Carey Olsen advises Silverfleet Capital on £50 million Ipes buyout

Carey Olsen has provided Channel Islands-specific corporate and regulatory advice to Silverfleet Capital in its £50 million buyout of leading fund administration and private equity specialists, Ipes, from RJD Partners.

The firm drew on its group expertise for the buyout fielding a pan-Channel Islands legal team led by partners Tom Carey (pictured) in Guernsey and Guy Coltman in Jersey with support from associates John Scanlan and David Taylor. The team established the Guernsey acquisition structure, carried out due diligence and advised on the competition law and regulatory issues that were associated with the acquisition.

Silverfleet Capital is a global private equity firm specialising in mid-market buyouts. It has a reputation for “buy to build” investments and plans to develop Ipes through organic growth and acquisition with an emphasis on international expansion. The acquisition is subject to regulatory clearance.

Ipes is one of Europe's leading providers of fund administration and outsourcing services to the closed-ended asset class with a particular specialism in private equity. Founded in Guernsey in 1998, the business employs 130 staff and administers in excess of $50 billion in assets from its offices in Guernsey, Jersey, London and Luxembourg.

Carey Olsen worked alongside Travers Smith (legal), DC Advisory (corporate finance), PwC (financial and tax), LEK (commercial) and Kinetic (regulatory) and financing was provided by Lloyds Bank and HSBC.

Advocate Carey said: “We were very pleased to be able to support Silverfleet and Travers Smith in what is a very significant deal in the private equity fund administration space. It is an exciting time for the management of Ipes and we look forward to seeing them grow their business internationally while retaining a centre of excellence in the Channel Islands."