Today, Dave Whitaker and Richard Berthy announced the purchase of a majority stake in Foreside by PE shop Lovell Minnick Partners.

Spencer Hoffman Lovell Minnick Partners Partner

“It’s a great next step in the development of Foreside,” Whitaker, who serves as president of Foreside, tells MFWire.

Foreside currently services $800 billion of fund products, and the firm expects that demand for its services will continue to grow as a result of increasing fund compliance requirements. Whitaker says the firm will continue to build greater scale in its core services, both in the US and overseas. However, he says that current clients can expect business as usual. There will be no changes to brand or senior management as a result of the deal.

Prior to the sale to Lovell Minnick, Foreside CEO Richard Berthy owned the majority of the firm. He will remain an active minority owner.

Lovell Minnick is no stranger to the investment management industry—the firm currently owns stakes in a few of Foreside’s clients, including 361 Capital, Chartwell Investment Partners, and Matthews International Capital. The PE firm also owned ALPS before selling it to DST in 2011. However, this deal is the first ownership in any platforms that are directly comparable to Foreside, explains Spencer Hoffman, a partner at Lovell Minnick.

“In financial services, delivering expertise from scaled platforms around outsourced services and compliance is something that only has increasing tailwinds,” Hoffman tells MFWire.

According to Hoffman, Foreside has significant continued opportunity in their existing market, and the recent deal will help support the firm's global expansion beyond its current focus on the US.

"There are complementary adjacent markets that they can pursue both in the United States and outside the US," explains Hoffman.

As the firm continues to grow, additional staff will be brought on to meet the increased demand from clients.

The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP served as legal counsel to Lovell Minnick. 

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