Why being local matters

North America is a significant growth market for many Inflexion portfolio companies. A local presence can make a meaningful difference when it comes to international acquisitions, from identification to approach and integration.

“Proximity matters, perhaps more than people expect,” says Ben Meyer, Partner and Head of North America at Inflexion. He maintains that trying to execute a complex, transformational deal from a distance is simply not the same as being embedded in the market and cultivating relationships in real time. 

Ocorian's acquisition of E78 Fund Solutions highlights this: Ocorian, a leading global fund, corporate and fiduciary services platform, had already identified E78 Fund Solutions through its own corporate development work. Inflexion was on the ground meeting the E78 leadership team face-to-face, helping navigate the nuances of a US carve-out (regulatory, legal, commercial), and bringing a local American lens to the process throughout.

How did the opportunity to acquire E78 Fund Solutions first come onto the radar and what made it compelling at that point in your growth journey? 

Yegor Lanovenko, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Ocorian: E78 Fund Solutions’ strong reputation and credentials with alternative asset managers in the US put the team on our radar well before the transaction. This is a people, expertise and credibility business, and Ocorian’s approach is for our teams to be true partners to our clients as an extension of their firms, bringing operational and technology solutions at scale. 

Meeting the E78 Fund Solutions team validated that we were instinctively and most importantly in practice aligned in our approach to people, clients and the business. Combining this cultural alignment with the scale of the business operations in the US, the diversified suite of services to alternative asset managers, and deep client relationships meant this was a partnership that created unique strategic value. 

From the seller’s perspective, what gave you confidence in Ocorian as the right partner for the business? 

Vince Calcagno, Executive Managing Director E78 Partners: There were three elements. Leadership’s ability to quickly grasp our unique positioning here in the US, including our business offering and the opportunities we saw in combining with a global player in the asset manager vertical.  Secondly, Yegor’s relocation to New York demonstrated a commitment and seriousness about the US market. Lastly, our collective values were aligned and visible in how Ocorian and Inflexion approached every interaction.  More specifically, as people show you who and what’s important by where they spend their time, Inflexion stakeholders being present from the very first breakfast meeting we had with Ocorian, and then every in-person meeting and conference call thereafter spoke volumes.   

How did the process unfold from initial engagement to completion and what were the key inflection points along the way? 

Yegor Lanovenko: We partner with Inflexion very closely on all deals and throughout the lifecycle of a transaction. This was especially helpful in a transformative deal in a market as broad and deep as the US where Inflexion’s expanded North America team and expertise were invaluable. The Ocorian and Inflexion ‘home team’ met the E78 leadership very early in the process and in person, spending quality time together validating the shared culture and values which have underpinned the success of the transaction.

The transaction itself was a carve-out from the larger E78 group, which required detailed separation and integration planning to ensure stability for the team and clients, especially in a market like the US, with teams operating across different states and environments, which adds additional complexity. Having the benefit of Inflexion’s expertise in carve-outs and in the US specifically, developed on similar transactions, helped us to refine our plan to achieve that.

To what extent did having a local presence in the US help your ability to originate and execute the deal, particularly in terms of building relationships and navigating the carve-out dynamics? 

Yegor Lanovenko: In addition to the deep expertise with US transactions, carve-outs and operating in the US market with state and national complexities, Ben Meyer, Marcus Ward and the Inflexion North America team were and are an integral part of the ‘home team’. The Inflexion North America team added value during due diligence by bringing deep commercial and technical expertise to help contextualise our findings within the norms of the broader US market.

Building the relationship between the leadership teams in personal and authentic ways, which is how we operate together day-to-day in a people-first business, was very valuable. Especially when this is done over deep-dish pizza tastings! 

How is integration progressing, and what early signs are you seeing in terms of client response, team alignment, and growth opportunities and so on? 

Yegor Lanovenko: The entrepreneurial energy and enthusiasm which our new US colleagues have brought to Ocorian has been infectious. There is genuine excitement about the opportunities to solve more problems for our shared clients through access to Ocorian’s range of global solutions, and we have already seen numerous client wins executed by cross-border and cross-functional teams. Because of the cultural alignment and genuinely shared values, this collaboration and the resulting wins are happening naturally, which is what you get when great people are amplified by winning services and global reach.  

Our combined global and US platform positions us as a partner of choice for alternative asset managers globally and creates a platform for growth that we are very excited about. 

Vince Calcagno: Weekly standup meetings since the transaction has kept the integration teams focused on clearing hurdles and keeping the legacy E78 team informed.  A testament to the E78 leadership team is the incredibly high retention rates to date.  Clients started taking advantage of the broader Ocorian suite of services immediately with several Outsourced CFO services managers utilising Cayman services and several Global R&C clients accessing new US R&C capabilities.

How did the local, on-the-ground support shape diligence and execution? Were there specific moments where that proximity made a tangible difference? 

Vince Calcagno: Inflexion’s new office and Ben’s availability to management was a differentiator versus other strategics that were in the mix. This was further validated with Marcus’ recent relocation to New York and continued involvement post transaction.

Acquisitions are a key value creation strategy Inflexion supports its portfolio with. Since inception, Inflexion has supported over 660 to accelerate growth – more than a quarter of which have been international.