Solium and UBS to enhance strategic partnership

CALGARY, May 10, 2017 /CNW/ - Solium Capital Inc. ("Solium" or the "Company") (TSX: SUM), the leading global provider of software-as-a-service (SaaS) for equity administration, financial reporting and compliance, today announced that it anticipates entering into an agreement with UBS Financial Services Inc. ("UBS") on terms that have been agreed to in principle, that will extend the current long-standing relationship between Solium and UBS.  Under the new agreement, UBS customers will upgrade to a UBS branded version of Shareworks, Solium's industry leading stock plan administration platform.  UBS will continue to manage all of the service and support functions provided to their corporate clients and associated employee participants, including its wealth management services and digital employee experience.

"Corporate clients tell us that state-of-the-art corporate facing technology is critical for them," stated Michael Barry, Head of Equity Plan Advisory Services, UBS Wealth Management Americas. "Leveraging Shareworks technology allows us to focus on accelerating our efforts to deliver education and advice through our Financial Advisors and digital channels.  We are firmly committed to the equity plan business. An important aspect of that is helping both our corporate clients and participants achieve success.  Our industry is evolving and UBS will continue to be a leader and at the forefront of change."

"This arrangement is a testament to the power of the long-standing relationship that we have enjoyed with UBS in the US marketplace.  We are excited to enable UBS with the Shareworks platform," said Marcos Lopez, Solium's CEO.  "The Shareworks platform's modern architecture and rich features will enable UBS to continue to provide leading-edge technology to its clients.  We look forward to continuing to work with UBS and further enabling their stock plan business."

Under the proposed arrangement, UBS customers will benefit from a UBS branded version of Shareworks' best-in-breed administration platform.  UBS will continue to provide all aspects of its service delivery to its clients, including: UBS existing Employee Participant Platform; Relationship Management; Plan Administration; Wealth Management Services; Trade Execution; Workplace Education and Executive Services.  Solium will support UBS efforts through: providing all aspects of the technology infrastructure and service for plan administrators; supporting UBS use of the software; delivering industry leading on-line training systems; and technical support.

Administrators will gain significant capabilities provided by Shareworks, significantly increasing automated administration functionality, including superior capabilities around reporting and expense accounting.

This anticipated agreement will allow for further technology investment in the Shareworks platform, benefiting all of Solium's clients, as the additional scale in platform development will continue to accelerate Solium's Shareworks platform road-map and extend its technology lead in the marketplace.  The incremental increase in revenues from this relationship is not expected to be material to Solium in 2017. Solium expects the profitability of this business, once migrated, to be in line with the profitability of its business on average across all of its segments.

"The requirements of our clients and complexities of delivering to the needs of the global stock plan administration market continue to increase and we believe that a continued focus and investment in the capability of Shareworks will ensure  that we will be able to deliver the most comprehensive solution to the market," added Marcos Lopez. "The extension of our relationship with UBS will further reinforce this goal and enable increased acceleration of the features and capabilities we are able to offer our clients and partners." 

About Solium Capital Inc.

Solium Capital Inc. (TSX: SUM) provides cloud-enabled services for global equity administration, financial reporting and compliance. From offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia, our innovative software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology powers share plan administration and equity transactions for more than 3,000 corporate clients with employee participants in more than 100 countries. Follow us @Solium and visit us at solium.com.

About UBS AG

UBS AG provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as private clients in Switzerland. The operational structure of the Group is comprised of our Corporate Center and five business divisions: Wealth Management, Wealth Management Americas, Personal & Corporate Banking, Asset Management and the Investment Bank.  EPAS is part of Wealth Management Americas.  UBS's strategy builds on the strengths of all of its businesses and focuses its efforts on areas in which it excels, while seeking to capitalize on the compelling growth prospects in the businesses and regions in which it operates, in order to generate attractive and sustainable returns for its shareholders. All of its businesses are capital-efficient and benefit from a strong competitive position in their targeted markets.

UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in 54 countries, with about 34% of its employees working in the Americas, 35% in Switzerland, 18% in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 13% in Asia Pacific. UBS Group AG employs approximately 60,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Certain statements included or incorporated by reference in this press release constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information under applicable securities legislation.  Forward-looking statements or information typically contain statements with words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "will", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "propose", or similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook.  Specific forward-looking statements in this press release include statements with respect to: the anticipated entering into of a definite agreement with UBS and the specific terms of that agreement; planned future technology investment; the level of revenue contribution from the relationship; the expected profitability of Solium; and Solium's future position in the marketplace .  Such forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of assumptions which may prove to be incorrect, including assumptions with respect to: Solium and UBS obtaining the necessary internal approvals to enter into the agreement and the parties entering into a definitive written agreement on substantially the same terms as have been agreed to in principle; the ability of Solium to identify, hire, train, motivate and retain qualified personnel; the ability of Solium to efficiently and profitably scale development of the Shareworks platform; research and development costs; Solium's ability to maintain or adequately forecast revenue from and costs of its products and services; and the competitive environment in which the Company operates.   Although Solium believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements or information because Solium can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.  The forward-looking statements and information are based on Solium's current expectations, estimates and projections, and are subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including development costs, general business and economic conditions, actions of competitors and partners, the regulatory environment and product capability and acceptance.  Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.

SOURCE Solium Capital Inc.

Investor relations: Conrad Seguin, NATIONAL | Equicom, 416-586-1951, [email protected]