KB Associates to join the Waystone Group

25/01/2022
Read Time: 2 Min
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Financial Services KB Associates Michael Butler Minority Investments

We’re delighted to announce that KB Associates has reached an agreement to join the Waystone Group subject to regulatory approval, delivering a return of 3.7x. 

KB Associates is a leading professional services firm specialising in the provision of management company, governance, regulatory and related consulting services to the asset management industry. Headquartered in Ireland, and with offices in London, the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg and Malta, KB Associates employs almost 100 consultants, advises over 250 international asset managers and supports investment funds with assets exceeding €400bn.

Founder of KB Associates, Mike Kirby, will become Executive Chairman -Europe and a Board Member of the Waystone Group. Andrew Kehoe will become CEO of the Waystone Group in Ireland with Barry Harrington and Peader de Barra becoming Managing Directors of the combined Irish businesses.

Since ECI’s investment in 2019, KB Associates has delivered significant growth in its core management company business with AUM increasing sixfold over the past two years to in excess of €120bn. It also established a presence in Luxembourg acquiring EFG Fund Management S.A, a Luxembourg-based management company and subsidiary of EFG International AG, the Swiss Private Banking Group. KB Associates also opened a MiFID investment firm in Malta to assist clients with distribution of investment funds in the EU. 

An ability to address complex regulatory and governance issues across multiple jurisdictions is increasingly important to our international client base. Becoming a member of the Waystone Group, which has offices in fourteen locations across Europe, North America and Asia, allows us to deliver a single global solution. I’d like to thank ECI Partners for their support over the last two years as we further developed our international capabilities and delivered on key initiatives to enable us to scale our management company in Ireland.”

Mike Kirby

Founder and Managing Principal of KB Associates

It is a testament to the strength of the KB Associates team and growth strategy that the business achieved strategic trade interest so soon into our investment. We’d like to thank Mike and the team for a fantastic partnership over the last few years. This realisation clearly demonstrates the growth and resilience of the compliance and fund governance subsector.”

Michael Butler

Partner at ECI

Derek Delaney, Waystone Global CEO, Waystone Group, said: “KB Associates has been the pre-eminent provider of governance and compliance services in Ireland for almost twenty years. We were very fortunate that KBA has chosen to join our institutional partnership and we are delighted to welcome all the key management and consulting staff of KBA. This agreement particularly brings a depth of institutional UCITS expertise along with a talented and dedicated team of close to 100 new colleagues.”

ECI Partners and KB Associates were advised on the transaction by Squire Patton Boggs and A&L Goodbody, led by James Fitzgibbon and Sheena Doggett respectively.
 

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