Capricorn acquires Hong Kong corporate services player
UK-based family office Capricorn Capital has made its second investment in Asia with the 100% acquisition of Hong Kong corporate services provider Ethos for an undisclosed sum.
AVCJ understands that the transaction was negotiated remotely and that all documentation was prepared amidst various local COVID-19 shutdown measures. The deal was signed last week and received all relevant regulatory approvals by April 24.
Founded by Australian Richard Watson in 2013, Ethos specializes in company formation, administrative, secretarial, accounting, trade, and trust services for clients across Asia Pacific. Capricorn intends to merge the business with A-Pass, a similar boutique Hong Kong corporate services firm it acquired last year. Watson will join the A-Pass board.
“These companies need capital to grow, but don’t want to be swallowed up, gutted, or passed around,” Robin Harris, a Hong Kong-based managing director at Capricorn, said in a release. “As the markets of Asia Pacific continue to grow rapidly—attracting new companies to the region—so too does the market for high-quality corporate services.”
Capricorn aims to differentiate itself from traditional private equity buyers by maintaining an entrepreneurial partnership-focused mindset with patient capital. In addition to Hong Kong and the UK, the firm operates in Malta and South Africa, where its parent company was founded in 1994 as a PE unit of Hollard Insurance Group. It entered Asia with a Hong Kong presence in 2015.
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