☰  MENU

News

Transaction News

BERMUDA, SAN FRANCISCO, and NEW YORK (January 8, 2018) - Apex Group Ltd. (“Apex”), Genstar Capital (“Genstar”), and SALU Capital ("SALU"), today jointly announce Apex’s acquisition of M.M.Warburg & CO’s Asset Management and Servicing business in Luxembourg (“Warburg”). Upon completion of the transaction, Apex, a Genstar portfolio company, will have nearly $350 billion of AuA.

The transaction is the third for Apex in the space of six months following the acquisition of both Equinoxe Alternative Investment Services and Deutsche Bank’s Alternative Fund Services business in 2017. This latest move reaffirms Apex’s position as the fastest growing fund administrator in the world and brings it closer to achieving its goal of becoming one of the top five largest fund administrators globally. Apex and Genstar partnered with SALU Capital, led by Managing Partner Markus Philipp Ehrhardt, whose market knowledge and network was instrumental in the successful origination and execution of the transaction.

The transaction will see Warburg Invest Luxembourg S.A. and M.M.Warburg & CO Luxembourg S.A. become part of Apex, adding a further $50bn to Apex’s global AuA. The Group’s unique operating model and globally connected service provision opens up additional jurisdictional expertise and investment options to Warburg clients.

The full depositary services and private equity depositary solutions provided by the Warburg Luxembourg units brings will add further weight to Apex’s strength in delivering a complete service to European regulated funds, and will further complement the services integrated via the Deutsche Bank AFS acquisition.

Parent company, M.M. Warburg & CO (AG & Co.) KGaA, and Apex will form a strategic partnership for Luxembourg based asset management services businesses whilst Warburg Invest (Germany) will also continue to focus on its German asset management business.

Terms of the agreement are not being disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2018.

“The addition of the Warburg team and product suite further strengthens our capabilities in the highly regulated European market as we continue to develop the most complete service offering in the sector. There are benefits for both the transitioning Warburg clients and existing Apex clients in this combined offering and as we continue to grow we want to help them to grow with us,” stated Peter Hughes, Founder and CEO at Apex.

Joachim Olearius, Spokesman for the Partners of M.M.Warburg & CO, stated, “In Apex we have found a partner for this transaction that perfectly meets the requirements and expectations of our customers. Apex’s independence and unfailing dedication to delivering exemplary service to its clients means we can be confident that the transition will be smooth and service levels maintained. Our continued commitment to working closely with Apex as a strategic partner aptly demonstrates our trust and confidence in this combination.”

“With our first deal, we are proud to be part of this significant transaction with strategic partners of the caliber of Apex and Genstar, and with a seller as reputable as M.M. Warburg & Co, proving our ability to originate and execute on complex investment opportunities” says Markus Philipp Ehrhardt, Managing Partner of SALU Capital.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Arendt & Medernach provided legal counsel to Apex and Genstar.

About Apex Group

Apex, established in Bermuda in 2003, is one of the world’s largest independent fund administration and middle office solutions providers with offices in 35 locations worldwide. Apex has continually improved and evolved its product suite by surrounding these core administrative services with additional products spanning the full value chain; from information delivery and regulatory products to a full middle office solution and fund listings database. Apex now administers the investments of some of the largest funds and institutional investors in the world. www.apexfundservices.com

About Genstar Capital

Genstar Capital (www.gencap.com) is a leading private equity firm that has been actively investing in high quality companies for nearly 30 years. Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of strategic advisors to transform its portfolio companies into industry-leading businesses. Genstar manages funds with total capital commitments of approximately $9 billion and targets investments focused on targeted segments of the financial services, software, industrial technology, and healthcare industries. Genstar’s current and previous investments in financial and business services companies include Ascensus, AssetMark, Strategic Insight, Mercer Advisors, Institutional Shareholder Services and Altegris.

About SALU Capital

SALU Capital (www.salucapital.com) is a special situations and private equity investment firm with focus on the global financial services and insurance sectors. SALU works with an established network of family offices and institutional investors enabling the firm to target investments with an equity value of between $20 million and $300 million for individual transactions. SALU's leadership and investment partners have deep and broad experience in global financial markets, private equity and the investment management industry, and SALU relies upon a network of senior advisors that includes former CEOs and senior operators with decades of experience in the sectors that SALU invests in.

