bulk commodities such as NGL’s, coal, oil and agricultural products.
Kevin Hesselbirg, ceo, OpenLink, said, “We are very pleased that we have finally been able to complete this acquisition. The management teams have discussed the potential value of this transaction for many years, largely because our joint customers have remarked on the potential synergistic value. The complementary platforms of each company will continually evolve to meet the ever changing needs of the market place, in particular the convergence of physical and financial trading, combined with the need to manage financial risk and operational risk across the associated complexities of physical delivery and settlement. It is our firm belief that together OpenLink and SolArc will be positioned to offer the C/ETRM market place an unprecedented single vendor solution to address the complex needs of their businesses.”
The combined entities will remain committed to their respective solution suites while bringing their unique strengths to each other’s product sets. Brad Anderson, ceo of SolArc, will become a valuable member of the OpenLink management team continuing to oversee the vision and product strategy of SolArc product lines focused on usability and mobility.
Hesselbirg went on to add, “We are committed to assisting the SolArc management team to continue driving organic growth and international expansion by leveraging our global footprint, while retaining the entrepreneurial and product development focus of the SolArc organization.”
Brad Anderson, ceo, SolArc, noted, “As Kevin mentioned, we have had mutual admiration for each other as respective leaders in our areas of expertise. Prior OpenLink acquisitions have been similar in that they have selected market leading enterprises with distinct value propositions, and increasing our ability to drive continued value for our customers is the strategic rationale for this combination as well. Both companies’ core assets remain their people, products, and customers, and we fully expect they will each remain valuable contributors to our future success. We are very excited about the prospects and look forward to working with Kevin and his team, to deliver to both of our clients value and innovation to improve their operational efficiencies.”
The acquisition is expected to close by the end of 2011, subject to legal and other regulatory approvals.
