US Order Buys Braun Simmons, a Specialist in Remote Banking

US Order announced Wednesday that it had purchased Braun, Simmons & Co., a vendor of remote banking technology.

The $6.5 million deal is part of Herndon, Va.-based US Order's plans to expand beyond the screen phone business for which it is best known.

Braun Simmons, headquartered in Toledo, was founded in 1990 to provide middleware, bill payment services, and front-end technology for remote banking. With 28 employees, it has installed systems for Barnett Banks Inc. and Zions Bancorp, among others.

The acquisition is one of several that US Order plans to make over the next year or two.

"The goals are to address every facet of the remote banking and bill payment business from a wide variety of access devices," said Joseph E. Smith, executive vice president in the financial services division of US Order.

"We think the union of these two companies brings the most comprehensive suite of products focused on remote banking in the industry."

At least one analyst sees the deal as a positive one.

"Braun Simmons gives them a track record that they didn't have in their middleware product," said Stephen D. Weinress, an analyst and principal at L.H. Friend Weinress.

Braun Simmons has "a very strong balance sheet, and I think down the road this could be a tremendous source of capital for the company," he said.

Braun Simmons anticipates $3 million in revenue this year, and Mr. Smith said the acquisition will boost US Order's revenues to $20 million in 1997. In addition, the deal increases the number of banks US Order does business with from 53 to 67.

US Order has been operating in the red, but some analysts said the acquisition hinted toward an ascent to profitability.

"What US Order is able to bring is extremely complementary features and the name recognition necessary to leverage our products out into the market," said Douglas Braun, a founder of the company who previously worked as chief technology officer at Trustcorp Bank (which is now part of KeyCorp).

US Order was founded in 1990 with a focus on smart telephones, bill payment processing, and remote shopping. In 1994, the company sold its processing unit to Visa Interactive to focus more closely on electronic commerce.

In 1995, US Order went public on the Nasdaq exchange. Also that year, the company purchased a 40% stake worth $5 million in Home Financial Network Inc., a developer of home banking software whose products are expected to come to market in early 1997.

US Order shifted gears again in January, dividing itself into a smart phone unit and a financial services business. Simultaneously, the company decided to target regional and community banks more strenuously, Mr. Smith said.

In August, US Order and Colonial Data Technologies announced plans to merge. Further expansion is on the horizon.

"Access device, customer service, and connectivity are the three areas of acquisition that we would be looking at," Mr. Smith said.

"We will continue to develop and perhaps acquire products that make it easy to connect to a wide variety of back-end service providers."

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