Richard Mayers, Partner at MML Capital, said:

“The Waystone transaction is a blueprint for MML’s partnership investment philosophy. It has been an incredible journey working with Derek and his team who have delivered on the strategy to become the leading global provider of fund governance, risk and compliance services. This is a talented team and we have thoroughly enjoyed our involvement in such a fast-growing business. We wish Waystone the best of luck in the next phase of its journey. We would also like to thank Chris Fowler and the team at CVC Credit Partners for their unwavering support of the business.”

MML invested in Waystone in August 2019, recognising the market opportunity to build a global leader in fund compliance services. Waystone selected MML as the right partner to accelerate its European expansion plans given MML’s global footprint and its partnership style of investing. Since then, MML has helped the business effect two transformational mergers and seven smaller strategic acquisitions across Luxembourg, Ireland, the UK, Switzerland, the Middle East and Asia. This M&A activity, alongside organic growth in excess of 30%, new product launches, technology development and robust integration, has helped the business become the standout institutional global provider of fund governance, risk and compliance services.

Derek Delaney, Global CEO at Waystone, said:

“It has been a delight to work with Rich, Rob and Amar, who have been integral in creating the business we see today. In particular, their support in facilitating acquisitions, helping build out the senior management team to drive our strong growth, and their commitment to investing in our centres of excellence, has been pivotal to Waystone’s success. This latest investment from Montagu Private Equity validates the success of our partnership with MML, which we look forward to continuing to build on with our new partners.”

The MML deal team consisted of Richard Mayers, Robert Devonshire and Amar Shanghavi.

MML and the 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).

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.