Apex to acquire Sanne in £1.5bn deal

The board of directors at fund administrator Sanne Group have unanimously recommended a takeover bid by Apex, in a deal which values the company at £1.5bn.

The 2.7 update filed with the London Stock Exchange noted that the boards of directors of Sanne Group and Apex Acquisition Company had reached an agreement on the terms and conditions of a recommended all cash acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Sanne.

Under the terms of the acquisition, each Sanne shareholder will receive 920p for each Sanne share.

The combined entity will create one of the largest players in the fund administration space, with a reported $1trillion in assets under administration from closed-end funds.

According to reports, the acquisition is likely to become effective in the early weeks of 2022, pending regulatory approval.

Walkers Professional Services launches in BVI

International law firm Walkers is expanding its Walkers Professional Services (WPS) practice to the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

Walkers attributed the move to an increase in international and domestic regulation which has prompted clients to gravitate towards service providers with an all-in-one service, offering legal, fiduciary and corporate specialities.

"One of the main drivers for this move is the increasing demand we are seeing from our institutional client base in Europe and Asia in particular for the kind of high quality, integrated professional services that WPS provides,” said Steven Manning, CEO of Walkers Professional Services. “We intend to be a major force in the professional services industry in the BVI, growing and developing talent in the jurisdiction while providing outstanding client service."

In the past year, WPS has made several senior hires with a focus on providing corporate governance, regulatory compliance and fiduciary services to corporate and institutional clients worldwide.

People moves

La Française AM has boosted its high yield and large cap equity fund teams with three new hires. Victoire Dubrujeaud and Delphine Cadroy have joined the high yield team; Dubrujeaud began her career at Amundi Asset Management as an Investment Grade Credit Analyst, specialising in the consumer, distribution and healthcare sectors, before diversifying into high yield in the chemicals, metals and gaming sectors. Cadroy joins La Française AM after five years of international experience beginning in London with Société Générale as an analyst in syndicated loans. Paul Troussard has joined the large cap equities team, under the direction of Nina Lagron, Head of Large Cap Equities, to strengthen the coverage of the euro zone. He previously spent more than four years at Clartan Associés as a European equities fund manager, all sectors.

Sidley Austin LLP has recruited Dan Graham, Paul Dunbar, and Emilie Stewart as partners in London. Graham and Dunbar have joined the global M&A and Private Equity practice and Stewart has joined the Global Finance group. They all join from Vinson & Elkins LLP.