Sympli buyout seen as a vote of confidence for sector
Conveyancing leaders are viewing news that InfoTrack has acquired the ASX’s 49 per cent share of e-settlement platform Sympli as a shot in the arm for stalled interoperability reform.
CONVEYANCERS have welcomed InfoTrack’s takeover of e-settlement provider Sympli as an industry confidence booster and a shot in the arm for stalled interoperability reform.
InfoTrack on Tuesday announced it would take full ownership of Sympli via the acquisition of the ASX’s remaining 49 per cent stake in the company, which was set up in a 2018 collaboration to challenge PEXA’s market dominance in the $300 million settlement market.
Both InfoTrack and Sympli will be wholly owned by Sydney-headquartered ATI Global, which owns several legal software companies, once the deal is completed.
Sympli, PEXA’s only rival, took a hit in April after a push to bolster competition via interoperability reform, allowing practitioners on electronic lodgement network operators to complete transactions with entities on other platforms, was shelved in a shock move by regulator ARNECC and backed by lawmakers.
AIC Victoria president Shakila Maclean said for those in favour of interoperability, InfoTrack’s move to take control of Sympli “means that we haven’t lost hope”.
“It’s significant for the conveyancing profession because people like me, who have long supported interoperability and genuine competition within e-conveyancing, it’s a really important statement from ATI Group of the continued commitment to the market,” Maclean told Australian Conveyancer.
“Even though it’s been difficult, it shows they’re still going down that path – I think it’s positive for the industry.”
“I think the ARNECC announcement at the end of March was a really disappointing outcome for many, and I think this announcement from today shows us that interoperability is far from over.”
She expected that InfoTrack’s full ownership of Sympli would supercharge innovation at the company and ultimately lead to more choice for consumers.
“They’re continuing to build that alternative infrastructure,” Maclean said.
Chris Lane, Chief Executive of digital conveyancing group Deep Blue Company, also backed the takeover.
“We are fully supportive of Sympli’s 100 per cent acquisition by InfoTrack on the basis that they know and understand the market dynamics in this segment of the market,” Lane told Australian Conveyancer.
“The acquisition will bolster Sympli’s capabilities to be competitive – it obviously needs to sit in a privately-owned business for a period of time, given how defensive PEXA has been.
“If anyone understands technology and the operation of the conveyancing market in Australia, it’s InfoTrack.”
It was essential for consumers to be offered more choice in e-conveyancing, describing it as key for “competitiveness and also redundancy”, Lane said.
“At the moment we as conveyancers have a single point of sensitivity around PEXA and its stability,” he said, adding that “if PEXA fails, we have no option but to complete on behalf of our clients”.
Earlier on Tuesday, InfoTrack Group CEO John Ahern said his belief in Sympli as a major industry player remained robust.
“We will refocus and double down our efforts to finish what we started. There is no technical barrier to interoperability, only political will,” Ahern said.
ARNECC and PEXA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the deal.
PEXA, which opposes interoperability, has previously described the nation’s e-conveyancing system as low-cost, highly resilient and an international benchmark.
