GFT grows Latin American footprint with acquisition of Sophos Solutions

Digital transformation specialist GFT Technologies has acquired Colombia-based core banking business Sophos Solutions from private equity investor Advent International for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition, which is expected to complete in early February, will grow GFT’s presence to 20 countries, six of which are in Latin America with the addition of Colombia, Chile and Panama to Brazil, Mexico and Costa Rica.

GFT’s global headcount is also set to expand by nearly 20% to more than 12,000, as it incorporates Sophos’ approximately 1,700 employees.

Upon completion of the deal, GFT will become a top three provider of IT services for banking across Latin America.

“In this strategic acquisition, we’re not just merging companies; we’re multiplying potential,” said GFT’s chief executive officer Marika Lulay.

“It is a logical continuation of our successful strategy for growth and profitability. All aspects of Sophos are highly valuable to us – from the new colleagues, new competencies and new clients, to the new partners for core banking solutions, such as Oracle Flexcube.”

Lulay added: “All this results in high traction for GFT in Latin America’s third-largest market Colombia, plus exponential growth scope in the Americas and beyond.”

In 2022, Sophos generated revenues of around 257 billion pesos, the equivalent of €60 million, while GFT reported revenues of more than €730 million globally.

Felipe Villa, chief executive officer of Sophos, called the combined expertise and global presence of Sophos and GFT “a perfect fit”.

“This will enable us to even better support our clients on their digital transformation journey – great news for our employees and their career development, as well as for our clients. We are grateful to Advent for taking our company to the next level,” Villa said.

Lucas Marulanda, director at Advent International, said that since investing in Sophos in 2020, the provider of core banking solutions has “strategically” scaled its platform through international and regional expansion, and continued to drive technological transformation and modernisation across the financial industry.

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