About M.M. Warburg & CO

Founded in 1798, M.M.Warburg & CO is an independent German private bank. As a universal bank, it provides sophisticated banking services to discerning private clients, corporate clients, and institutional investors in its core business segments of Private Banking, Asset Management, and Investment Banking. The Warburg Banking Group has own funds of EUR 423.7 million, assets under management of EUR 54.1 billion, and 1,232 employees (as of December 31, 2016). It comprises M.M.Warburg & CO as well as the subsidiaries Marcard, Stein & Co, M.M.Warburg & CO Hypothekenbank and Warburg Invest.

NEW YORK, BERMUDA, LUXEMBOURG, ZURICH, SAN FRANCISCO (25 June 2018) – SALU Capital ("SALU"), together with its partners Apex Group Ltd. ("Apex"), Genstar Capital ("Genstar"), and Inlife Holding ("Inlife"), today announces the purchase of at least 95% of the shares of Augur Financial Opportunities 2 SICAV ("AFO-2" or the "Fund"), a Luxembourg investment vehicle managed by German Augur Capital that includes the Fund's portfolio companies, German life insurer myLife Lebensversicherung AG ("myLife") and Luxembourg-based fund administration and ManCo business LRI ("LRI Group"), from the Fund's investors in a secondary fund buy-out transaction. As part of the transaction, LRI Group will become part of Apex, a Genstar portfolio company, while myLife will become a wholly owned affiliate of Inlife.

The transaction marks a significant step forward for SALU in the implementation of its investment strategy focused on complex special situations opportunities centered on the global financial services and specifically the insurance sectors, as well as on global contrarian investment opportunities.

The addition of LRI to the combined Apex Group adds a further $13 billion to its global assets under administration (AuA). Apex’s strong international presence, connected operating model, and comprehensive portfolio of client-centric solutions will expand the jurisdictional expertise and investment options available to LRI Group clients. LRI Group brings exceptional expertise in the Luxembourg and regulated markets, which combined with its successful local service framework, will bolster Apex’s existing operation. The LRI Group team will join the new Apex office in Munsbach, bringing Apex’s total number of employees to over 2,000 globally. Clients of LRI Group can expect a seamless integration, with the new joint team upholding the established German-speaking service model that emphasizes personalized, local support.

Upon completion of this transaction, Apex will have more than $535 billion in AuA, further solidifying its global position as one of the world’s largest fund administrators. This is the fifth transaction for Apex in the past 10 months, following the takeover announcements of Equinoxe Alternative Investment Services, Deutsche Bank’s Alternative Fund Services, M.M.Warburg & CO’s Asset Management and Servicing business, and private equity fund administrator, Ipes. It is also the Group’s second transaction in partnership with SALU Capital. Building on its rapid global growth and expansion, this further solidifies Apex as one of the largest fund administrators in the world.

MyLife will join Inlife's investment holdings in the European insurance industry, and the company will continue to focus on the growth of its highly successful core net-life insurance policy portfolio, having been one of the pioneers of the product design for the past eight years. Furthermore, SALU and Inlife seek to establish a joint effort to pursue opportunities in the German and European run-off insurance market that is driven by the transformation of capital models and allocations following the introduction of Solvency 2 regulation, as well as by the increasingly difficult investment and yield environment.

Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, Arendt & Medernach, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Linklaters, CMS, KPMG and Milliman provided counsel and transaction advice to SALU Capital and its partners Apex and Inlife.

Markus Philipp Ehrhardt, Managing Partner of SALU Capital, said:

"We offer our investors and partners a sophisticated and scalable investment alternative with highly attractive, risk-adjusted returns through our focus on complex, proprietary and contrarian investment situations in the financial services sector, and with our second transaction in 2018, we have made yet another step in demonstrating how we will take advantage of what we believe to be an extraordinarily long list of unique opportunities in global financial services and insurance, especially in Europe."

