Investment management firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management has signed a binding agreement with X3 Group, a subsidiary of ION, to divest Prelios, a one-stop shop for investors and banks.
ION is a permanent capital investment holding company which focuses on software and data to digitise and automate mission-critical workflows.
The deal values Prelios at €1.35bn, reported Reuters citing two sources.
Based in Italy, Prelios offers alternative asset management, servicing and specialised property services.
The firm, established in 1990, serves as a preferred operating partner for large global and domestic institutional investors, providing end-to-end coverage from scouting new market opportunities, structuring, asset management and exit.
Prelios has over €40bn of assets under management across non-performing loans, unlikely-to-pay exposures and real estate funds.
The investment funds advised by Davidson Kempner Capital Management acquired the Italian firm in 2018.
According to the investment management firm, Prelios has been able to grow its revenue from €100m to more than €300m and significantly improving profitability since 2018.
Davidson Kempner Capital Management focuses on fundamental investing with a multi-strategy approach. The firm possesses over $37bn in assets under management.
A consortium of banks led by Unicredit, Intesa Sanpaolo and BNP Paribas provides financing to X3 for the transaction. The consortium also includes Banco BPM, Standard Chartered Bank and Mediobanca.
The completion of the deal is subject to the authorisation of the relevant authorities.
Lazard served as financing advisor to Prelios, while UBS advised ION.
Davidson Kempner Capital Management is financially advised by Goldman Sachs International.
