A round-up of corporate and M&A deals that affected wealth managers and private banks in the EMEA region, and in certain other parts of the world.

This is a roundup of M&A deals affecting firms in the region. Note that at the point of writing the original stories, not all the transactions had won regulatory/shareholder approval, and stories about these transactions may be subsequently updated. This summary is intended to provide a snapshot of transaction agreements and to signify the level of activity in the sector. For comments, corrections or feedback, email tom.burroughes@wealthbriefing.com
 

TEAM, Globaleye
London-listed TEAM plc, a wealth, asset management and financial services group, bought all the share capital of Dubai-based Globaleye Wealth Management, aka Globaleye, a firm advising on £242 million ($300.5 million) of client assets. The deal involved a total consideration of up to £5.6 million. 

In a separate deal TEAM said it conditionally agreed to acquire the entire issued share capital of Thornton Associates Limited, trading as Thornton Chartered Financial Planners, for up to £2.5 million. Thornton is an Isle of Man-based financial planning business, with assets under advice of £121 million and approximately 180 client groups.

Mourant, FideField
Professional services firm Mourant  completed its expansion into Luxembourg with law firm LexField, and governance services business FideField. LexField, which is a boutique corporate and tax practice, specialising in private equity, investment funds, M&A, banking and finance, and private wealth, operates as an independent Luxembourg law firm within the Mourant network.

Evelyn Partners, Dart Capital
UK-based wealth management and professional services group Evelyn Partners agreed to acquire Dart Capital, a boutique wealth manager based in the City of London. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Dart Capital, incorporated in 1987, has been led by chief executive Richard Whitehead since a management buyout in in 2008. Since that year, it has grown its assets under management from £120 million ($150.9 million) to £739 million, as at 6 June 2023. The 19-strong Dart Capital team provide personalised advice and discretionary investment management services for a client base which includes the partners of large accountancy and law firms, senior executives, business owners and retirees.

UBS, Credit Suisse
UBS completed the acquisition of Credit Suisse. The combined entity operates as a consolidated banking group. The move left Switzerland with one universal bank.

Avaloq, BlackRock
Avaloq and BlackRock formed a strategic partnership to take tech solutions for wealth managers and private banks up a gear. BlackRock carried out the pact via its Aladdin Wealth arm. Under the deal, BlackRock, overseeing more than $9.09 trillion of assets under management, made a minority investment in Avaloq (the specific size of the stake wasn’t disclosed). Avaloq is owned by Japan’s NEC.

BCB Group
European digital assets specialist BCB Group said its move to buy Hamburg-based Sutor Bank had been cancelled. The initial deal, announced in December 2021, was reversed due to “recent banking market events and macroeconomic changes,” BCB Group said. 

JTC
Global professional services business JTC entered a definitive agreement to acquire TC3 Group Holdings, trading as South Dakota Trust Company for up to $270 million.

Titan Wealth 
Titan Wealth Holdings acquired Square Mile Investment Consulting and Research, subject to regulatory approval. Square Mile brought a 21-strong team of research analysts covering the universe of UK retail funds, an investment management team responsible for Square Mile’s range of MPS solutions and its consultancy services for financial intermediaries and institutions. Square Mile continues to operate under its own brand following the acquisition; its management and wider team remains in place both supporting and being supported by Titan Wealth. 

IQ-EQ
IQ-EQ, an Astorg portfolio company, agreed to acquire ComplianceAsia and Lymon PTE. The deals complement IQ-EQ’s regulatory compliance operations in the UK and the US. ComplianceAsia is a compliance consulting firm in Asia Pacific, founded in 2003 by Philippa Allen. Lymon was founded in Singapore in 2013 by managing director Yishan Lee, to address a gap in the market in the provision of regulatory compliance services for financial institutions in Singapore.

GAM Investments
GAM Investments, part of Zurich-listed GAM Holding, agreed to sell its loss-making third-party fund management services (“FMS”) businesses in Switzerland and Luxembourg to Carne Group for €3 million ($3.27 million).

REYL Intesa Sanpaolo, Carnegie Fund Services
REYL Intesa Sanpaolo acquired Carnegie Fund Services, the Swiss fund representative that was founded in 2003. Carnegie services clients encompassing fund management companies, boutique firms and large global asset management groups based in Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia. It acts as a Swiss representative for more than 100 global investment managers and over 700 funds.

Crestbridge
Crestbridge Family Office Services continues to operate as an independent organisation, it said, after North American fund administration business Gen II Fund Services bought Crestbridge’s institutional businesses. The transaction, the financial terms of which were not disclosed, is expected to close in due course following customary regulatory approvals. Crestbridge, which was first established in Jersey, also operates in Luxembourg, New Jersey, New York, Ireland, and the UK. The CFOS firm said it is not part of the Crestbridge/Gen II deal.

Searchlight, Gresham House
US private equity house Searchlight Capital made a £469.8 million ($615 million) final recommended cash offer for UK-based Gresham House, an alternative investments house. The purchase implied an enterprise value multiple of about 15.9 times Gresham House's earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and or amortisation (EBIDTA) for the 12-month period ending on 31 December 2022. 

Indosuez, Degroof Petercam
Indosuez Wealth Management, part of Crédit Agricole, agreed to buy most of Belgium’s Degroof Petercam, the wealth and investment group. The proposed acquisition is being carried out in partnership with the CLdN group, Degroof Petercam's core shareholder, which retains a stake of around 20 per cent. The deal will allow Degroof Petercam to protect its domestic Belgian roots. CLdN has held a stake in the firm since 2011. Degroof Petercam, an independent family group whose origins go back more than 150 years, is a diversified bank with client assets totalling €71 billion. The financial size of the transaction was not disclosed by Indosuez WM. Degroof Petercam has positions in Belgium, Luxembourg and France in private banking, and internationally in asset management, investment banking and asset services.

Progeny
UK professional services firm Progeny acquired Nottingham-based wealth manager, Fiscal Engineers, a business that uses a “family office” approach. The acquisition, the terms of which were not disclosed, strengthened Progeny’s presence in the Midlands and take its assets under management to £8 billion ($10.2 billion).

Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered agreed to sell its global aviation finance leasing business for an initial consideration of $700 million to the Saudi-owned Aircraft Leasing Company. The Aircraft Leasing Company, aka AviLease, is owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund. The UK/Hong Kong-listed bank said the consideration was subject to adjustment with reference to the net asset value of the business at the completion of the transaction.