JP Morgan Worldwide Securities Services (WSS), a division of JP Morgan Chase Bank, has signed an agreement to acquire the private equity administration services business of Schroders.
Based in Guernsey and Bermuda, Schroders currently has $6.2bn in committed capital under administration.
Initially, Schroders’ private equity administration business was developed to support ‘Schroder Ventures,’ an in-house private equity business that is no longer part of the Schroders Group, and later expanded into third-party administration.
Markus Ruetimann, group chief operating officer at Schroders, said: “We believe that JP Morgan will be able to realize the full growth potential of the private equity administration business through the combination of our operations and WSS. JP Morgan is one of our most trusted fund service partners and we believe that this transaction will ensure the continued delivery of a high standard of service to our private equity administration clients.”
James Hutter, global business executive for private equity fund services division at JP Morgan, said: “We believe there is strong synergy between our two businesses. We share a common origin being among only a few administrators that grew out of private equity firms, our product offerings and technology are very complementary, and we both are known for having a strong service culture.”
However, the transaction is subject to regulatory approval.