Linklaters advises Advent-led investor group on the acquisition of FNZ Bank

Linklaters has advised an investor group led by Advent, including HarbourVest Partners, on the agreement to acquire FNZ Bank from FNZ. Following completion, the investors plan to support FNZ Bank through its next phase of growth, with long-term investment in technology and operational capabilities and a focus on further enhancing its product and service offering for its partners.

FNZ Bank is a leading independent wealth management banking and infrastructure provider in Germany, focused on banking, custody, transaction execution and regulatory services. It connects more than 50,000 financial advisors, 200 asset managers and over 400 distribution partners, serving more than 2.1 million end-customers, with €155 billion in assets under custody. The transaction is expected to complete in the second half of 2027, subject to customary regulatory and other approvals.

FNZ and FNZ Bank intend to continue their long-standing commercial partnership following completion of the transaction, leveraging FNZ’s technology capabilities to support the bank’s continued growth and client offering in Germany. FNZ will continue to serve the German market as a leading provider of enterprise wealth management platform technology.

Advent, a leading global private equity investor, has deep experience in wealth management and regulated financial institutions and has been a client of Linklaters for M&A in the regulated sector for several years.

Linklaters regularly advises both strategic and financial investors on bank transactions in the German market, including most recently Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale on its acquisition of Oldenburgische Landesbank (OLB) and the group of financial investors that acquired Aareal Bank AG.

Dr Andreas Dehio, lead partner at Linklaters, said:

“We are delighted to have advised Advent and its co-investors on this landmark transaction. FNZ Bank is a cornerstone of the German wealth ecosystem, and this deal underlines our clients’ continued commitment to long-term investment in Germany’s regulated financial services sector.”

Linklaters advised Advent and its co-investors with a team led by Partner Andreas Dehio (Financial Regulatory). The team included Partners Michael Leicht (TMT), Atif Bhatti (IP), Hannes Dietmeier (Real Estate), Managing Associates Naomi Noll, Maximilian Reidt as well as Associates Tina Kostic, (all Financial Regulatory), Jonas Baumann, Felix Wichert, Marc Heusel (all TMT), Caroline Hengstler (IP, all Frankfurt) and Felix Kolbe (Real Estate, Munich).