Global financial services provider Apex Group Ltd announced on Thursday the close of its acquisition of Sanne Group plc, a leading global provider of alternative asset and corporate services. Both firms have been part of the Luxembourg financial community. The deal will see the 250 staff of Sanne in Luxembourg joining Apex.
At 7am UK time, Sanne Group plc was delisted on the London Stock exchange and joined the Apex Group.
According to Apex, “the close of the Sanne acquisition now positions Apex Group as a global, top-tier independent service provider”. The firm is active in servicing almost 3 trillion dollars in assets in administration, depositary, custody and under management.
“With today’s announcement we have reached an inflection point in Apex Group’s story, as we become one of the largest providers in our space, “ said Peter Hughes, the founder and CEO of Apex Group. “Our M&A strategy is not simply about growth, it’s about expanding our capabilities and experience to be the best possible service partner to our clients. “
Six new locations
Bringing Sanne into the group will bring another 2,500 staff into Apex, as well as adding six new locations in Denmark, Japan, Serbia, South Africa, Spain and Sweden. Apex will now operate from over 80 offices in more than 40 markets across the globe, with over 10, 000 employees.
Martin Schnaier, the CEO at Sanne Group, mentioned strong performance in 2022 to date as being “testament to Sanne’s strengths and market reputation”. Schnaier went on to remark that “It also reflects the qualities recognised by Apex Group in acquiring the business and it should ensure that this transformational combination creates a leading, end-to-end service provider to the alternative assets market, with unmatched capabilities and scale.”
Depth of product & experience
Sanne will bring to Apex “further depth of product and experience” allowing it better serve the closed-ended Private Equity, Private Dept, Capital Markets, Loan Agency and Real Assets markets. It will also have an expanded geographical footprint in the US, central Europe, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, enabling the Group to better support its clients wherever they are at any “stage of their lifecycle”,
Former Sanne clients will now be in a position to benefit from Apex’s single-source solution, which includes services such as ESG rating, reporting & advisory and digital banking, offered worldwide but delivered by a nearby provider.
This acquisition is the latest and largest of 31 global acquisitions for Apex. This includes for example the MMC Group, Australian-listed Mainstream group and the announced acquisition of Maitland.