The Transaction is structured to release $A40m in cash consideration upon completion plus additional payments of up to $A20m over 12 months subject to agreed revenue milestones. Completion is expected in the second quarter of 2025 and is subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval, novation of a material customer contract and customary warranties and indemnities.

Following completion, Iress will continue to provide certain services for a period of up to 18 months to assist in the transition of the Superannuation business to Apex Group’s ownership.

The announcement follows Apex Group last year establishing Apex Super – its Australian Superannuation business in partnership with data and technology platform provider Novigi – in response to a growing commitment to the broader Australian market and superannuation industry in particular.

Iress Group CEO, Marcus Price, said: “As part of our transformation, Iress has streamlined its operations to focus on our core strengths in software delivery and to exit businesses with a higher regulated service profile. Apex Group is recognised as a global leader in the provision of fund and asset servicing to regulated financial services businesses.

“We are delighted with this outcome, which is a great result for all parties – clients, employees and shareholders – and will see the Superannuation business strengthened under new ownership. Importantly, Iress will continue to play an important role in the growth of the Superannuation industry through the provision of advice and education software to funds and their members.

“Today’s announcement enables Iress to double down on our core markets and customers in Wealth, Trading and Market Data; while continuing to improve our operational strength underpinned by a robust balance sheet and improved earnings profile.”

Apex Group Founder and CEO, Peter Hughes, said: “We are very pleased that Iress’ Superannuation team and clients will be joining the Apex Group. Increasing member engagement and improving the member experience is a focal point of our industry. The Acurity platform is well recognised as a market leader, and we look forward to building on this ensuring readily available access to data and flexibility in order to support clients to increase their efficiency, scale and value to members.”

Flagstaff Partners acted as exclusive M&A advisor to Iress. Macquarie Capital acted as exclusive M&A advisor to Apex.

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Peter Hughes

Apex Group Ltd. (“Apex Group” or “The Group”), a global financial services provider, has announced its agreement to acquire AXESS Accounting Office (“AXESS”), a leading provider of Corporate Services to the Japanese market.

AXESS supports over 300 domestic and international clients with a full suite of Corporate Services, including Tax Compliance and Tax Advisory. Today’s announcement follows Apex Group’s longstanding partnership with AXESS to service Real Estate and Private Equity clients in Japan.

Following completion of the acquisition, the AXESS team of 30 local tax experts will join Apex Group, which is led in Japan by Country Head, Mark Bennett. Apex Group entered the Japanese market in 2022 with the acquisition of Sanne Group and delivers an expansive range of Financial and Corporate Services in the region to asset managers, corporates, financial institutions, private clients and family offices via an existing network of regional offices in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Apex Group’s existing Corporate and Business Services, including US, UK, Australian and Luxembourg Tax Services, are differentiated in the market by offering clients a choice of fintech and data-enabled solutions to achieve greater efficiency, scalability and flexibility in their operations. Through this acquisition, AXESS’ clients will now benefit from the efficiency of Apex Group’s single-source solution, including access to a broad range of services including Digital Banking, Depositary, Custody, Fund Raising Services, and pioneering ESG Ratings and Advisory Solutions, offered globally and delivered locally.

This acquisition follows Apex Group’s recent announcement of the planned acquisition of global proptech and technology provider Retransform, as the business continues to strengthen its service and technology offering to deliver innovative solutions in new way for Real Estate clients.

Peter Hughes, Founder and CEO of Apex Group comments: “Having worked closely with AXESS to offer complementary local services to our Japanese clients, we are delighted to add to our existing presence in Japan. We see the continued growth of Japan’s Real Estate and Private Markets, and relatively low levels of outsourcing, as a compelling strategic growth opportunity for our business. The addition of the AXESS team will supplement our strong organic growth story in the broader Asia-Pacific region, as we deliver exceptional, locally embedded solutions to our clients. We look forward to welcoming AXESS’ talented employees and valued clients to Apex Group in Japan, and to provide them with powerful, technology-enabled tools to drive their growth.”

