TMF Group has acquired Gentoo Holdings, a provider of fund administration services based in Guernsey and Luxembourg, for an undisclosed sum.
Gentoo performs administration of regulated and unregulated funds, and offers depository services, as well as a range of corporate and domiciliation services. It currently has assets under administration of more than $15 billion.
The acquisition of Gentoo represents “a key milestone for the development of TMF Group’s private equity and real estate (PERE) offering, a strategic area of growth”, according to a statement.
Nick Degnen, managing director of Gentoo, commented: “This acquisition marks an exciting milestone for our business. Since spinning-out the business in 2011, we have grown from 17 employees to 50, based in Guernsey and Luxembourg. We have enjoyed great support from our clients and backers. Becoming part of TMF Group allows us to offer our clients new services from a wider range of jurisdictions, all the while maintaining our hands-on and client-focused approach.”
Bruno Bagnouls, global head of PERE at TMF Group, added: “PERE is a key growth area for our business. Gentoo’s expertise and reputation in the market complements our expanding footprint in this sector, and brings a high calibre team with an excellent blue chip customer base.”
“I am delighted that Nick, Christine Whitehorne, Mark Hooton, Alex van Zeeland and Michelle Carvill will form a key part of our combined business, and I look forward to welcoming the entire Gentoo team to TMF Group.”
Gentoo is the corporate trust business business that spun out from SG Hambros in 2011, with the backing of venture capital firm Disruptive Capital Finance.
Edi Truell, chairman at Disruptive Capital Finance, said, “We have been very pleased with Gentoo’s progress. Christine, Nick, Mark and the team have much to be proud of in their achievements, based on the sound principle of providing excellent service to their clients. Indeed, in our 24 year private equity investment history, we have had few investments be as reliably successful as Gentoo, producing an anticipated 15x return on our investment.”
Whitehorne added: “Disruptive have supported us all the way from inception to the final sale. We have built up the Gentoo team, with whom we have worked hard to create five years of strong trading growth, based on providing the highest quality service to our clients. We will now be able to return capital to our backers, whilst at the same time ensuring a robust and stable business going forward.”
