Dublin-based hedge fund administrator Centaur Fund Services has secured a significant investment from private equity firm FTV Capital.
The capital from the San Francisco-headquartered firm will help Centaur Fund Services to expand into new geographies and further invest in talent, product development and technology.
As part of the transaction, FTV Capital partner, Kyle Griswold, and vice-president, Brent Fierro, will join the company’s board of directors.
“We have known FTV for several years through their impressive track record in our sector, and now we look forward to working closely together as we enter this next phase of growth,” said Ronan Daly, founding partner and director, Centaur Fund Services.
“We see tremendous potential across alternative asset classes and geographies, especially in Europe and North America, and are confident that we can continue to seize this market opportunity with FTV’s experience and expertise.”
Established in 2009, Centaur provides fund administration and investor services for alternative investment funds, including hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, real estate funds and family officers. It currently holds assets under administration of more than $35 billion, and assets under depository of over $6 billion.
The firm has also sought to increase its presence in the US, and in 2018 it joined the North American Fund Administration Association (NAFAA), founded by fund services veteran Chris Meader.
“Centaur’s scalable, transparent and customisable solutions are in high demand as accountability and compliance continues to be top of mind for alternative fund managers. Centaur’s management team has extensive domain experience, and we look forward to helping the team execute on their long-term strategy,” added FTV’s Griswold.
Private equity backing has helped fuel a string of merger and acquisition (M&A) deals among fund administrators. Apex Fund Services has been the most active in this space after gaining the backing of Genstar Capital in 2017, subsequently completing several high-profile deals, including the takeover of Deutsche Bank’s Alternatives Investment Services business, and private equity administrator Ipes.
IQ-EQ, formerly known as SGG Group, had also completed its own series of deals after achieving backing from private equity firm Astorg Partners, which include the takeover of private equity and real estate fund administrator Augentius.