After making waves a decade ago as an acquirer of other coreprocessors and signer of billion-dollar credit unions to its openrelational database platform, Open Solutions Inc. has been sold toits biggest rival.

Fiserv Inc. said Monday it has agreed to pay $55 million forGlastonbury, Conn., based Open Solutions and assume approximately$960 million in debt and a $165 million acquired tax asset, theWisconsin-based company said.

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“We are extremely proud of the innovative products OpenSolutions has developed since its founding in 1992, and thestrong business that we have built over the years,” saidLouis Hernandez Jr., chairman/CEO of Open Solutions, who grewthe company, took it public and then private again.

“Joining Fiserv provides us with significant resources that willbenefit our clients and increase market momentum,” he said.

Open Solutions serves more than 3,300 clients worldwide,including more than 800 core processing clients, about half of themcredit unions. Its DNA platform is its flagship and the company wasthe first in the credit union space to offer an app store for developers of add-ons to its solution.

Other solutions Fiserv cited in its announcement are the CUnifyand TotalPlus account processing platforms, Weiland AccountAnalysis for commercial account analysis, tools that enable thecreation and sharing of client-developed functionality, and RaddonFinancial Group, which offers performance consulting services.

“Open Solutions provides several growth opportunities, includinga real-time account processing capability that serves multiplecharter types, languages and currencies on a single platform,” saidFiserv President/CEO Jeffery Yabuki.

“Open Solutions' strong team of associates is intently focusedon client success and committed to collaborative technology, whichwill enhance the value we provide to our clients,” he said.

Fiserv had launched Acumen, its answer to DNA for large credit unions, in2009 and said now it expects to add some of the features containedin its Acumen account processing platform to DNA. About 30 creditunions have committed to that platform.

“This combination will provide financial institutions —including credit unions, banks and thrifts — with a technologyplatform that enables the delivery of a differentiated experiencealong with integrated solutions,” Fiserv said in itsannouncement.

The transaction was completed on Monday, the company said.