Apex proposes to buy Sanne
A £1.51bn deal for Apex to buy Sanne has been struck by bosses at the two firms – subject to various approvals.
The two sides said they had reached agreement on the terms and conditions of a recommended all cash acquisition of the entire issued, and to be issued, ordinary share capital of Sanne.
Both firms have offices in Guernsey and Jersey – with hundreds of staff across both – as part of their international networks.
Subject to Sanne shareholders and regulators approval, the acquisition is expected to become effective in the first half of 2022.
The deal was said to provide Sanne shareholders ‘with the ability to monetise their holding in full, in cash, at a material premium’.
Alternative asset and corporate services provider Sanne, which was founded in Jersey, has been growing its team in Guernsey as well as recently announcing separate plans to acquire the fund services division of PraxisIFM Group. That deal is still going through regulatory approval across locations in which it has offices and is expected to complete in due course in the coming months.
‘Sanne offers an exciting opportunity for Apex to acquire a well-established alternative fund services provider with diverse and complementary jurisdictional and asset class expertise,’ said Peter Hughes, the chief executive officer and founder of the Apex Group.
‘We have long followed Sanne’s successful strategy of delivering “local excellence on a global platform” and we believe that as part of the Apex Group this could be an increasingly compelling offering for current and future clients.
‘We are confident that a combination of our businesses to create one of the largest global service providers to the alternative assets space with over $2.2 trillion of assets serviced, will facilitate even greater success for both companies while representing attractive value for Sanne’s shareholders.’
Sanne chairman Rupert Robson said: ‘Sanne has a bright future ahead of it as a leader in its industry, which is entirely due to the tremendous effort of the management team and employees of the business over the past several years for which the board of Sanne would like to express their gratitude.’
The proposed acquisition comes hot on the heels of other deals in the finance industry. These have included Ocorian, which was founded in Jersey, unveiling plans to buy Guernsey-headquartered International Trust Corporation. International family office specialist Stonehage Fleming also snapped up the private client services business of Maitland – including operations in Guernsey.
