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Victory Capital Holdings has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100 per cent of WestEnd Advisors (WestEnd) for an upfront payment of USD480 million.
WestEnd will become Victory Capital’s 12th Investment Franchise and represents a new dimension of growth and diversification. Founded in 2004, and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, WestEnd provides financial advisers with turnkey, core model allocation strategies serving as holistic solutions and complementary sources of alpha. With approximately USD18 billion in assets, the firm offers four primary ETF strategies and one large cap core strategy, all in tax efficient Separately Managed Account (SMA) structures.
“The acquisition
O’Melveny has represented DigiLens Inc, an specialist in head-worn holographic display and waveguide technology, in its Series D funding round led by Samsung Electronics, a transaction valuing DigiLens at over USD500 million.
The transaction was announced on 2 November.
Additional industry leaders joining the funding round include Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Diamond Edge Ventures, the strategic investment arm of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation, Alsop Louie Partners, 37 Interactive Entertainment, UDC Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Universal Display Corporation, Dolby Family Ventures, and others.
A second close is scheduled to be completed near the end of 2021.
Headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, DigiLens
Hg, a software and services investor and supporter of the expansion of legal technology solutions specialist Litera since 2019, is leading a further investment in the business.
The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Based in Chicago, New York and London, Litera software empowers users across the legal industry to generate, review and distribute high-quality content quickly and securely, from any device. Litera supports thousands of document-intensive organisations across the globe, helping them to satisfy the complex demands of clients and regulators, using innovative technologies such as AI and machine learning.
Litera has seen significant growth
GeoWealth, a modern turnkey asset management program (TAMP) built for advisers, has raised USD19 million in a Series B funding round led by Kayne Partners Fund, the growth private equity group of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, with a follow-on investment from JP Morgan Asset Management, a strategic investor in GeoWealth since 2018.
“GeoWealth’s rapid growth is a reflection of its exceptional ability to solve the challenges facing financial advisors today,” says Robert Shilton, Managing Director, Growth Equity at Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors. “Whether it’s flexible investment solutions, a modern back office, or an elevated client experience, GeoWealth stands apart from
Avantax, a specialist in tax-focused financial planning, has acquired Pennsylvania-based Warner Finance, with approximately USD258 million in total client assets as of 11 October, 2021.
The transaction expands the presence of Avantax’s employee-based RIA (registered investment advisor) while enabling the Warner team to focus on new growth opportunities as they leverage the significant staff, technology and resources of Avantax.
“After successfully growing my business for many years, I was interested in a path that would monetise my business but also let me focus more on serving my clients and less on the day-to-day dealings of running an office. I
Aruwa Capital Management (Aruwa), an early-stage growth equity and gender lens fund investing in Nigeria and Ghana, has invested in Pngme, a financial technology company with a focus on driving financial inclusion by providing mission critical data infrastructure and machine learning models to financial institutions.
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, formal sector credit penetration as a ratio of the adult population is below 5.3 per cent, making a significant portion of Nigeria’s adult population credit invisible as most credit providers lack access to structured financial history and records of this population.
Established in 2018, Pngme solves this problem
Agronomics, a listed company focused on the field of cellular agriculture, is making a USD8 million investment in The EVERY Company (EVERY, formerly Clara Foods Co), for an equity stake on a fully diluted basis of 1.39 per cent.
This equates to an estimated portfolio weighting based on the Company’s last reported Net Asset Value of 5.7 per cent. Agronomics is investing as part of a minimum fundraise of USD127.5 million undertaken by EVERY.
EVERY is a precision fermentation company with a key focus on the commercialisation of proteins traditionally derived from animals. EVERY was founded in 2014 by Arturo
Abacus Group, a global provider of IT services for alternative investment firms, today announced it has completed acquisition of the IT services business unit of Echo Technology Solutions.
Founded in 2002, Echo is a technology and digital transformation consulting firm headquartered in San Francisco, with two key business units – managed IT services and Salesforce consulting. Echo’s managed IT services business will continue to operate as usual, but now under the umbrella of Abacus Group. Randy Hyshiver, formerly Director of IT Services at Echo, will assume the role of General Manager of the Echo IT division within Abacus Group. Echo’s
Alternative investment platform CAIS, has appointed Abby Salameh as Chief Marketing Officer, effective 8 November. Based in the New York office, Salameh will report to CAIS Founder and CEO, Matt Brown, and join the Executive Committee.
“We are thrilled to have Abby join our leadership team in this newly created role, as her deep expertise in the wealth management industry, and shared passion for democratising alternative investments will be integral to driving our business forward,” says Brown.
Salameh brings over 25 years of experience serving the independent advisor community, most recently as Chief Marketing Officer at Hightower Advisors, where she
Squire Patton Boggs has appointed Teresa Zueco, an M&A and private equity lawyer in the Spanish market, as a partner in its Global Corporate Practice in Madrid.
Zueco, who also assumes the role of managing partner in Spain, joins Squire Patton Boggs from DLA Piper along with six corporate M&A and private equity lawyers, legal directors Pablo García and Rocío García and associates Alejandra Castañeda, Luis Gutiérrez, Alvaro Luaces and Mónica Sebares.
Jonathan Jones, European managing partner, says: “Teresa and her team are well established and highly regarded corporate and private equity lawyers, not just in Spain, but across
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