Apex Group Ltd, the Bermudian-based global financial services provider, has closed the £1.5 billion acquisition of Sanne Group plc, a leading global provider of alternative asset and corporate services.

The close of the Sanne acquisition positions Apex Group as a global, top-tier independent service provider, servicing nearly $3 trillion in assets across administration, depositary, custody and under management.

The addition of Sanne brings another 2,500 people into the group and adds six new locations in Denmark, Japan, Serbia, South Africa, Spain and Sweden.

Apex Group now operates from more than 80 offices in over 40 markets worldwide, with over 10,000 employees.

Apex said the addition of Sanne adds further depth of product and experience in serving the closed-ended private equity, private debt, capital markets, loan agency and real-assets markets, as well as an expanded geographic footprint in the United States, Central Europe, Africa and Apac, enabling the group to better support clients in every location and stage of their life cycle.

Sanne’s clients will now benefit from access to the group’s single-source solution, including services such as ESG rating, reporting and advisory and digital banking, offered globally and delivered locally by experienced teams.

This is the latest — and largest — in a series of 31 successfully completed global acquisitions for the group including the recent additions of MMC Group, ASX-listed Mainstream Group and the announced acquisition of Maitland.

Peter Hughes, founder and CEO of Apex Group, said: “With today’s announcement we have reached an inflection point in Apex Group’s story, as we become one of the largest providers in our space.

“Our M&A strategy is not simply about growth, it’s about expanding our capabilities and experience to be the best possible service partner to our clients. Combined, our global team increases to more than 10,000 people, across over 80 offices and nearly $3 trillion in assets with a premium book of clients.

“Bringing Sanne into the group enables us to offer increased product depth and a wider geographic footprint. We acknowledge the complementary strengths of each business and are excited to leverage this combined offering to drive the next stage of our evolution.”

Martin Schnaier, chief executive officer at Sanne Group, said: “The strong performance in the first half of 2022 is testament to Sanne’s strengths and market reputation as we have seen record levels of new business wins and organic growth return to our targeted double-digit levels.

“It also reflects the qualities recognised by Apex Group in acquiring the business and it should ensure that this transformational combination creates a leading, end-to-end service provider to the alternative-assets market, with unmatched capabilities and scale.

“As we now look forward to joining Apex Group, we are confident in the benefits that this deal should bring for our clients and our people across the globe.”