IQ-EQ, an Astorg portfolio company, has acquired Agama Group, an independent regulatory compliance firm based in France and Luxembourg.
In a statement today (4 February) it said the transaction gives the global investor services group its first regulatory compliance presence in the region and marked a “significant milestone in the firm’s longer-term strategy to establish itself as a regulatory compliance leader in continental Europe as well as the UK, the U.S. and Asia”.
Established in 2013, Agama provides essential regulatory compliance, internal control and operations support to asset managers and funds across private equity, real estate and other asset classes. The group is made up of four business units, totalling 50+ professionals across offices in Paris and Luxembourg:
• Agama Conseil – France – ongoing support for internal control functions within asset managers
• Agama Services – France – formation, authorisation and approvals for new asset managers
• Agama Advisors – Luxembourg – RC, directorship and compliance services for Luxembourg funds
• BELT Solutions – France – RegTech SaaS solution supporting compliance officers within asset managers
As well as expanding IQ-EQ’s regulatory compliance offering into continental Europe, the acquisition of Agama significantly builds upon IQ-EQ’s already-extensive suite of services for fund and asset managers operating in France, including fund administration, outsourced CFO, valuation, risk management and third-party AIFM services.
“Accordingly, IQ-EQ will be uniquely positioned as a one-stop shop for asset managers in France”, the statement said.
In Luxembourg, Agama’s fast-growing business is complementary to IQ-EQ’s existing offering; in particular, its AML/CFT compliance officer (RC) and directorship capabilities.
Mark Pesco, IQ-EQ’s group chief executive officer, said: “Continental Europe is ripe with commercial opportunity and represents an important strategic growth region for us. This acquisition not only speaks to that opportunity but cements our position as the leading provider of regulatory compliance services globally, adding to our established expert teams in the UK, the U.S. and Asia.
“Agama stands out as the clear market leader for regulatory compliance services in France, with a very strong reputation and brand recognition, as well as having a fast-growing business in Luxembourg that fits strategically with our existing business. So we’re truly thrilled to be welcoming them into the IQ-EQ fold and look forward to seeing all that we can achieve together.”
Diana Senanayake, regional CEO for Continental Europe at IQ-EQ, added: “This is an incredibly exciting transaction for us; it adds a strong new string to our regional bow and we see excellent collaboration potential between our teams that will benefit our business and our clients. What’s more, Agama’s proprietary SaaS, BELT, is emerging as the leading RegTech solution for asset managers in France and there is considerable scope to develop this further in the region.
“Together, we’ll be working hard to maximise the significant potential our newly combined business has to offer as we strive to take both our continental European offering and our global regulatory compliance offering to the next level.”
Philippe Levrel and Louis-Grégoire Logre will continue to lead Agama as managing directors and will join the senior leadership team of IQ-EQ France, reporting directly to Bertrand D’Anselme, CEO of IQ-EQ France.
Jean-Bernard Quillon will continue to lead Agama Advisors in Luxembourg as managing director, with a reporting line into IQ-EQ’s senior leadership in Luxembourg.
From today, Agama will go to market as ‘Agama IQ-EQ’ prior to a full rebrand to IQ-EQ once the businesses have been successfully integrated.
This acquisition notably follows IQ-EQ’s acquisitions of ComplianceAsia and Lymon Pte in 2023, which immediately positioned the group as the market-leading independent regulatory compliance business in Asia and worldwide.
IQ-EQ is a global investor services group with clients ranging from fund managers, pension and sovereign wealth funds, multinational companies and family offices. It has a global workforce of 5,800+ people across 25 jurisdictions and have assets under administration (AUA) exceeding $750bn.
Astorg is a leading pan-European private equity firm with over €23bn of assets under management. Headquartered in Luxembourg, it has offices in London, Paris, New York, Frankfurt and Milan.
