State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), one of the world’s leading providers of financial services to institutional investors, announced today that it has agreed to acquire Goldman Sachs Administration Services (GSAS), a leading hedge fund administrator, from The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) in a cash transaction with a total purchase price of $550 million, subject to certain adjustments. Pending regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to be finalized early in the fourth quarter of 2012. State Street expects the transaction to be accretive in the first full year of operation on a cash basis. Through dedicated teams globally, State Street provides a comprehensive suite of middle office, fund administration, risk analytics and credit services to hedge funds, private equity funds, real estate funds and institutional investors. State Street’s Alternative Investment Solutions (AIS) team has more than 3,000 employees in multiple offices around the world.
A premier global service provider to hedge funds, GSAS administers approximately $200 billion in single manager hedge fund assets on behalf of approximately 150 investment manager clients from locations across the globe. GSAS employees, including client-facing staff and the management team, are expected to join State Street following the close of the transaction. The transaction does not include Goldman Sachs’ Prime Brokerage business, which remains an important offering of Goldman Sachs.
George Sullivan, executive vice president and global head of State Street’s AIS team said, “GSAS is a premier provider of hedge fund administrative services and represents a strong franchise supported by longstanding relationships with highly regarded clients and an industry-leading service philosophy similar to our own. Servicing alternative assets remains a strategic focus for State Street. We expect that GSAS clients will benefit from State Street’s robust and flexible global servicing platform that is scalable for funds of all types and sizes. Our continued investment in our global operating platform and technology solutions makes us well-positioned to meet clients’ increasing needs for regulatory compliance, reporting, transparency and risk management requirements. We look forward to extending these comprehensive solutions to GSAS’ clients.”
John Willian, global head of Global Securities Services at Goldman Sachs said, “We look forward to continuing to serve the hedge fund community, including many GSAS clients, through Prime Brokerage and elsewhere across our businesses globally and will work closely with State Street and our GSAS clients to ensure a seamless transition.”
Cory Thackeray, managing director and global head of GSAS, who will continue to lead the teams servicing the GSAS clients post-close, said, “We are pleased to join the State Street AIS team, a group that has the same high-touch approach to client service as GSAS. With this transaction, we will be well-positioned to offer our clients an enhanced product offering that covers the entire investment lifecycle and provides relevant regulatory compliance, risk and transparency solutions that our clients often request to help them navigate today’s complex environment.”
The acquisition will strengthen State Street’s global leadership in hedge fund administration and will establish the company as the No. 1 hedge fund administrator globally based on industry survey data.1 State Street today is the No.1 servicer of alternative assets in the world with $877 billion under administration at June 30, 2012.