Blackfin buys RBS Luxembourg fund arm

Awaiting approval by Luxembourg's Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), the takeover is expected to be finalised at some point during Q4.

The purchase price remains confidential, but BlackFin is said to have acquired the fund arm at a "significant premium" to book value in the latest financial year.

The deal takes place 11 years after RBS Luxembourg (RBSL) was set up by the bank as a provider of third-party management services to funds domiciled in Luxembourg.

The divestment is part of RBS's strategy to pull out from a number of its international operations as it streamlines its structure and refocuses on the UK. The bank is currently transitioning away from its public ownership model after plans were announced by the UK government to gradually sell its 79% shareholding in June.

Blackfin emerged as the winning bidder for RBSL four months after the sale process was initiated by the lender when it appointed PwC in April. The acquisition will grant the buyout house access to the Luxembourg financial services sector after recent purchases in the neighbouring French market: AMfine and Groupe Lucheux.

In late July, the GP announced a €300m second close for its second fund, with expectations to hit the €400m hard-cap before year-end.

Company
Set up by RBS in 2004, RBSL is a provider of third-party management and investment monitoring services to managers of funds domiciled in Luxembourg. With assets under management worth €28.5bn, the fund arm reported a compound annual growth rate of more than 8% in its turnover in the latest financial year.

People
BlackFin was represented by president Laurent Bouyoux. Revel Wood is CEO at RBSL.

Advisers
Equity – PwC (Corporate finance); Linklaters (Legal).
Vendor – Arendt & Medernach (Legal).

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• Topics
• Benelux
• Financials
• Buyouts
• Luxembourg