Broadridge Financial Solutions buys European service provider

Broadridge Financial Solutions announced Wednesday it has acquired a regulatory, marketing and sales service provider based in Dublin, Ireland.

The Lake Success-headquartered company purchased FundAssist Limited, which handles the composition, management and distribution of digitized regulatory and disclosure documents for global fund managers in Europe. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

Broadridge delivers documents such as proxy statements and annual reports to investors on behalf of public companies and investment funds. It also tabulates shareholder votes and processes transactions for investment banks. The purchase will help extend Broadridge’s reach to the European fund market, “helping clients to get ahead of today's challenges to capitalize on what's next," Patricia Rosch, head of Broadridge's international Investor Communication Solutions business, said in a statement.

Jim O'Reilly, managing director of FundAssist, said in a statement, "It is a privilege to be part of Broadridge's international expansion strategy, and we look forward to helping a growing number of global funds increase efficiency and transform their compliance frameworks in response to new regulations in the European markets."  

Broadridge shares rose 1.5 percent Wednesday to close at $113.88.

On Tuesday, Broadridge reported a profit of $109 million for the three-month period ended March 31, a 44 percent increase compared with the same period last year. Revenues for the quarter were $1 billion, a year-over-year increase of 6 percent. The company’s recurring fee revenues rose by 8 percent, to $639 million.

Its effective tax rate for the quarter was 12.9 percent, less than half its 28.6 percent rate for the same period last year. The decrease was mainly due to the recognition of a $16 million excess tax benefit attributable to stock-based compensation, as well as the change in the corporate tax rate under the federal tax overhaul, the company said.