The market has reacted favorably to Edify Corp.'s plan to buy a minority stake in e-Profile, an outsourcing subsidiary of Sanchez Computer Associates Inc.
The stock of Edify, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based developer of Internet banking software, closed at $9.375 Friday, up from $7.75 a week earlier.
Edify's deal with Sanchez-the terms of which were not disclosed when it was announced last week-would make it a founding partner in the e-Profile data processing service for the direct banking arms of large financial institutions. Edify would work with e-Profile to develop end-to-end direct banking capabilities.
Malvern, Pa.-based Sanchez also seeks minority investments from other home banking software developers.
Jeffrey Crowe, president and chief executive officer of Edify, said, "This is a significant step forward in building a recurring revenue stream business for Edify."
Edify has licensed its Electronic Banking System software to 100 customers, including Chase Manhattan Corp., Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, and NetBank Inc.
Sanchez formed e-Profile last quarter after buying Artech Financial Technology Services Inc.
The service is based on Sanchez's Profile Anyware software. Within 12 months, e-Profile is expected to be spun off as a publicly traded company.
