SANNE, a leading global provider of alternative asset and corporate administration services, has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Luxembourg Investment Solution S.A. (LIS) and Compliance Partners S.A. (CP).
LIS is a leading third party Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) with assets under administration in excess of €8.3billion. LIS is authorised to deliver Management Company (ManCo) services to both Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and open-ended mutual funds (UCITS) within the EU. CP provides primarily corporate services to its clients The transaction is conditional upon certain regulatory clearances and is expected to complete in Q1 2018. LIS is regulated under the supervision of Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF).
Founded in 2011, the Companies employ more than 70 people, the majority of whom are based in Luxembourg and a small operation in Dublin. The business provides alternative asset and corporate focused administration services to more than 60 clients and administers in excess of 100+ fund structures. Like SANNE, LIS and CP have a largely institutional client base, are both highly profitable and cash generative, and have a very strong reputation for high levels of client service.
The combined businesses will employ more than 100 people in Luxembourg and offer an integrated fund administration, depositary and AIFM platform to its global clients. Luxembourg is an important leading international financial centres for the global alternative investment funds industry and this acquisition provides SANNE with a great opportunity to expand and grow its platform in Luxembourg, enhance its new funds proposition in Dublin and grow SANNE’s existing EMEA operations. This acquisition will re-position SANNE strongly in Luxembourg as one of the leading providers of alternative asset and corporate administration services. The acquisition is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing. It is conditional upon, among other things, regulatory clearance, and is expected to complete in Q1 2018.
Dean Godwin, Chief Executive Officer of Sanne Group plc, commented “The addition of LIS and CP into our existing Luxembourg operations is a significant development for us. The acquisition will add further quality and scale to our existing business whilst also deepening our alternative asset service offering with a market leading AIFM service in Luxembourg. LIS and CP are led by a highly experienced and respected team that has established a platform with a focus on providing its clients with the highest quality services. This closely aligns with our own philosophy. Luxembourg is an important jurisdiction for us as we continue to work with, and service, international alternative asset managers launching funds in Europe.”
Dr Thomas Goergen, Founding Managing Partner at LIS commented “We are very excited to be joining SANNE. Being part of a global business will enable us to access an extensive range of complementary services from across the Group. These will naturally add value to our clients going forward and will help us to continue to meet the ever increasing global service requirements from them.”
Pierre Weimerskirch, Founding Managing Partner at LIS added “SANNE is a perfect fit to our setup. This powerful combination enables us to take the next step in our evolution and to provide new opportunities to our clients and staff in Luxembourg and globally."