Masanori Sakaguchi, President and CEO of AXESS Accounting Office further comments: “We are proud of the business we have built over the last two decades, focused on delivering exceptional client service and driven by an entrepreneurial spirit. We are confident that the acquisition of AXESS by Apex Group will benefit our clients through the provision of new and global solutions to enable their continued success. Peter and the team share our high standards of client service and we are committed to ensuring a seamless transition.”

The planned acquisition of AXESS is subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

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Peter Hughes

Apex Group Ltd. (“Apex Group” or the “Group”), a global financial services provider, has announced the acquisition of Implemented Investment Holdings Limited, the parent company of Implemented Investment Solutions (“IIS”) and InvestNow.

IIS provides investment services to large global fund managers, enabling them to establish and distribute New Zealand domiciled funds to their investors.  Their clients also include some of New Zealand’s most respected investment companies, including specialist investment managers, KiwiSaver providers, adviser groups, and family offices.  Today, IIS is the issuer and manager of 22 investment schemes with approximately NZ$5 billion of assets under management. The addition of IIS will extend the geographic reach of Apex Group’s existing fund management company and distribution services currently delivered via FundRock and LRI subsidiaries.

InvestNow is a leading digital retail investment platform enabling over 25,000 clients to invest online in over 150 different managed funds from leading New Zealand and global fund managers, as well as a range of different leading banks’ term deposits. InvestNow’s clients manage approximately NZ$1.3 billion of assets, and includes the multi-manager InvestNow KiwiSaver Scheme, which has grown by over 40% in the previous quarter.

The acquisitions of IIS and InvestNow, add 28 experts, and expand Apex Group’s presence in the New Zealand to over 200 employees. This follows Apex Group’s recent entry into the market with the addition of MMC, which provides fund and wealth administration services to the New Zealand investment market.

Following the close of this acquisition, IIS and InvestNow will become part of Apex Group in New Zealand, alongside the former MMC business. Anthony Edmonds, Founder and CEO of the IIS Group, and Gareth Fleming, CFO and Executive Director will hold senior management roles in the combined business, driving continued growth and providing continuity for clients.

Through these acquisitions the New Zealand investment industry will further benefit from access to Apex Group’s single-source solution, including services such as ESG Rating, Reporting & Advisory and Digital Banking, offered via a network of over 80 offices globally and delivered locally by 10,000 experts.

Peter Hughes, Founder and CEO of Apex Group comments: “New Zealand’s investment management community continues to grow, and with the addition of IIS and InvestNow, will enable us to further deliver our single-source solutions for investors participating in, and serving the local market through locally domiciled funds. We remain committed to increasing the depth of our services on a global scale, to enable our clients to reach their potential.”

Anthony Edmonds, Founder and CEO of IIS and InvestNow adds: “We are proud of the achievements and growth of the IIS and InvestNow businesses and are excited to be joining Apex Group to build on this success and offer a wider range of services to our clients. Both our clients and employees will benefit from leveraging Apex Group’s global fund hosting and management company capabilities, enabling investment managers to offer their investment solutions in the thriving New Zealand market. Apex Group’s global capability and experience enables us to continue to grow and capture the significant opportunity that exists within InvestNow, and I am extremely excited about what this means for our clients.”

Clare Capital served as financial advisors to Implemented Investment Holdings Limited, with DLA Piper providing legal advice. Terms of the transaction are undisclosed. Bell Gully provided legal advice to Apex Group.

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Vedran Babic

Apex Group Ltd. (“Apex” or “The Group”), a global financial services provider, has announced the close of the acquisition of MMC Group (“MMC”), New Zealand’s leading provider of investment administration services, which includes the wholly-owned IFAA Group (“IFAA”) in Australia that offers fund administration, compliance and auxiliary services to the Australian superannuation industry.

Founded in 2005, MMC provides full outsourced investment administration services to New Zealand’s investment managers. MMC has grown to administer funds over NZ$100 billion (US$68bn) and over 900,000 active investor portfolios, with over 100 clients entrusting MMC with their investment administration.

The acquisition of the MMC business marks Apex’s entry into the New Zealand geography through the addition of an experienced team of 170 people, based in Auckland. Rebranding as part of Apex Group, MMC will continue to provide high quality fund and wealth administration services to the New Zealand investment market.

This acquisition will also strengthen the provision of services to clients in the Australian market with IFAA enhancing the Group’s ability to offer a comprehensive service to Australian superannuation fund clients, delivered by a team of 30 local market experts.