Peter Hughes, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Apex Fund Services, said:

"This marks yet another important milestone in Apex’s journey to become a top player in the global fund administration arena. The addition of LRI Group reinforces our deep industry knowledge in the Luxembourg and German markets, expanding our ability to service clients across the full value chain. As we roll out additional geographic and service capabilities, we remain committed to delivering the tailored and client-centric solutions that our clients have come to expect. The combination of LRI Group with the regulated Warburg Bank provides a powerful European regulation solution to asset managers globally."

Frank Alexander de Boer, Managing Director, LRI Group, said:

“Apex’s global reach and connected operating model opens up over 20 additional investment jurisdictions to LRI clients, with local expertise available through the Apex network of offices. The newly combined team will uphold the established German-speaking LRI service model. Our clients will also be able to benefit from Apex’s Luxembourg bank services and gain access to further regulated solutions and services. This deal fits perfectly with LRI’s strategy of developing necessary scale, a stronger international network and ultimately broadening the breadth of service for our clients. Our efforts and activities over the past few years have created a strong operational framework for the transaction, readying us for further successful development.”

Martin Vogl, Chairman of Inlife’s life carriers, said:

"In the last six years Inlife has established a highly efficient life insurance run-off platform in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. With the acquisition of myLife and based on our selective make & buy growth strategy we enter into the next development chapter of our life insurance business as we invest into high growth and new business generating life insurance opportunities within the European life insurance market. We are very excited about this initiative where we together with the management team and employees of myLife intend to develop and to further grow the myLife business and to thereby strengthen the fee-based financial advisory business in Germany."

About SALU Capital

SALU Capital (www.salucapital.com) is a special situations and private equity investment firm with focus on the global financial services and insurance sectors. SALU works with an established network of family offices and institutional investors enabling the firm to target investments with an equity value of between $20 million and $300 million for individual transactions. SALU's leadership and investment partners have deep and broad experience in global financial markets, private equity and the investment management industry, and SALU relies upon a network of senior advisors that includes former CEOs and senior operators with decades of experience in the sectors that SALU invests in.

About Apex Group

Apex, established in Bermuda in 2003, is one of the world’s largest independent fund administration and middle office solutions providers with offices in 35 locations worldwide. Apex has continually improved and evolved its product suite by surrounding these core administrative services with additional products spanning the full value chain; from information delivery and regulatory products to a full middle office solution and fund listings database. Apex now administers the investments of some of the largest funds and institutional investors in the world. www.apexfundservices.com

About LRI Group

LRI Group is a leading independent investment services company based in Luxembourg. It provides asset managers and investors with three decades of experience in structuring and administration of traditional and alternative investment strategies. Established in 1988, LRI Invest S.A. acts as Super Management Company (Super ManCo) being authorized as Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) and as UCITS Management Company in Luxembourg. Through LRI Invest Securitisation S.A. it also operates a securitization platform for a variety of alternative investment underlyings for institutional investors. With LRI Depositary S.A. it also provides depositary services and can act as Register and Transfer Agent for alternative investment funds. LRI Group manages EUR 3 billion in Real Assets especially in Real Estate, Private Equity and Debt and EUR 10 billion in Financial Assets such as Multi Asset Funds, Liquid Alternatives and Funds of funds and has 100 staff. www.lri-group.lu

About Inlife

Inlife, an independent and privately owned business headquartered in Zurich, has been investor in the European life insurance industry for many years. Since 2012, Inlife has acquired six life insurance carriers in run-off domiciled in Switzerland and Liechtenstein and has subsequently set-up a life insurance run-off platform in the aforementioned countries. Based on such efficient platform and based on its selective make & buy growth strategy, Inlife intends to further invest into attractive European life insurance opportunities – aside from run-off opportunities also including investments into new business generating life carriers as well as into new life insurance business initiatives within its existing life carrier set-up.

About Genstar Capital

Genstar Capital (www.gencap.com) is a leading private equity firm that has been actively investing in high quality companies for nearly 30 years. Based in San Francisco, Genstar works in partnership with its management teams and its network of strategic advisors to transform its portfolio companies into industry-leading businesses. Genstar currently has $9.7 billion in assets under management and targets investments focused on targeted segments of the financial services, software, industrial technology, and healthcare industries. Genstar’s current and previous investments in financial and business services companies include Ascensus, AssetMark, Strategic Insight, Mercer Advisors and Altegris.

