Software provider Misys is close to choosing a partner to help it fund its consumer internet businesses.
Misys has spent £40m developing Screentrade, its general insurance site, and Theformula.com, which provides financial products such as credit cards and life insurance.
The company has been looking at a number of possibilities for the operations, including flotation and an outright sale. It hired Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank, to review the options last year.
But Misys has confirmed that it is in talks with five household names in finance and hopes to be able to announce a partner by the time it posts its annual results on July 19.
A spokesman for Misys said: “We are talking to some very well known household brands that could help us on a shareholder basis.
“Looking at the growth of Misys, they realise its potential and we are confident that a partner will be found soon.”
Misys has spent about £40m developing the businesses within its internet division. Both Screentrade and Theformula.com provide quotes on home, travel and motor insurance.
It has links with the major insurers, including Axa, Allianz Cornhill and Royal & Sunalliance.The firm's business-to-business websites – I2I-link, a website for insurers, and M-link for IFAs – will continue to be funded separately from their consumer counterparts.
In its six-month results to November 30, the insurance division was the best performer of all Misys products. It reported pre-tax profits of £62m, up from £58m. Sales totalled £413m, up from £344.5m.
