February 5, 2019
Willkie represented Genstar and Apex in the transaction.
Willkie advised Genstar Capital and its portfolio company Apex Group on the carve-out and acquisition of the corporate and private clients business of Link Asset Services, a division of the Australian listed Link Group.
The acquisition bolsters Apex’s corporate services capabilities adding specialist hubs in the UK, Jersey, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Hungary and Switzerland. The Apex Group’s service offering now spans fund administration, banking and depositary solutions, a comprehensive middle office offering and a leading corporate services solution. The acquisition adds 660 employees and over 6,000 clients to the Apex Group.
The transaction remains subject to regulatory clearances.
Willkie previously advised Genstar on the acquisition of Apex Fund Services and Equinoxe Alternative Investment Services and the subsequent bolt-ons of Deutsche Bank’s Alternative Services Business, MM Warburg, Ipes and the announced acquisition of LRI (a Luxembourg-based asset manager).
The Apex Group, established in Bermuda in 2003, is one of the world’s largest fund solutions providers with nearly $600 billion in AUA and over 40 offices worldwide. Genstar Capital manages funds with total capital commitments of approximately $10 billion and targets investments focused on targeted segments of the financial services, software, industrial technology, and healthcare industries.
Link Asset Services works in partnership internationally with almost 7,000 clients including asset managers and investors, business managers, asset owners, trustees, issuers and borrowers, to provide the infrastructure through which assets are secured or deployed in both regulated and unregulated markets.
The Willkie deal team was led by U.K. partner Philip Coletto and included partners Jeffrey Poss and Manuel Miranda; and U.K. partners Henrietta de Salis and Judith Harger.
