Binder Grösswang advised Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe on the sale of its stake in AIM to SimCorp

Binder Grösswang, in close cooperation with Dechert (London) advised the US-based Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), a U.S. private equity firm, which has sold its stake in AIM Software Group (AIM) to trade buyer SimCorp in a deal valuing the company at € 60 m. Following the transaction, AIM Software will be fully integrated into SimCorp.

AIM Software’s market-leading solution will provide SimCorp with an even stronger value proposition, adding new capabilities in an area naturally linked to its existing front-to-back offering.

Closing of the acquisition is expected to be around August 1, 2019, subject to certain conditions.

Binder Grösswang had already advised WCAS during the acquisition of AIM Software Group in 2015, when WCAS took a majority stake in the company and the company’s then existing management team retained a minority stake and continued to lead the business following the transaction.

The leading private equity firm WCAS focuses on two target industries: technology and healthcare. Since its founding in 1979, the Firm's strategy has been to partner with outstanding management teams and build value for its investors through a combination of operational improvements, internal growth initiatives and strategic acquisitions. WCAS has raised and managed funds totalling over $27 billion of committed capital.

AIM Software is a leading provider of data management solutions with a specialized focus on the buy-side. AIM’s GAIN suite of business applications helps leading financial institutions aggregate, master and report on their market data. Aim’s clients collectively manage USD 13 Trillion in AUM. AIM has around 115 people and operates in key financial markets with offices in Vienna, London and New York. In 2018, AIM Software generated revenue of EUR 15.5 m.

SimCorp provides integrated, best-in-class investment management solutions to the world’s leading asset managers, fund managers, asset servicers, pension and insurance funds, wealth managers, banks and sovereign wealth funds. SimCorp’s core solution, SimCorp Dimension® and its life-cycle services support the entire investment value chain and range of instruments, all based on a market-leading IBOR.

Binder Grösswang’s core team for this deal, led by Corporate/M&A partner Thomas Schirmer, included Gottfried Gassner (partner), Claudia Fochtmann-Tischler (senior associate), Wolfgang Guggenberger (senior associate) and Felix Fuith (associate), and was additionally supported by Angelika Pallwein-Prettner (partner) and Johannes Bammer (senior associate) for employment law aspects; Markus Uitz (partner) and Artan Duraku (associate) for real estate matters, Philipp Spring (senior associate) for intellectual property law aspects and Stefan Albiez (partner) for dispute resolution issues.

The Dechert team (London) was led by Ross Allardice (partner, Corporate/M&A), Tony Brown and Daniel Mansfield (both senior associate Corporate/M&A)

Other law firms were involved, e.g. Bär & Karrer (Zürich) to swiss law related issues.