Through this acquisition, MMC and IFAA’s clients will now benefit from access to the Group’s global, cross-jurisdictional reach and range of additional services including digital banking, global compliance solutions and ESG Ratings and Advisory; and accessing new markets through its international network.

This is the latest in a series of successfully integrated global acquisitions for Apex including the addition of Australia-based Mainstream Group. Following completion of announced acquisitions, Apex will operate from over 80 offices in 40 countries worldwide, with 9,000 employees servicing an expected US$2.5 trillion in assets across administration, depositary, custody and under management.

Peter Hughes, Founder and CEO of Apex Group comments: “We are excited by the additions of MMC and IFAA to Apex Group, which will provide a supportive platform for their continued success and growth. We see huge opportunity in the thriving New Zealand and Australian investment markets and the local expertise of the MMC team will underpin the delivery of our broad range of high-quality solutions for clients. We look forward to the benefits this acquisition will also bring for MMC and IFAA’s existing client base and employees, providing them with access to the Group’s scalable single-source solution, technology innovation, international reach and market connectivity.”

Vedran Babic, CEO of MMC Group adds: “Being part of the Apex Group will create new opportunities for our clients and people. Our primary focus on setting clients free to accelerate their success will continue and be further enhanced by the Group’s global footprint, resources, access to new technology and services, which the entire investment sector in New Zealand will benefit from.”

Andrew Griffioen, CEO of IFAA further adds: “IFAA Group are excited to be joining Apex Group. The growth of Apex in the Australian Superannuation administration market is a significant opportunity for our current and future clients to benefit from the services of a global organisation with local capability and a client centric ethos.”

Terms of the transaction are undisclosed. Macquarie Capital acted as financial advisor to Apex Group. Rothschild & Co and Cameron Partners served as financial advisors to MMC.

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Martin Smith

Apex Group Ltd. (“Apex” or “the Group”), a global financial services provider, has been confirmed as the successful bidder in the acquisition of Mainstream Group Holdings Limited (ASX:MAI) (“Mainstream”).

On June 28, 2021, the Board of Mainstream announced acceptance of Apex’s offer of AUD$2.80 cash per share by way of a scheme of arrangement. Apex’s offer implies an enterprise value for Mainstream of approximately AUD$415 million, including transaction costs and net debt. The competing bidder declined to exercise its matching right to match or offer more favourable terms.

Accordingly, Mainstream has given a notice of termination under the Scheme Implementation Deed (“SID”) with the previous competing bidder. Mainstream has now entered into a SID with Apex and the Mainstream Directors unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the Apex scheme of arrangement (in the absence of a superior proposal and provided that an Independent Expert’s report concludes that it is in the best interests of shareholders).

With the addition of Mainstream, Apex will have 50 offices worldwide, close to 5,000 employees, and servicing nearly US$1.4 trillion in assets across administration, depositary, custody and under management, Apex delivers a full suite of services to asset managers, family offices, financial institutions and corporates.

The transaction is subject to customary conditions, including approval by Mainstream shareholders, the relevant Australian court and certain regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Peter Hughes, Founder and CEO of Apex Group comments: “We are pleased to announce our successful bid for Mainstream which was made on the strong belief that Apex would provide the best platform for the company’s continued success and expansion. At Apex, we are committed to continually enhancing our single-source model, and this acquisition would expand our ability to support new and existing clients across all aspects of their business with an enhanced product offering – no matter where they are in the world.”

Martin Smith, CEO of Mainstream adds:” We are delighted to recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the Apex scheme of arrangement. In addition to representing excellent shareholder value, the proposed acquisition would provide Mainstream clients with access to a significantly broader range of solutions and technology investment via Apex’s global network. Apex has successfully integrated a number of strategic acquisitions in recent years, with 99% client retention rates, and we anticipate a similar outcome for Mainstream. We see an acquisition by Apex as beneficial for our clients, shareholders and employees.”

Mainstream is being advised by Miles Advisory Partners as financial adviser and Maddocks as legal adviser.

Apex is being advised by Macquarie Capital as financial adviser and Herbert Smith Freehills as legal adviser.

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