LUXEMBOURG (February 1, 2019) – Apex Group Ltd. (“Apex”), together with SALU Capital ("SALU") announced today that it has completed the successful integration of M.M.Warburg & CO’s Asset Management and Servicing business in Luxembourg adding $50 billion in assets under administration to the Group’s portfolio.

The simultaneous closings of Warburg Invest Luxembourg S.A. (“Warburg Invest”) and M.M.Warburg & CO Luxembourg S.A. (“Warburg Bank”) have solidified Apex’s position as a leading fund services provider in Europe and the world’s 5th largest administrator globally.

M.M. Warburg & CO (AG & Co.) KGaA (“Warburg”) and Apex now form a strategic partnership for Luxembourg based asset management services businesses. The Group’s unique operating model and globally connected service provision opens up additional jurisdictional expertise and investment options to Warburg clients.

The integration of the Warburg business in Luxembourg adds over 300 employees to Apex’s local operation. It’s full depositary services and private equity depositary solutions reinforces Apex’s strength in delivering a complete service to European regulated funds and complements its existing service model in the region.

The addition of Banking and Depositary solutions to the Apex product portfolio, in conjunction with its recently announced partnership with Citi for global custody solutions, delivers an unrivaled service offering for an independent fund services provider. The combined entity boasts extensive experience in the highly regulated European market and a unique ability to retain agility while delivering the breadth of services usually associated with large banks.

Peter Hughes, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Apex Group Ltd., said: “I am extremely proud of the team we have in place here at Apex, both integrations and business as usual, who have navigated this time of exceptional growth extremely well and ensuring that client service levels were not impacted throughout. Separating the Warburg business in Luxembourg from a German Bank into a global independent fund service provider was a complex process, yet we have delivered this successfully and on schedule to complete Apex’s true end-to-end service offering. Our capabilities have expanded from fund administration and middle office to include banking, depositary and corporate services and we will continue to leverage the expanse of internal expertise across each asset class, product type and geography to focus on being the best fund services partner in the industry”.

Markus Philipp Ehrhardt, Managing Partner of SALU Capital, added: “This transaction proves SALU Capital's ability to originate, execute and close on proprietary transaction situations that deliver exceptional risk-adjusted returns for our investors and capital partners, as well as our ability to partner with global institutions that are leaders in their field of the caliber of Apex."

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Arendt & Medernach provided legal counsel to Apex and Genstar.

About Apex

The Apex Group, established in Bermuda in 2003, is one of the world's largest fund solutions providers with $600bn in AuA and over 40 offices worldwide. The Group has continually improved and evolved its product suite and offers a full service solution to its clients: from fund administration, middle office, custody and depositary to corporate services and fund platforms. Apex now administers the investments of some of the largest funds and institutional investors in the world. www.apexfundservices.com

About SALU Capital

SALU Capital is a special situations and private equity investment firm with focus on the global financial services and insurance sectors. SALU works with an established network of family offices and institutional investors enabling the firm to target investments with an equity value of between $20 million and $300 million for individual transactions. SALU's leadership and investment partners have deep and broad experience in global financial markets, private equity and the investment management industry, and SALU relies upon a network of senior advisors that includes former CEOs and senior operators with decades of experience in the sectors that SALU invests in. www.salucapital.com

NEW YORK, BERMUDA, LUXEMBOURG, ZURICH (20 February 2019) – SALU Capital ("SALU"), together with its partners Apex Group Ltd. ("Apex"), and Inlife Holding AG ("Inlife"), today announces the closing of the purchase of all outstanding shares of Augur Financial Opportunities 2 SICAV ("AFO-2" or the "Fund"), a Luxembourg investment vehicle managed by German Augur Capital that includes the Fund's portfolio companies, German life insurer myLife Lebensversicherung AG ("myLife") and Luxembourg-based fund administration and ManCo business LRI Group ("LRI "), from the Fund's investors in a secondary fund buy-out transaction.

The closing of this complex transaction, upon receipt of all regulatory approvals in Germany and in Luxembourg, is the latest step of SALU Capital, a young and growing private investment firm with a focus on special situations and contrarian investment opportunities in global financial services and insurance.

