M and A

US Private Capital Business Completes Crestbridge Deal

Tom Burroughes Group Editor London 22 April 2024

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.

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