JPMorgan’s Investor Services division has announced that it is in exclusive negotiations to acquire TASC Administration (Pty) Limited and TASC Administration (Dublin) Limited (Collectively TASC) from Sanlam Limited. Sanlam and JPMorgan are in advanced discussion and expect to sign a Sale and Purchase Agreement shortly.
Cape Town based TASC, South Africa’s largest independent third party administrator, was created in January 2000 from the administration division of Sanlam Investment Management and focuses on institutional asset administration. With a staff compliment of 140, TASC has 15 clients with approximately R320 billion in assets under administration.
This deal will represent a significant strategic step for Sanlam, JPMorgan South Africa and JPMorgan Investor Services. For Sanlam the deal will complete its strategic initiative of developing TASC from a local South African business into a truly global operation. It will also give Sanlam and its clients access to market-leading technology and services. For JPMorgan it represents a further commitment to and investment in South Africa and the significant business potential of the South African market in its own right and as an international financial services centre.
“We at JPMorgan are excited about the acquisition of TASC as a further commitment to South Africa and a significant development of our South African franchise within the context of our global business,” commented John Coulter of JPMorgan South Africa.
“TASC has grown strongly since inception to the point where it is by far the largest third party administrator in the country,” said Johan van der Merwe, Chief Executive Officer of Sanlam Investment Management. “Further growth will be dependent on expanding into the global arena. After discussions with many of the leading international players, we selected JPMorgan as the most suitable company to achieve this. They share our vision to introduce a black economic empowerment partner in TASC and have agreed to do so post completion of the JPMorgan integration. Third party administration is part of JPMorgan’s core business and their ability to leverage their technology and skills should lead to the expansion of TASC and create job opportunities in South Africa. Furthermore, independence from our asset management company will also aid growth.”
“In TASC we have seen a company with great vision and potential, a vision we share,” said Tom Swayne, Global Business Executive for JPMorgan Investor Services. “We believe, as a fully functional Third Party Administrator coupled with the JPMorgan brand and broad product capability, TASC is perfectly aligned with the domestic and international service needs and growth ambitions of financial institutions in South Africa, as they adopt an ever-increasing international profile. This, coupled with Sanlam Investment Management as an anchor client, gives us huge optimism for the future success of this acquisition.”