24.02.14
Cordium expands into Malta with acquisition of Zodiac
Sovereign Capital, the UK private equity Buy & Build specialist, today announces that Cordium, its global compliance and regulatory services provider, has acquired Zodiac Advisory Services (“Zodiac”).
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This is Cordium’s third bolt-on acquisition in as many months, following shortly after the acquisitions of HedgeStart and Sigma Partnership. Zodiac is a leading provider of compliance, risk, accounting and governance services for the investment management industry in Malta. Founded in 2009, Zodiac’s staff support fund management firms as well as fund entities with more than 40 years’ experience of both European and US financial services.
The acquisition of Zodiac provides Cordium with a Maltese subsidiary that will enable its UK-based regulatory hosting and risk management subsidiary, Mirabella Financial Services, to offer hosted AIFM solutions to non-EU firms. The acquisition also continues Cordium’s structured expansion strategy of acquiring specialist companies globally while simultaneously investing in organic growth.
Cordium has now completed seven acquisitions since Sovereign’s investment began in late 2010 and alongside this it has also delivered strong organic growth. As a result, Cordium is now one of the largest independent regulatory compliance consultancies in the world.
Since Malta became an EU member in 2004, it has rapidly become a prime jurisdiction for asset managers across the globe, both for setting up new funds and for fund management companies. As such, gaining a foothold in Malta is an important part of Cordium’s global expansion strategy and we are delighted to have achieved this with the acquisition of Zodiac.
Neil Cox, Partner at Sovereign
Zodiac enjoys a sterling reputation in its local market – adding its team, services, and expertise to our own can only strengthen and deepen our global offering. It is also a perfect match for us in terms of establishing a Maltese presence. While the impact of AIFMD has been much-discussed within Europe, it has understandably drawn less attention elsewhere. Yet the regulation carries significant consequences for non-European alternative investment firms looking to access the lucrative European market. A Maltese base will enable us to offer a suitable solution – AIFM-hosting – to this conundrum facing non-EU firms.
Michel van Leeuwen, Group CEO of Cordium
