Montagu: Universal Investment acquires European Fund Administration

Luxem­bourg — Univer­sal Invest­ment Group and the share­hol­ders of Euro­pean Fund Admi­nis­tra­tion (EFA) — Banque de Luxem­bourg, Banque et Caisse d’Épargne de l’État, Oddo BHF and Quin­tet Private Bank (Europe) S.A. — have agreed on the acqui­si­tion of EFA by Univer­sal Invest­ment Group. The tran­sac­tion is still subject to appr­oval by the Luxem­bourg finan­cial regu­la­tor CSSF and is expec­ted to close in the second half of 2022.

Foun­ded in 1996, EFA is one of the leading provi­ders of fund admi­nis­tra­tion, private asset services, and front, middle and back office solu­ti­ons, with offices in Luxem­bourg and France and nearly €167 billion in assets under admi­nis­tra­tion as of the end of 2021. Clients include banks, asset mana­gers, insu­rance compa­nies, asset mana­gers, family offices and insti­tu­tio­nal investors.

The Univer­sal Invest­ment Group is one of the largest fund service plat­forms in Europe with around 750 billion euros in assets under admi­nis­tra­tion, appro­xi­m­ately 2,000 retail and insti­tu­tio­nal fund manda­tes and more than 1,000 employees at loca­ti­ons in Frank­furt am Main, Luxem­bourg, Dublin, London, Hamburg and Krakow. In recent years, Univer­sal Invest­ment has joined the ranks of the few major inter­na­tio­nal play­ers in this market. In addi­tion to the DACH region, Univer­sal Invest­ment is successfully driving inter­na­tio­na­liza­tion through Luxem­bourg and Irish fund hubs, espe­ci­ally for inter­na­tio­nal asset managers.

The combi­na­tion of the two compa­nies streng­thens their joint presence in the Euro­pean markets with combi­ned assets under admi­nis­tra­tion of more than 900 billion euros in over 7,000 funds and structures.

Fernand Reiners, Chair­man of the EFA Board of Direc­tors, comm­ents: “EFA and Univer­sal Invest­ment share a simi­lar history, compa­ra­ble busi­ness models and objec­ti­ves. Both were origi­nally foun­ded by banks to pool fund admi­nis­tra­tion exper­tise. The fact that clients can focus on their core busi­ness thanks to the specia­lists was and is the driver for the strong growth of both compa­nies. We are convin­ced that this success story will conti­nue by entrus­ting EFA to the Univer­sal Invest­ment Group. As stra­te­gic clients, the exis­ting share­hol­ders are commit­ted to contri­bu­ting to the long-term success of EFA as part of the Univer­sal Invest­ment Group.”

Michael Rein­hard (Photo, © UI), CEO of the Univer­sal Invest­ment Group, adds: “EFA is a perfect fit for Univer­sal Invest­ment and our growth story. The merger with EFA is not only another mile­stone towards our goal of beco­ming the leading Euro­pean inves­tor services plat­form and Super­ManCo, but also for our ambi­tion to offer our clients the full spec­trum of inves­tor services”. EFA will act as the Group’s inter­na­tio­nal inves­tor services plat­form based in Luxem­bourg and France, comple­men­ting the Frank­furt admi­nis­tra­tion plat­form for the DACH region. “Our custo­mers will bene­fit from addi­tio­nal solu­ti­ons in the area of alter­na­tive invest­ments and private assets. The combi­na­tion of our successful busi­ness models will further acce­le­rate both the growth and the inter­na­tio­na­liza­tion of our joint company. Toge­ther, we intend to signi­fi­cantly expand our custo­mer base in Scan­di­na­via, France and the Bene­lux count­ries, among others. We are ther­e­fore very plea­sed to welcome EFA’s employees and clients to the Univer­sal Invest­ment Group.”

Both compa­nies have specia­li­zed busi­ness models in asset servicing and share the idea of an open and modu­lar plat­form for the finan­cial services indus­try. Custo­mers will bene­fit from the merger in the form of a specia­li­zed finan­cial services company with a clear busi­ness model, new product deve­lo­p­ments, parti­cu­larly in the area of private and alter­na­tive invest­ments, and inno­va­tive strength, for exam­ple in the area of digi­tal assets. Toge­ther, the two compa­nies aim to signi­fi­cantly expand their custo­mer base in Scan­di­na­via, France and the Bene­lux count­ries, among others.

About the Euro­pean Fund Administration
EFA will remain an inde­pen­dent busi­ness unit as part of the Univer­sal Invest­ment Group and under the Univer­sal Invest­ment brand. The company comple­ments Univer­sal Investment’s busi­ness model and toge­ther they will expand the port­fo­lio of services for inter­na­tio­nal clients in the future. Univer­sal Invest­ment Luxem­bourg will conti­nue to operate the successful inter­na­tio­nal third-party ManCo and AIFM busi­ness for the Group inde­pendently of EFA.

With offices in Luxem­bourg and France, EFA, foun­ded in 1996, is one of the leading provi­ders of fund admi­nis­tra­tion, private asset services and front, middle and back office solu­ti­ons. Clients include banks, asset mana­gers, insu­rance compa­nies, asset mana­gers, family offices and insti­tu­tio­nal inves­tors. More at www.efa.eu.

About Univer­sal Invest­ment Group
Univer­sal Invest­ment Group is one of the leading Euro­pean fund service plat­forms and Super ManCos. Foun­ded in 1968, the company is an inde­pen­dent plat­form offe­ring fund initia­tors and insti­tu­tio­nal inves­tors struc­tu­ring and admi­nis­tra­tion solu­ti­ons as well as risk manage­ment for secu­ri­ties, real estate and alter­na­tive invest­ments. The compa­nies UI Labs, UI Enlyte and CAPin­side round off the Group’s inno­va­tive service offering.