Unigestion acquires private equity boutique
Unigestion has acquired Zurich-headquartered private equity firm Akina to create a global small and mid-market private equity entity which will manage $6bn (€5.6bn) in assets.
The combined business will operate under the Unigestion name and tally 54 professionals located in Geneva, Zurich, London, New York and Singapore.
Established in 1998, Akina has $2.6bn (€2.4bn) of AUM. It advises and manages funds of funds and direct investment programs invested in small and mid-sized companies in Europe.
Akina identifies investment opportunities in European markets through a high conviction top-down / bottom-up investment process complementing Unigestion’s global reach and risk management expertise.
Christophe de Dardel, Unigestion’s head of Private Equity and member of the executive committee will retain in his current role, leading Unigestion’s bolstered private equity team.
There will be no change to the investment strategy of existing products of either Unigestion or Akina, but there will be cross-representation on the two private equity investment committees, Unigestion said.
Following completion of the deal, subject to regulatory approvals, Unigestion’s total AUM will rise to over $23bn (€21.6bn) of which private equity will account for 25%.
Bernard Sabrier, chairman of Unigestion, commented: “This is an important strategic milestone in the development of Unigestion’s private equity business. It demonstrates our commitment to continually adapt our business to provide our investors with the best investment opportunities.
“Akina has an exceptionally talented team of specialists with an excellent track record. By combining the two businesses, we are creating a unique proposition with scale in an area of the market that consistently brings value to investors. The transaction almost doubles our assets under management in private equity, adds investment leadership in the European small and mid-cap segment and extends our institutional client base, in particular in the United States.”
Christopher Bödtker, Managing Partner of Akina, commented: “Joining forces with Unigestion is the perfect next step for our business and our clients. With greater scale and deeper resources we will have a really exciting proposition in global small to mid-market private equity, which we are more passionate than ever about developing. We look forward to a bright future together.”
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