Acquisitions in wealth management have been prominent in recent years, in their shadow however the corporate services sector has also seen a growing number of deals.

The latest transaction to be announced sees Switzerland's Alpadis Group, (Alpadis) a provider of multi-jurisdictional corporate and fiduciary services, acquire the TAO Trust Group (Tao) business in Singapore.

The Swiss-based group’s Singapore expansion, completed on July 1, 2017, significantly increases the size of the company, and will allow it to be able to extend its range of services to more companies and individuals in the region.

Singapore Headcount Boosted

Alpadis was established in 2005 in Nyon, Switzerland, and has since expanded, with offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and Labuan (Malaysia). The firm provides a range of wealth preservation services, including wealth planning & asset structuring, succession planning and trust services. 

Alpadis in Singapore has incorporated Tao employees, increasing its headcount by 13 individuals, and will be led by current Group’s CEO, Alain Esseiva, the company said in a press release.

Active Asian Market

2016 witnessed several deals in the corporate services sector as boutique operations or those without regional scale were snapped up by acquisitive mostly European based firms.

Trust services provider Equiom acquired The Heritage Trust Group, while First Names Group, agreed terms to acquire trust and corporate services provider Nautilus Trust Company. 

In another notable deal Vistra group acquired Intro International a boutique Singaporean corporate services firm.

Expect to see more of this trend throughout the remainder of 2017.