This deal is the second SALU has completed this year with its partner Apex, the leading global fund services giant, with now more than $600 billion in assets under administration and over 40 offices around the world. It is SALU's first transaction together with its partner Inlife and part of a joint effort to pursue opportunities in the European insurance space that are driven by the transformation of capital allocations that result from regulatory changes and the difficult investment and yield environment.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, Arendt & Medernach, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Linklaters, CMS, KPMG and Milliman provided counsel and transaction advice to SALU Capital and its partners Apex and Inlife. Elm Capital and Macfarlanes advised the Fund's shareholders. Norton Rose Fulbright advised the Fund.

Markus Philipp Ehrhardt, Managing Partner of SALU Capital, said: "We are proud to have completed this complex deal and to have delivered to everyone exactly what they desired and required, including the regulators. From an investor's perspective, this transaction is a showcase for the type of proprietary and scalable alternative investment ideas that we focus on and that deliver the level of risk-adjusted returns that a dynamic and entrepreneurial investment firm like ours can still achieve. Our list of proprietary, contrarian opportunities in global financial services and insurance is extraordinarily long, especially in Europe, and we are excited to continue to execute at the highest level and to build our firm and our portfolio."

Peter Hughes, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Apex Group Ltd., said: “With the closing of this deal, the Apex Group now has over 500 employees in Luxembourg, making it our largest service centre globally. The addition of LRI reinforces our extensive industry knowledge and capabilities in the Luxembourg and German markets and further complements the recent close of the M.M.Warburg & CO’s Asset Management and Servicing business deal. As a combined group we now have the most extensive fund service offering in the market and an unrivaled presence in Europe.”

Martin Vogl, Chairman of Inlife’s life carriers, said: "We are excited to support myLife and its management team in its effort to continue to build on its proven strengths with its excellent track record in the fee-based financial advisory and insurance business as well as its outstanding policy administration and client service capabilities, and we look forward to pursuing further potential opportunities with SALU Capital on the back of this successful transaction.`"

Frank Alexander de Boer, Managing Director of LRI Group, said: “The closing marks a milestone in LRI’s 30-year history. We now look forward to expanding our current high quality and high flexibility services with access to a broad range of additional service capabilities for our clients on a global scale. Over the past year, dedicated teams across the Group have been working together to ensure the transition is as seamless as possible for clients and business partners.”

About SALU Capital

SALU Capital is a special situations and private equity investment firm with focus on the global financial services and insurance sectors. SALU works with an established network of family offices and institutional investors enabling the firm to target investments with an equity value of between $20 million and $300 million for individual transactions. SALU's leadership and investment partners have deep and broad experience in global financial markets, private equity and the investment management industry, and SALU relies upon a network of senior advisors that includes former CEOs and senior operators with decades of experience in the sectors that SALU invests in. www.salucapital.com

About Apex Group

The Apex Group, established in Bermuda in 2003, is one of the world's largest fund solutions providers with $600bn in AuA and over 40 offices worldwide. The Group has continually improved and evolved its product suite and offers a full service solution to its clients: from fund administration, middle office, custody and depositary to corporate services and fund platforms. Apex now administers the investments of some of the largest funds and institutional investors in the world. www.apexfundservices.com

About Inlife

Inlife, an independent and privately owned business headquartered in Zurich, has been an investor in the European life insurance industry for many years. Since 2012, Inlife has acquired six life insurance carriers in run-off domiciled in Switzerland and Liechtenstein and has subsequently set-up a life insurance run-off platform in the aforementioned countries. Based on this efficient platform and based on its selective make & buy growth strategy, Inlife intends to further invest into attractive European life insurance opportunities – aside from run-off opportunities also including investments into new business generating life carriers as well as into new life insurance business initiatives within its existing life carrier set-up.

About LRI Group

LRI Group is a leading investment services company based in Luxembourg. It provides asset managers and investors with three decades of experience in structuring and administration of traditional and alternative investment strategies. Established in 1988, LRI Invest S.A. acts as Super Management Company (Super ManCo) being authorized as Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) and as UCITS Management Company in Luxembourg. Through LRI Invest Securitisation S.A. it also operates a securitization platform for a variety of alternative investment underlyings for institutional investors. With LRI Depositary S.A. it also provides depositary services and can act as Register and Transfer Agent for alternative investment funds.