A Cayman Islands registered company, Waystone (formerly DMS Governance), a subsidiary of the locally established DMS Group, has signed an agreement to receive significant investment from Montagu Private Equity, a leading European private equity firm, to accelerate its global growth strategy.
The investment said to be in the region of $1.3 billion puts Waystone, a leading provider of institutional governance, risk and compliance services to the asset management industry, in the top tier of company valuation and investment capitalisation in the jurisdiction.
Waystone was formed out of the DMS Group founded over 20 years ago by Caymanian entrepreneur Don Seymour.
DMS has since then partnered with institutional investors, investment funds and asset managers worldwide extending to its new branding, Waystone, set up in March this year.
A statement from the company says the investment by Montagu Private Equity “represents a significant opportunity for Waystone to build upon its current expansion plans and continue to invest in offering its clients an extensive set of global solutions and unrivalled quality of service”.
The investment, which is subject to regulatory approval, will see Montagu take a strategic stake in the business and support the next phase of Waystone’s growth.
It will also conclude Waystone’s successful partnership with another firm, MML Capital Partners (MML), following their investment in 2019.
The company release says Waystone has grown organically and through corporate transactions to become the leading institutional global governance, compliance and third-party management company.
Formed from the merger between MontLake, MDO and DMS, Waystone launched in March 2021 to create the first truly institutional global governance and third-party management company with a unique portfolio of services and talent. Following the investment by Montagu, Waystone’s leadership team will remain unchanged and all existing management shareholders will remain in place.
Derek Delaney, Global CEO at Waystone commented, “This investment takes the merger of MDO, MontLake and DMS to the next level of value for our clients and it validates the merits of our decision to come together. As we continue to scale this business globally, our clients can now appoint a management company on the same institutional footing as their administrators and auditors.”
He also said: “Waystone has always been responsive to its clients’ needs and that is based on the recognition that there is a desire for more than a single service management company. Our clients want a comprehensive regulatory solution across all core markets and domiciles. We have met this demand and we will continue to listen to our clients as we evolve. We are grateful to all of our clients for their continual support.”
Richard Mayers, Partner, MML Capital added, “The Waystone transaction is a blueprint for MML’s partnership investment philosophy.”
Describing Waystone as “a talented team”, Mr Mayers added that MML have “thoroughly enjoyed our involvement in such a fast-growing business.”
Tobias Weltin, Director, at Montagu commented, “As a private equity partner, we recognise the huge growth opportunity in the financial services sector and specifically a third-party management company with Waystone’s global reach and competitive strength. Our investment and partnership will enable Waystone to further accelerate the development of its leading products and services.”
Waystone’s shareholders were advised by Baird (John Sun), Squire Patton Boggs (Julian Ciecierski-Burns), Grant Thornton (Dara Kelly, Brian Murphy, Dwayne Price), Oliver Wyman (Sean Farrar), Lockton (Calvin Barnes) and EY (Ari Constantinou).
Management was advised by Matheson (Padraic Roche) and Liberty Corporate Finance (Tim Thomas).
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