Other FinTech briefs reflect a trend for corporate marriage as BlackRock plans to buy a piece of Citibanamex while ICAP is acquiring Coex Partners.
Sale is Key to the Merging of Actiance and Smarsh
Credit Suisse Asset Management’s NEXT Investors group reported on Nov. 30 that it has exited its investment in Actiance, a communications and social media compliance, archiving, and analytics vendor, via a sale to K1 Investment Management, a U.S. private equity firm that invests in enterprise software companies.
The amount of the NEXT investment in Actiance was not disclosed.
Last month, rival providers of social media compliance for financial services, Smarsh and Actiance, announced that they will become one company via K1, which is acquiring Actiance after already having a majority stake in Smarsh.
If authorities approve the combination, the new company will serve “more than 6,500 financial services firms ─ including the top 15 global banks and regional, mid-size banks and broker-dealers ─ as well as government agencies and organizations in other regulated industries,” according to officials. The combined Actiance and Smarsh will be able to offer clients technology to capture, record, store, and analyze more than 100 content types, officials say.
“We are pleased to have partnered with Actiance to support the company’s growth, helping it become a leader in this vertical, and we look forward to K1 taking Actiance to the next level,” says Alan Freudenstein, co-head and portfolio manager of Credit Suisse Asset Management’s NEXT Investors, in a prepared statement.
BlackRock to Buy Asset Management Business of Citibanamex
BlackRock and Citibanamex, a subsidiary of Citigroup Inc., have signed a definitive agreement that will let BlackRock acquire the asset management business of Citibanamex, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
The agreement builds upon a long-standing relationship between BlackRock and Citi, officials say.
The agreement specifies that BlackRock and Citibanamex will enter into a distribution agreement upon closing the transaction, officials say. The agreement will allow BlackRock to offer its asset management products to Citibanamex clients in Mexico. Citibanamex provides wealth management products and services to more than 20 million clients via a network of 1,500 branches in Mexico.
The transaction covers approximately $31 billion in assets under management (AUM) of Citibanamex, “across local fixed income, equity and multi-asset products, primarily for retail clients,” officials say. This will add to BlackRock’s business in Mexico, which “focuses mostly on institutional clients, offering international investment and risk management products and services across asset classes, strategies and geographies.”
The pending acquisition of Citibanamex’s capabilities “combined with our global investment platform and technology create a stronger franchise that can deliver a more compelling set of investment solutions across client segments in Mexico,” says Armando Senra, head of Latin America and Iberia for BlackRock, in a statement.
ICAP Acquires Coex Partners Ltd.
Interdealer broker TP ICAP (ICAP) has acquired Coex Partners (Coex), an independent agency broker, officials say.
ICAP and Coex began working together last year “and the acquisition is a natural progression of that successful collaboration,” officials say.
“The initial payment for the acquisition (including settlement of existing shareholder loans) is £7.1 million in cash [$9.6 million], and performance-related payments may be made at various dates during the next four years. These subsequent payments will be satisfied through the issue of new ordinary shares in the Company or cash, at the discretion of the Company,” according to ICAP.
For the year ending Dec. 31, 2016, Coex made profits before tax of £2.1 million ($2.83 million), and had gross assets of £6.5 million ($8.75 million), officials say. In addition, Coex’s revenues for the six months ending June 30, 2017 were £11 million ($14.8 million).
“Coex entered into an appointed representative agreement with TP ICAP in June 2016 and since that date its revenues have been included in the consolidated revenues of the TP ICAP Group,” officials say.
Coex, which has offices in London, Paris and New York, was founded in 2014 and has 55 brokers, officials say.
“The company provides trade and execution services in listed derivatives and OTC [over-the-counter] foreign exchange to hedge funds, assets managers and other clients. It is being sold by its management. John Ruskin and Alex Gerskowitch, the founders and senior management, will remain with the business and continue to build it,” officials add.
The Coex group will become part of ICAP’s Institutional Services division which offers “pre-trade information, market intelligence and intermediation to its clients,” officials say. “The acquisition continues the expansion of the Institutional Services division’s specialist execution expertise and product range.”
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