Fineos, a Dublin-based developer of software for the banking sector, has won a multi-million pound contract with ABN-Amro and signalled its intention to float in the fourth quarter.
The £6 million (€7.6 million) deal with ABN-Amro is the latest in a series of lucrative contract wins for Fineos, which recently changed its name from Managed Solutions Corporation.
Mr Michael Kelly, founder and chief executive of Fineos, said the firm doubled revenue last year to almost £11 million and made profits of almost £1 million.
Fineos is currently raising up to €15 million in funding to prepare it for floatation in the fourth quarter. This funding round is expected to be closed by late March.
Mr Kelly said the firm would probably sell off about 20 per cent through an initial public offering on the Dublin and London stock exchanges.
Some 12 months ago Fineos sold a 0.8 per cent stake to Royal Netherlands, putting a valuation of about £100 million on the company.
Despite the fall-off in technology valuations over the past 10 months, Fineos's strong performance lately means Mr Kelly's 66 per cent shareholding in the firm is probably worth more than £60 million.
The company's customers include many of the top banks and insurance houses in Europe including Britannia, Northern Rock and Canada Life.
Fineos will supply ABNAmro with a licence for its life and pensions enterprise software solution in its latest deal. Fineos is projecting revenues of almost £25 million in 2001 and expansion into the US and Eastern European markets.
