An Unusual Year Met with Expected Results: Dechert’s Financial Services M&A 2020 Highlights

Through a 2020 that brought unprecedented uncertainty, Dechert helped advise its financial services clients on a variety of fronts, and when it came to M&A matters, Dechert’s interdisciplinary team of lawyers combined their market knowledge and legal acumen to provide creative solutions for its clients’ strategic objectives. From large-scale asset management consolidations to CLO transactions, Dechert continues to have its finger on the pulse of the financial services M&A market, no matter the conditions.

“This past year was unlike anything we have experienced before, and while it was most certainly difficult, it allowed for our lawyers to showcase their agility and to put our unparalleled knowledge of the asset management industry to work on important and creative transactions,” said Dechert partner Ken Young who focuses his practice on financial services M&A.

“I’m delighted with the accomplishments of our financial services M&A teams in 2020,” said Dechert financial services partner Jon Rand. “They handled a large number of deals across jurisdictions and completed them during such unusual times, all while going above and beyond for our clients. It’s truly a testament to the hard work of everyone involved.”

Dechert continued to be recognized for its leadership in financial services M&A in 2020. The Deal named Dechert “Financial Services Law Firm of the Year” in its Middle Market Awards 2020. It also named two Dechert transactions as “Financial Services Deals of the Year” in its headline The Deal Awards 2020 and in its Middle Market Awards 2020 – Invesco’s acquisition of OppenheimerFunds from MassMutual (which was reported as being the largest deal in the U.S. asset management industry since 2014), and the US$490 million sale of CoreVest American Finance Lender by Fortress Investment Group to Redwood Trust, respectively. Winning transactions were chosen for their complexity and impact on the global deal economy.

In 2020, Dechert completed more than 40 deals in the financial services sector totaling approximately US$35 billion. Highlights from the year include:

• Barings BDC, Inc. on its merger with MVC Capital, Inc., with the combined company to have more than US$1.5 billion in assets under management.
• The founder of Chill Insurance Limited, one of the largest independent personal lines insurance brokers in Ireland, on its sale of a majority stake to UK-based private equity firm Livingbridge.
• Corimar Asset Management Fund LP in connection with the sale of certain business assets of Frobisher Capital Limited to Wren Sterling, an independent financial advisory business that is owned and backed by Palatine Private Equity. The strategic acquisition will add further scale to the Wren Sterling business, which now has approximately £3.6 billion of assets under advice.
• EnTrust Global, a leading alternative asset management firm, in its acquisition from Franklin Templeton of the 65% interest that Legg Mason, Inc. holds in EnTrust Global as part of Franklin’s US$4.5 billion acquisition of Legg Mason.
• FS/KKR Advisor, a partnership between FS Investments and KKR Credit Advisors, in the proposed merger of FS KKR Capital Corp. and FS KKR Capital Corp. II, two publicly traded business development companies. The merger would create one of the largest BDCs in the U.S., with US$14.9 billion in assets under management.
• Gravis Capital Management, an independent asset management company headquartered in the UK, in its proposed sale of a 70% equity stake in the company to ORIX Corporation, a Japan-based diversified financial services company.
• The special committee of Oaktree Strategic Income Corporation (OCSI), a specialty finance company dedicated to providing customized capital solutions for middle-market companies, in OCSI’s proposed merger with Oaktree Specialty Lending Corporation (OCSL).
• Sorella Partners and Fratello Partners on its acquisition of 31% of La Française Global Investment Solutions (LFIS) from global asset manager La Française Group, a subsidiary of French bank Groupe Crédit Mutuel.
• StoneCastle Asset Management and its parent StoneCastle Partners, LLC in ArrowMark Partners’ acquisition of StoneCastle Asset Management’s Bank Investment Platform.

Furthering its market-leading knowledge, Dechert, together with leading financial services M&A advisory firm Berkshire Global Advisors, released a broadcast episode on considerations for CLO consolidation transactions, a financial services mainstay since the last recession. Listen here.

Please see the Financial Services M&A 2020 Highlights brochure for an in-depth look at last year’s notable body of work.

As a preeminent financial services M&A legal advisor, Dechert’s deep bench of internationally recognized M&A and asset manager lawyers are able to assist clients with full-service advice on all aspects of a transaction. From public M&A transactions to minority investments, clients rely on Dechert to provide a timely and efficient resolution for their corporate needs.