Adveq to be bought by Schroders

The Swiss private equity firm will be renamed Schroder Adveq.

Schroders, a FTSE 100 asset management business, has agreed to acquire Swiss private equity firm Adveq.

The move is the latest example of consolidation in the fund of funds sector, following deals announced in the first quarter of year such as Standard Life’s acquisition of Aberdeen Asset Management and Unigestion’s acquisition of Akina.

As part of the deal, Schroders, which has “existing capabilities and expertise in the real estate and infrastructure finance sectors,” will add private equity to its stable of investment offerings, according to a statement from the firm on Thursday.

The unit will be renamed Schroder Adveq, according to a source close to the deal.

Schroders has around £14 billion (€17 billion; $18 billion) in private assets under management. This is split between insurance-linked securities, infrastructure finance and real estate. The addition of Adveq will bring $7 billion in private equity assets under management.

Adveq’s existing investment team, process and strategies will remain unchanged, the firms said. Adveq makes primary fund commitments, secondaries investments and direct and co-investments across venture capital, growth capital, buyouts and turnarounds.

“We look forward to introducing Adveq’s unique capabilities to our clients,” Peter Harrison, group chief executive of Schroders, said in the statement.

The acquisition will allow Adveq to access new markets and offer “an enhanced proposition for our clients”, said Bruno Raschle, founder and chairman of Adveq.

“With more than $7 billion of client commitments and a predominately Swiss and German client base, Adveq’s clients include some of the largest and most highly regarded institutional investors and pension funds in the region,” read the Schroders statement. “In recent years, Adveq has also successfully established a premium client base in the US and other international markets.”

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Schroders was one of the pioneering names in private equity with the establishment of Schroders Ventures in 1983. That team subsequently spun off to become various different entities, including London-headquartered Permira,  Greenwich, Connecticut-based SV Investment Partners and SVG Capital, the listed company acquired by HarbourVest Partners.