Hillhouse buys offshore corporate services unit from Harneys

The size of the transaction was not disclosed. It is one of few buyouts completed by Hillhouse, sitting alongside the likes of Chinese mattress manufacturer AI Dream and Australian clinical research organisation (CRO) George Medical, which were added to the portfolio in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

The deal represents a continuation of private equity interest in the offshore corporate services space. Most of the main operators have been owned by financial sponsors at one time or another. BPEA EQT recently created one of the largest players globally with the USD 6.5bn merger of Vistra Group and Tricor Group, which were acquired at different times using different funds.

Established in 1974, Harneys Fiduciary provides corporate administration, trust, and fiduciary services across jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, and Singapore. There is geographical overlap with Harneys’ legal business, which is headquartered in BVI and maintains officers across the Caribbean as well as in Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

Once independent, Harneys Fiduciary will continue to be led by CEO Ross Munro and chief commercial officer Pia Puchi. Harneys decided to divest the asset to pursue growth in its core business. Part of the proceeds will be reinvested in the business through the Harneys Accelerator Fund, which focuses on new technologies and products and explores new markets.

“We are impressed by the leadership team led by Ross Munro who have built a leading offshore corporate services provider. We look forward to a close strategic partnership with the Harneys law firm following the closing,” said Sean Carney, a partner at Hillhouse, in a statement.

Hillhouse is deploying a trio of funds for which it was looking to raise upwards of USD 16bn. A growth fund closed on USD 5.2bn in 2021, beating a target of USD 2.6bn. There were also buyout and venture funds seeking USD 12.5bn and USD 1.5bn. The VC strategy operates under the GL Ventures brand.

The firm, which was established in 2005, invests globally but with a focus on Asia. It mainly concentrates on business services, healthcare, energy transition, industrials, and consumer.

PwC Corporate Finance and Linklaters advised Harneys on the sale of Harneys Fiduciary.

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