M and A
US Private Capital Business Completes Crestbridge Deal
The transaction – announced last summer for an undisclosed sum – expands Gen II's business reach into the markets of Luxembourg, and builds a jurisdictional presence in the UK, Jersey, Ireland, and other non-US markets.
Gen II
Fund Services, the private capital fund administrator, has
wrapped up its acquisition of Crestbridge, the European
provider of private capital fund administration services.
As
previously announced in July 2023, Gen II Fund Services has
bought Crestbridge’s institutional businesses for an undisclosed
sum. Following the transaction, Crestbridge Family Office
Services will continue as an independent business.
The deal is another example of the kind of M&A activity that
is taking place not just in wealth management but in the trusts,
fiduciary services and administration sectors, as rising
regulatory costs and client demands drive a need for economies of
scale.
Crestbridge, which was first established in Jersey, also operates
in Luxembourg, New Jersey, New York, Ireland, and the UK.
The acquisition of Crestbridge expands Gen II’s presence in
Luxembourg and adds jurisdictional reach in the UK, Jersey,
Ireland, and other international markets.
The acquisition, which has increased Gen II’s assets under
administration to more than $1 trillion, has created a
roster of more than 1,700 professionals. Dean Hodcroft, former
CEO of Crestbridge will lead Gen II’s European operations, Gen II
said in a statement.
Founded in 1998, Crestbridge provides outsourced administration,
accounting, corporate governance, depositary, management company,
and compliance services fund sponsors. The firm has specialised
private markets expertise, including private equity, real estate,
private credit, and infrastructure, as well as a corporate
services offering.
Gen II was founded in 2009 and has more than $1 trillion of
private fund capital under administration.
In similar deals in this corporate, fiduciary services and funds
administration space, in November 2023, ZEDRA, a global
specialist in corporate and global expansion, active wealth,
pensions and incentives services, and fund solutions,
bought LJ Fiduciary and Alvarium Private Office, which has
offices in the Isle of Man, Geneva and the UK. The business was
acquired from AITi Tiedemann Global, the multi-family office
group recently created from a transatlantic merger.