Alantra acquires a strategic stake in Access Capital Partners, a pan-European private asset manager

This investment represents a key achievement in Alantra’s strategy of becoming a pan-European diversified asset manager, by (i) scaling up its existing businesses, (ii) developing complementary asset classes, and (iii) playing a key role in the industry consolidation taking place in Europe.

Alantra will continue to execute its plans growing organically and inorganically, strengthening its distribution capabilities and committing capital to its own managed funds and vehicles.

With this transaction, Alantra will add fund of funds, co-investment and secondaries strategies to its existing direct investment activities. Altogether, Alantra will be offering its clients access to six specialized asset management classes: private equity, active funds, private debt, infrastructure, real estate and private wealth management.

Through its different businesses and strategic stake in Access Capital Partners, the Alantra group will have over €11 billion of assets under management and more than 350 institutional investors.

Access Capital Partners (“Access”) is a leading independent European private asset manager with €8.8 billion of cumulated assets raised and a 20-year history of providing superior returns for its investors across economic cycles. Access’ team of 72 professionals is spread across Europe in six locations: France, Belgium, UK, Germany, Finland and Luxembourg.

Access’ integrated expertise offers exposure to small and mid-market buy outs, infrastructure, and private debt through funds of funds, co-investment funds and customised client solutions.

Through the acquisition of stakes in Access’ holding and operational company, Alantra will own a 49% interest in the business and become over time the company’s only strategic shareholder. The current executive partners will maintain the control of Access.

The first step of the transaction entails the acquisition of a 24.5% interest for a cash consideration of €19 million. In 2022 Alantra will have a call option, and OP Financial Group a put option, for OP’s remaining stake. Alantra will have the right to its share of the economic benefit of the business for the whole of 2018 to be paid as a dividend in 2019.

Closing of the transaction, which is only subject to the regulatory approval of local authorities, is expected for the first quarter of 2019.

Santiago Eguidazu, Executive Chairman of Alantra, said: “We are extremely satisfied to partner with Access, a firm that we have known for more than 15 years and which shares our values of entrepreneurship, alignment of interests with clients and performance. Through the partnership with Access we will be able to offer our clients new asset classes. Therefore, I am certain that together with Access’ leadership team we will be able to lever significant synergies for both firms in terms of fund raising and products in the years to come.”

Dominique Peninon, Agnès Nahum and Philippe Poggioli, Chairman and Managing Partners of Access, commented: “This evolution in our shareholding structure sets the scene for a new impulse at Access as we smoothly transition over three years between two strategic partners. It gives us the opportunity to reaffirm our independence while so many of our competitors have recently been acquired and it broadens the share ownership among a wider group of Partners. Access remains a client-focused specialist investment manager with a unique DNA, now able to tackle new growth opportunities.”