Apex Fund Services has simultaneously been recapitalised and acquired Equinoxe Alternative Investment Services, signalling its intent to expand within fund administration.
Private equity firm Genstar Capital has invested an undisclosed sum in Apex, which the fund administrator plans to use to boost its middle-office solutions and administer close to $80 billion in assets.
Apex began with the acquisition of Equinoxe, a hedge fund administrator with offices in Bermuda, Ireland, the US, Mauritius, Malta and Singapore. Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close in Q3 2017, were not disclosed.
Peter Hughes will retain a significant equity stake in the combined business and will continue to lead it as founder and CEO. He said: “This is a significant step in Apex’s ongoing development as a global institutional provider. The Equinoxe team has built a successful business and its combination with Apex will provide a strong strategic and cultural fit.”
“We are extremely pleased to partner with Genstar, a firm that shares our guiding principles for delivering quality service to clients. We also share an ongoing commitment to growing Apex, both organically and through acquisition. We look forward to partnering with Genstar to continue to build scale and enhance Apex’s ability to service clients across multiple jurisdictions.”
Tony Salewski, managing director of Genstar, added: “There is a large and growing market for outsourced fund administration services to private and public market managers. The combination of these two leading and complementary businesses will immediately create a global fund administrator with significant scale, a full suite of solutions, global presence, and the expertise of an experienced management team.”
“The opportunity to build a platform around Apex fits squarely within our approach of investing in leading businesses that provide critical tools and services to the investment management industry. We are excited to support Peter and his team in driving accelerated growth through strategic add-on acquisitions and expansion within high growth areas of the fund services market.”
