“We wanted a partner with genuine international credentials to help support Waystone’s aspiration to become the global leader in fund governance, risk and compliance services. We built a strong relationship with Rich, Rob and Amar prior to the transaction, and it quickly became clear they were the right partners for us. More importantly, the level of support we received during the investment was everything that was promised and more.” Derek Delaney, CEO, Waystone Return to portfolio Waystone waystone.com Partial realisation to founder shareholders and growth capital to support international organic and acquisitive growth. The business Waystone is the leading provider of institutional governance, risk and compliance services to the asset management industry. The deal Post the 2007/08 financial crash, the demands on asset managers for more sophisticated governance, risk management and compliance grew exponentially with increasingly complex regulation. Originally established as a governance provider to US hedge funds, Waystone saw the opportunity to build a global leader in broader fund compliance services. Having expanded into the Irish AIFM market in 2015, Waystone required a partner to accelerate its European expansion plans. In 2019, MML invested alongside one of the founders and the incumbent management team for a 50% stake. This investment provided a full exit for a passive co-founder, an element of de-risking for the other, and put sweet equity into the hands of the management team driving growth. Over the course of 2019 – 2021, MML helped the business effect two transformational mergers and seven smaller strategic acquisitions across Luxembourg, Ireland, the UK, Switzerland, the Middle East and Asia. This M&A activity, alongside organic growth of 30%, new product launches, technology development and robust integration has helped the business become the standout institutional global player across all major asset classes and jurisdictions. Fund Partnership Region Europe, Global Deal Status Current Sector Financial Services Catch up with CEO, Derek Delaney, 18 months post investment. How did you choose MML to be your partner? When Waystone decided to look for a partner, our situation was quite complex. We had two founder shareholders, one of whom wanted to exit and one of whom wanted to partially de-risk, and a business that required an investor to look through the "noise" to see the implicit value in what we were doing. It took us over a year to find the right partner, but we ultimately chose MML as they were able to craft a bespoke structure which resolved all these complexities and their international “boots on the ground” gave us the right platform to take advantage of the market opportunity. What is the story so far? It is hard to believe MML only invested in August 2019. Since then, it feels like we have done it all, including completing and integrating nine transactions and a divestment, built a centre of excellence in Ireland, enhanced the senior leadership in the business and continued to grow organically at over 30% per year. Growing at this pace has been tough, but the MML team have been fantastic support in terms of “getting it done” and giving us the structure and challenge to help us execute our ambitious plans. Related news July 2021 MML exits Waystone in landmark transaction June 2021 Waystone completes its ninth transaction and expands into the US, Singapore and the Middle East March 2021 Waystone emerges from merger of DMS, MontLake and MDO December 2020 MML supports DMS to complete its fifth transaction under MML’s investment Associated deal team Richard Mayers Partner Robert Devonshire Partner Amar Shanghavi Investment Director London Paris New York Dublin Home Approach People Funds Portfolio News & Insights Contacts Investor Login Twitter LinkedIn Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Cookies Policy Site Credits Back to top