Sanne has agreed to acquire the fund administration business from PraxisIFM, its latest expansive move as it negotiates its own takeover talks.
Sanne’s acquisition of the Channel Islands-based funds business will augment its existing presence in the market and will increase its footprint in important European private equity markets.
The transaction will add more than £25 billion of assets under administration to Sanne, as well as the addition of over 80 employees with offices in Guernsey, Jersey, London, Luxembourg and Malta.
“The acquisition of the PraxisIFM Funds Business is a perfect addition to our Group as it strengthens our fund offering in a number of our core European locations. It further demonstrates our continued strategic ambition to expand our client service offering. The PraxisIFM Funds Business has excellent fund professionals and clients and we look forward to welcoming them all to Sanne,” said Martin Schnaier, chief executive officer at Sanne.
The PraxisIFM Funds business was formed in 2005 and since then, has positioned itself well amongst the European listed funds sector where it has delivered double digit revenue growth in recent years.
The transaction is dependent on obtaining regulatory approval from the relevant regulatory bodies and is expected to complete in the fourth quarter of this year.
“PraxisIFM Funds Administration division is a great business that we have built since 2005 and in recommending this deal to our shareholders we plan to maximise the opportunities that are presented. This transaction enables our highly regarded fund business, that we have established over the years, to move to a global fund specialist, which can grow it further. Our clients and staff will directly benefit from Sanne’s professionalism, innovation and quality, continuing on from the excellent practice our team has built,” said Robert Fearis, chief executive of PraxisIFM Funds Business.
The news of Sanne’s planned acquisition of PraxisIFM Funds Business follows a spree of transactions made by the company in recent months.
In December last year, Sanne entered into an agreement to acquire Scandinavian fund services provider Private Equity Administrators, adding €27 billion in assets to its ranks. In April, Sanne also entered into an agreement to acquire STRAIT, a Dallas-based fund solutions provider for alternative investment firms.
Additionally, last month, Sanne agreed to enter into discussions with private equity firm Cinven over a possible £1.4 billion ($1.97 billion) takeover. This follows a fifth unsolicited, non-binding proposal from Cinven, after Sanne rejected previous attempts.