Fortis Acquires BVI's Largest Hedge Fund Administrator

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

13 March 2006

Fortis Merchant Banking has announced that its fund servicing arm, Fortis Prime Fund Solutions, has acquired Hedge Funds Services (HFS), the largest fund administrator in the British Virgin Islands.

HFS is BVI’s largest independent full-service fund administrator. At the end of 2005 it had approximately EUR2 billion in sssets under administration in 104 funds, from 53 different fund managers, 90% of which are based in the US.

These funds represent a variety of investment strategies, including long/short equities, convertible arbitrage, event-driven and funds-of-funds.

Filip Dierckx, Fortis’ Merchant Banking CEO commented:

"Our commitment to grow our presence in niche markets, especially in the Americas, is materializing itself through this acquisition, which will strengthen the position of our fund servicing arm, Prime Fund Solutions in the hedge funds industry."

"HFS enjoys an enviable reputation and will enable us to become the number one fund administrator in the BVI, which has become a key financial center in the Caribbean. We also warmly welcome HFS’s team of 18 highly skilled professionals which will constitute our 3rd Caribbean base for accelerated growth in the hedge fund services industry."

Michael Kane, HFS’ Director, added that:

"Fortis and HFS complement each other, both geographically and in terms of product offering and corporate culture. This can only lead to steady growth and confirmation of our leadership position in this specialized market."

"At the same time, our customers will benefit from Fortis’ size and financial clout, its state-of-the art technology as well as a broader product offering and high service standards."

With a market capitalization of EUR39 billion (28 February 2006) Fortis ranks among the twenty largest financial institutions in Europe.

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