Apex Group, a global financial services provider, has completed the acquisition of MJ Hudson’s data and analytics arm for £15m, as the troubled asset management consultancy prepares to delist from AIM later this week.
The deal, which was announced in April, will see Apex Group take over MJ Hudson’s ESG, custodian bank benchmarking, quantitative solutions, investor relations and marketing support businesses. The acquired businesses will rebrand under the Apex Group name and enhance its service offering to its clients.
Meanwhile, Apex Group is still awaiting regulatory approval for its planned £25m purchase of MJ Hudson’s business outsourcing division, which includes fund administration, depositary and regulatory reporting services.
MJ Hudson has been selling off its various businesses after it suspended its shares from trading in December, following the discovery of “issues” in relation to its historical trading reporting. The group also lost its auditor Ernst & Young and its CEO and founder Matthew Hudson in February.
The group has been using the proceeds from the sales to repay its debt to Santander UK, which amounted to £33.7m as of 31 March. The group has warned that it is unlikely that any surplus funds will be available for distribution to shareholders after settling its liabilities and costs.
Last week, MJ Hudson received shareholder approval to cancel its shares from trading on AIM, which is expected to take effect on Thursday (25 May). The group said that it no longer sees any benefit in maintaining its listing status and that it will save costs by delisting.
Peter Hughes, founder and CEO of Apex Group, said: “We are pleased to welcome the clients and employees of these business divisions of MJ Hudson which will deepen our service offering and will add complementary solutions, including in the fast-growing ESG space. As we drive positive change in the industry, we will continue to evolve our pioneering ESG solutions to be the best possible partner for our clients; the addition of MJ Hudson’s ESG and sustainability business further reinforces our position as a leading service provider. We look forward to updating the market on the successful conclusion of our acquisition of MJ Hudson’s regulated business activities including ManCo solutions, in due course.”
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