ZEDRA expands global foothold in fund administration services industry with acquisition of Curaçao and US based Atlas Fund Services

The deal is subject to regulatory approval by the Centrale Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten (CBCS).

Founded in 2006, Atlas Fund Services provides long-term, tailored, and reliable alternative investment fund services to US-based investment managers from its office in Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as family offices and investment managers located in Europe, US, Brazil, and throughout Latin America from its office in Willemstad, Curaçao. Its client base includes emerging and seasoned funds, spanning across private equity, hedge funds and family offices.

With this acquisition, ZEDRA expands its foothold in the fund services industry from European and Asian markets into the LATAM and US, a core market for the firm. In addition to adding a presence in Curaçao, the deal complements ZEDRA’s presence in the US in Miami, San Francisco and lastly Boston and New York following the acquisition of US based Axelia Partners earlier this year, a provider of global expansion services.

Last month, ZEDRA acquired BFCS, the fund and corporate services arm of Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (‘BIL’), which provides a wide array of services in the corporate and fund services sector.

Ivo Hemelraad, ZEDRA Chief Executive Officer, commented: “With this deal, we continue to expand our global presence providing in the US both global expansion and fund services in the largest single market globally.

“The additional expertise and resources that the Atlas Fund Services team brings will be instrumental in enlarging our capabilities in the US but also in servicing the Latin American funds market through their office in Curaçao. This complements our available fund capabilities in the region through our Cayman Islands office and supports our ambition to become an international leader in the funds services industry. We welcome the Atlas Fund Services 48 new colleagues and valuable clients, and look forward to collaborating on shared goals.”

Wim Ritz, ZEDRA Global Head of Funds, said: “We are confident in our fund services capabilities, having established a strong presence in European markets and more recently in Singapore. We are looking to the US and expect to grow rapidly in this core market, which represents 48% of the global alternative investment market share. Atlas Fund Services team is the perfect match to succeed in this.”

Maarten Robberts, Atlas Fund Services, Managing Director, said: “We believe that ZEDRA is a strong cultural fit. The firm shares our aspirations to provide the best possible fund administration solutions to clients in a personalised manner. Our strong commitment remains to not follow the current industry trend of offshoring all services to low-cost countries. Now part of ZEDRA, we will continue to uphold this commitment and use the additional resources available to us to achieve greater efficiency and added value for our clients through smart automation.  

“The union of Atlas’ expertise in fund solutions and ZEDRA’s significant industry presence will also provide new opportunities to their respective clients, who now have access to a wide array of active wealth protection and family business management solutions as well as innovative alternative investment fund structures.”

ZEDRA recently reached an agreement to receive a strategic minority investment* from British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (“BCI”), one of Canada’s largest institutional investors. This investment will be made in partnership with ZEDRA’s management team, led by Executive Chairman Bart Deconinck and CEO Ivo Hemelraad, and the Company’s existing majority investor, Corsair, which will remain the majority shareholder.

ENDS

Notes to Editors-

*subject to regulatory approval

For more information, please contact:

Greentarget

Jamie Brownlee / Tom Engleback / Eleonore Basle

+44(0)783 457 1183

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