The acquisition will give IQ-EQ its first operations in Italy, a growth market, while bolstering the firm’s global capital markets and structured finance service proposition, the firm said in a statement. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval from the Bank of Italy and the Italian Government’s foreign direct investment (FDI) review board.

Zenith Global delivers a suite of securitisation services, including SPV and corporate servicing, portfolio servicing (master servicer, primary and special servicer, back-up servicer, calculation agent), regulatory services, and structuring. The team also has expertise in real estate securitisation, the firm added.

The acquisition is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2026. Chief executive officer of Zenith Global, Umberto Rasori, will continue to lead the Italian business and will join IQ-EQ’s Continental Europe senior leadership team, ensuring continuity of the day-to-day delivery of services.

Zenith has achieved strong year-on-year growth over the past decade and enjoyed a record year of performance in 2024. Its client base includes private debt and equity players as well as Italian, European and global banks. It has about €50 billion ($58 billion) in assets under management as a master servicer.

Zenith is registered in the single register held by the Bank of Italy, pursuant to Article 106 of the Italian Banking Act.

“This investment marks another significant milestone in our global expansion strategy. It’s an exciting opportunity to secure a solid presence in a new key growth market, build upon Zenith’s established track record in securitisation solutions, and further strengthen our offering of comprehensive, end-to-end support services for the private markets globally,” Mark Pesco, IQ-EQ’s group chief executive officer, said. “Together with our acquisition of AMAL Group in the ANZ market earlier this year, we’re really cementing our position as a global provider in the capital markets and structured finance space.”

“The country is experiencing a significant uplift in investment activity and increasingly being mentioned by our clients. Gaining a robust presence in this market therefore represents an important step forward as we strive to better support investors and managers operating globally,” Diana Senanayake, regional CEO for Continental Europe at IQ-EQ, continued.

This latest transaction notably follows the recent completion of IQ-EQ’s acquisition of AMAL Group in Australia and New Zealand. Both in the securitisation services sector, these acquisitions reflect the firm’s focus on building out this service offering worldwide.

IQ-EQ has assets under administration exceeding $857 billion, with a client base of fund managers, pension and sovereign wealth funds, family offices and multinational companies. Headquartered in Luxembourg, Astorg is a pan-European private equity firm with over €24 billion in assets under management, with offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan and New York.