Global IT provider acquires minority share in First North Consulting, offering tech backup to advisor support business
First North Consulting, a Canadian financial services consultancy firm, announced this week that it has sold a minority ownership stake to FPT Software. FPT is a global IT services provider headquartered in Vietnam, the deal is set to improve First North’s technology scale.
As part of this deal, FPT has also completed a comprehensive strategic partnership with the Securities Industry Data Exchange (SIDE). Through the acquisition and partnership FPT is aiming to enhance its scalability in the Americas, with a particular focus on deepening relationships in financial services.
"Over the past decade, we have invested and entered M&A transactions with prominent technology and consulting companies worldwide to strengthen our technical capabilities, enhance our position in strategic markets, and expand our clientele. We are confident that with First North's outstanding reputation in the North American markets, its industry expertise, and local resources, we can enhance our offerings to accelerate growth and strengthen resilience for our customers globally," said Phuong Dang, Senior Executive Vice President of FPT Software and CEO of FPT Americas.
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According to a press release announcing the deal, First North will use its access to FPT’s infrastructure to enhance its technology scale. The Canadian firm will now have access to “tens of thousands of data and software engineers” as well as tech capabilities in digital modernization, big data, AI, and process optimization.
FPT in turn will leverage First North’s expertise across a range of financial services areas. Those include front office and wealth management work, middle and back office operations, capital markets, and regulatory and compliance management.
The partnership with SIDE is also expected to give FPT’s customers access to greater operational efficiency and access to SIDE’s market infrastructure platform for large North American financial institutions.
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"For more than two decades, our customers, including at the board level, have entrusted First North with the development, validation, and implementation of their customers' strategic objectives, including business transformation, new product development, process reengineering, and regulatory compliance. Following interest from several global companies, First North has chosen FPT Software as our strategic partner. FPT Software's focus on the latest technology innovation, such as hyper-automation and their commitment to both Canadian and international markets will allow First North and SIDE to take on our customer's largest mandates," said John Packwood, Founder & CEO, First North Group.
