JPMorgan Chase Bank, principal bank subsidiary of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and APEX Property Exchange, Inc., today announced a definitive agreement under which JPMorgan will acquire APEX’s Like-Kind Exchange business. Under the terms of the transaction, APEX will operate as a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase Bank within the firm’s Institutional Trust Services division. Financial terms were not disclosed.
APEX Property Exchange, Inc., which was established in 1989, is principally engaged in providing IRC Section 1031 Like-Kind Exchange consulting, Qualified Intermediary (QI), and Revenue Procedure 2000-37 Exchange Accommodation Titleholder services for real estate, aircraft, and personal property. Current clients include Global 1000 companies, real estate investment trusts, real estate operating companies, and financial institutions.
“JPMorgan and APEX have worked together closely for a number of years and we are very excited about the new opportunities that will be generated by this transaction,” said David Marcus, chief executive officer of APEX.
JPMorgan formed an alliance with APEX in 1998. The alliance made JPMorgan APEX’s preferred provider of escrow agent services to APEX clients. The two also engaged in a co-sponsored seminar series on Like-Kind Exchange strategies in 2001. APEX’s co-founders, David and Michael Marcus, will continue to run the Massachusetts-based business.
“The APEX transaction is consistent with JPMorgan’s strategy to grow our institutional trust business through selective acquisitions,” said Michael K. Clark, executive vice president and business executive for JPMorgan Institutional Trust Services. “APEX’s Like-Kind Exchange business will complement the broad range of top-quality products and services that we currently deliver to our customers.”