Ashurst advises FNZ on the acquisition of Fondsdepot
19 January 2023
Ashurst advised the FNZ Group (FNZ) on the acquisition of all shares in Fondsdepot Bank GmbH (Fondsdepot Bank). The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
FNZ is a global FinTech platform which partners with many of the world’s leading financial institutions. Today, FNZ is trusted by more than 150 major financial institutions worldwide and there are now over $1.5 trillion assets under management on its platform. These represent the combined savings and investments of over 20 million customers worldwide who FNZ is helping to achieve their financial goals.
Fondsdepot Bank is one of the leading investment platform providers in Germany, which offers more than 200 sales partners simplified access to investment solutions from a wide range of investment companies. As a large liability umbrella in Germany, Fondsdepot Bank also provides the legal, technical and organisational framework for advising and brokering shares in investment funds. It manages around one million investment accounts with a volume of approximately €64 billion in assets under administration. Also under FNZ’s ownership, Fondsdepot Bank’s ambitions will remain focused on growing its digital platform whilst maintaining its strong position in Germany.
The Ashurst team was led by partners Dr Thomas Sacher (Corporate/M&A) and Dr Detmar Loff (co-lead, Regulatory). They were assisted by partners Dr Matthias Weissinger (Finance), Prof Dr Florian Drinhausen (Corporate), Dr Michael Holzhäuser (Competition) and Dr Maximilian Uibeleisen (AWV Filings). Furthermore, partners Etay Katz (Regulatory) and Dr Andreas Mauroschat (Employment), counsel Volker Germann (Corporate/M&A), Dr Maria Held (Competition), Astrid Keinath (Corporate), Holger Mlynek (Contract Law), Martina Rothe (Corporate/M&A) and Juditha von der Heydt (Employment), senior associates Ilka Breuer (Investment Law) and Quynh Anh Le (Corporate/M&A) as well as associates Dr Tobias Bauerfeind, Dr Cornelius Hille (both Regulatory) and Dr Konstantin Filbinger (Corporate/M&A) were involved.
Ashurst worked closely with the in-house legal team of FNZ, in particular with Group General Counsel Chris Aujard and FNZ Germany General Counsel Pamela Schmidt-Fischbach. Ashurst had already previously advised FNZ, mainly in the fields of Regulatory and Employment.