Following regulatory approval, Apex Group has completed its acquisition of Darwin Depositary Services, an Amsterdam-based provider of depositary services to alternative investment funds, the company announced this morning. Financial details were not disclosed.
Darwin’s clients are based in the Netherlands and outside the EU and include hedge funds, real estate, debt and private equity funds as well as funds investing in infrastructure and renewable energy. The addition of the Darwin business adds 4.5 billion euro in assets under depositary to Apex Group.
With Darwin, Apex expands the geographic scope of its independent depositary services and now is able to provide these in Luxembourg, Ireland, UK, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands through its subsidiary European Depositary Bank and specialist local entities.
‘Strategic addition’
“This strategic addition is an important step in evolving and strengthening our depositary offering for small and mid-sized clients in the Netherlands, EU and beyond,” said Peter Hughes, founder and CEO of Apex Group.
“We are excited to become part of the global Apex Group, and for the new opportunities and range of solutions that this will present for our existing and future clients,” said Peter van Schaik and Frank Hand, managing directors at Darwin. ”Apex Group’s single source model is compelling – delivering efficiencies and flexibility for fund clients without the necessity for multiple service provider relationships.”
Genstar Capital
Hughes, who founded the firm in Bermuda in 2003, plans to transform it into a global powerhouse in asset services. Financial backing is provided by San Francisco-based Genstar Capital, who have remained majority owners alongside Hughes and the Apex management team after TA Associates, Mubadala and Carlyle became minority shareholders in a transaction that closed earlier this year.
Since Genstar became involved in 2017, Apex’s assets under administration have surged from 80 billion dollars to, upon close of recent acquisitions, approximately three trillion dollars in assets serviced across administration, custody, depositary and under management.
Simmons and Simmons served as legal counsel to Apex Group. JB Law acted as legal counsel to Darwin.