Alpha FMC buys boutique consultancy firm Shoreline
Alpha FMC has beefed up its presence in Australia with the acquisition of Shoreline, a Sydney-based boutique consultancy firm.
Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Alpha FMC is an international consultancy to the asset management, wealth management and insurance industries. The industry specialist has over 900 consultants working from 15 offices worldwide.
With the addition of Shoreline, acquired for an initial cash consideration of A$8 million (£4.2 million), Alpha FMC adds around 20 consultants to its team in Sydney and a “highly complementary” client base.
Paul Tan, Head of Asset & Wealth Management Consulting for Asia Pacific, said the deal comes in response to “strong growth for the firm’s services” amongst asset and wealth managers in the region, at a time of massive change in the industry.
“Our acquisition of Shoreline expands Alpha FMC’s specialist offering and presence in the region, particularly in Australia, at the perfect time to navigate the opportunities in this expanding market. Shoreline brings a highly complementary client base, a similar culture and a strong management team. We are excited to be bringing the team into the Alpha FMC fold.”
Founded in 2009, Shoreline works for asset and wealth management firms, sovereign funds, and superannuation and pension funds. The firm’s offerings focus on product and distribution, operations and outsourcing, data and analytics, and digital and technology consulting.
As part of the deal, Shoreline’s longstanding management team will remain with the business post-acquisition, with a performance-driven earn-out mechanism of up to A$5 million (£2.6 million) in cash (meaning the maximum potential of the deal could reach A$13 million if all targets are met).
Commenting on the joining of forces, John DiBiase, managing partner of Shoreline, said: “We are delighted to be joining Alpha FMC. This is great news for our people and our clients, as it gives us all access to a broader range of services, access to greater expertise and means we are now part of a truly global network.”
In 2019, Alpha FMC completed the purchase of Axxsys, a European consultancy focused on asset and hedge fund managers, and the acquisition of Obsidian Solutions, a SaaS business with offices in the United Kingdom and Serbia.
