IK Investment Partners, a pan-European private equity firm, has signed an agreement with a group of investors including Reggeborgh Groep to acquire a majority stake in Vistra Group, an
IK Investment Partners, a pan-European private equity firm, has signed an agreement with a group of investors including Reggeborgh Groep to acquire a majority stake in Vistra Group, an international trust and corporate service provider.
The current management team remains an important shareholder and re-invests nearly all proceeds.
The transaction is the result of an exclusive process and will be largely financed by equity provided by IK and management. Terms of the agreed sale, which is subject only to regulatory approval, were not disclosed.
Vistra provides a full range of administrative solutions for corporate structuring and for wealth protection. Through the combination of taxation, law and accounting, Vistra is able to address the various needs of its clients, who include large international corporations, high net worth individuals and institutional investors from around the world.
Vistra was founded in 2006 through the buy-in of the private client business of Chiltern in London and Jersey by the former management team of Fortis Intertrust. Today, Vistra has a network of offices in 12 jurisdictions, serving its clients with cross border solutions including trustee and fiduciary services, corporate services, business services and outsourcing, specialised services and fund services.
IK intends to support management with funds and hands on assistance in further growing the company through an active buy-and-build strategy.
Kristiaan Nieuwenburg (pictured), partner at IK and head of the Benelux investment team, says: ‘We expect the developments in the trust and corporate services sector to generate attractive opportunities for market consolidation. We are excited to back Vistra’s entrepreneurial management team, who have successfully created a well positioned platform to participate in this consolidation process.’
Bart Deconinck, chief executive of Vistra Group, says: ‘We want to thank Reggeborgh Groep and our other investors for their support and belief in us right at the start. We are very excited to have IK on board as a new shareholder and partner who will support us in the next steps of our development. Building on our past experiences, we will focus on applying our successful buy-and-build strategy to further capitalise on the growth opportunities in our industry by entering into new geographies and expanding into new service areas. Our long-lasting client relationships will not undergo any changes and the whole team will continue to provide the same services as in the past, benefiting from the support and international reach of IK."
Advisers to IK are ING Corporate Finance (M&A), Allen & Overy (legal), PwC (accounting and commercial), Deloitte (tax) and Marsh (insurance). Advisers to Vistra’s shareholders were Wyvern Partners (M&A), Jones Day (legal) and Houthoff Buruma (legal).
