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July 7, 2021

Portland financial firm to get new majority owner

David Whitaker sitting on steps. File Photo / