M&A Deal Summary

HarbourVest Partners and Ascensus Acquire Newport

On November 3, 2021, private equity firm HarbourVest Partners and Ascensus acquired financial services company Newport from Kelso

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is HarbourVest Partners’ 15th and Ascensus’ 5th transaction in the Financial Services sector.
  • This is HarbourVest Partners’ 133rd and Ascensus’ 38th transaction in the United States.
  • This is HarbourVest Partners’ 19th and Ascensus’ 7th transaction in California.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2021-11-03
Target Newport
Sector Financial Services
Buyer(s) HarbourVest Partners
Ascensus
Sellers(s) Kelso
Deal Type Merger
Advisor(s) Evercore Group (Financial)

Target

Newport

Walnut Creek, California, United States
Newport is an independent provider of retirement services in the U.S., with over one million employee participants and more than $160 billion in assets under administration. Newport's services include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration, insurance distribution, and consulting services related to retirement plans. Newport was founded in 1984 and is based in Walnut Creek, California.

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Buyer(S) 2

Buyer

HarbourVest Partners

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1978
PE ASSETS 86.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

HarbourVest Partners, LLC is an investment firm that makes investments in new private equity partnerships, acquires secondary interests, and makes direct investments in operating companies. HarbourVest's largest investment area is investments in private equity funds, comprising of approximately 2/3 of HarbourVest's assets. HarbourVest's direct investment group looks for investments in growth oriented businesses at a variety of stages. The Group generally targets co-investments of $5 to $100 million, growth capital financings of $5 to $40 million, or mezzanine commitments of $5 to $20 million. Sectors of interest include software, hardware, data communications, telecommunications, and financial services. HarbourVest was formed in 1997 to assume the business of Hancock Venture Partners which was formed in 1982. HarbourVest Partners is based in Boston, Massachusetts, with additional offices in London, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 221 of 223
Sector (Financial Services) 15 of 15
Type (Merger) 1 of 1
State (California) 19 of 19
Country (United States) 133 of 134
Year (2021) 11 of 13
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2021-11-03 Investment Metrics

Norwalk, Connecticut, United States

Investment Metrics is a provider of investment performance analytics and reporting solutions for institutional consultants, asset managers, and private wealth advisors. Built by institutional investment consultants for investment professionals, the company’s solutions include PARis (performance analytics and reporting), InvestWorks (manager search and due diligence), EQuest (manager data portal), peer universe data, outsourced reporting services and InterSec Research for market intelligence. The company's solutions enable investment professionals to analyze, measure, and report client portfolios in a highly insightful, accurate, and efficient manner. Investment Metrics was formed in 2010 and is based in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Sell $500M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2021-11-05 Ministry Brands

Lenoir City, Tennessee, United States

Ministry Brands is a provider of SaaS platforms for churches, parachurch ministries and other faith-based organizations in the United States and Canada. The company seeks to equip the 21stcentury church with technology that empowers pastors, church executives, technology professionals, and administrators to proactively carry out their Biblical mission with excellence, reverence, and efficiency. Its suite of solutions includes church management, giving, accounting, mobile applications, website development, background checks, content, streaming, and messaging. Ministry Brands was founded in 2012 and is based in Lenoir City, Tennessee.

Buy -
Buyer

Ascensus

Dresher, Pennsylvania, United States
Category Company
Founded 1980
Sector Business Services
DESCRIPTION

Ascensus is an independent recordkeeping services provider, third-party administrator, and government savings facilitator in the United States. The firm delivers technology and expertise to help millions of people save for what matters most retirement, education, and healthcare. Ascensus was formed in 1980 and is based in Dresher, Pennsylvania.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 38 of 39
Sector (Financial Services) 5 of 5
Type (Merger) 1 of 1
State (California) 7 of 7
Country (United States) 38 of 39
Year (2021) 4 of 4
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2021-06-30 UnifyHR

Irving, Texas, United States

UnifyHR is a third-party administrator that provides employee benefits administration and compliance solutions including Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance, Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) administration, and eligibility verification services. UnifyHR was founded in 2013 and is based in Irving, Texas.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2024-04-16 Vanguard - Simple Multi-SEP and Individual 401 retirement plans

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, United States

Vanguard's Simple, Multi-SEP, and Individual 401(k) retirement plans offer participants a simplified retirement savings solution. Vanguard's Simple, Multi-SEP, and Individual 401(k) retirement plans is based in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.

Buy -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

Kelso

New York, New York, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1971
PE ASSETS 15.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Kelso & Company is a private equity and investment management firm that seeks control investments in middle-market companies operating primarily throughout the US. Sectors of interest include manufacturing, communications, media, distribution, service, consumer products, retail, healthcare, transportation, logistics, textiles, & apparel, chemicals, and energy. Kelso looks to align 'management's interest with those of investors' when considering opportunities. Kelso & Company was formed in 1971 and is based in New York City.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 48 of 53
Sector (Financial Services) 3 of 3
Type (Merger) 4 of 5
State (California) 5 of 5
Country (United States) 42 of 46
Year (2021) 4 of 5
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2021-09-09 Inmark

Austell, Georgia, United States

Inmark is a general, life sciences, and hazardous goods/biomedical compliant packaging products and associated services company. Inmark was founded in 1975 and is based in Austell, Georgia.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2021-11-23 Eacom

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Eacom is a manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of lumber, wood chips, and wood-based value-added products, and the management of forest resources. Eacom owns eight sawmills, all located in Eastern Canada, and related tenures. Eacom was formed in 2008 and is based in Montreal, Quebec.

Sell CA$490M
Mergr

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