SEI has acquired the National Pension Trust (NPT), the £1bn-plus master trust from XPS, as reported by Corporate Adviser.
The acquisition will be made from XPS Pensions Group PLC (XPS), the parent company of XPS Pensions (Nexus) Limited.
The acquisition of Nexus by XPS involves a total cash consideration of up to £42.5m. This consists of an initial payment of £35m upon closing and potential additional payments of up to £7.5m over two years, subject to meeting specific performance targets after closing. The transaction is expected to be completed before the end of the year, pending regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.
As part of the deal, the target business NPT will be separated from XPS, with NPT and related assets transferred to Nexus.
NPT, established in 2009, is a prominent master trust in the UK, with assets totalling £1.4bn and a member base of over 60,000.
The combined assets of NPT and SEI Master Trust would total about £3.4bn. Additionally, one of the NPT trustees will join SEI Trustees Limited, bringing a total of nine new workers to SEI Institutional business.
SEI head of global asset management Wayne Withrow says: “As we continue our global focus on investing in three key strategic areas of talent, culture, and growth, this opportunity reinforces our commitment to the UK region while increasing our competitive presence in the defined contribution market. We’ve identified the master trust business as an opportunity for SIEL to participate in a high-growth area of the pensions industry.
“This builds upon our purchase of the Atlas Master Trust in 2021, which marked the beginning of our execution on an inorganic growth strategy to acquire assets and increase our market presence in this segment. We believe that adding the National Pensions Trust further enhances that foundation from which we seek to achieve scale and drive growth.”
XPS Pensions Group co-CEO Paul Cuff says: “We are delighted to reach this agreement with SIEL to benefit our clients and their members with a market-leading master trust. This is an exciting journey, and with this strategic partnership, both organisations will continue to bring the best of what we each do.”
SEI’s Institutional business managing director of defined Contribution, EMEA and Asia Steve Charlton says: “As we continue to expand the SEI Master Trust, we are well-positioned to provide the premier service, investment management, and technology solutions for our members. Our expertise—combined with the addition of XPS’ high-quality pension administration services—will further enable us to deliver improved member outcomes. We look forward to welcoming the National Pensions Trust clients, members, and team, so we can build upon both of our success.”
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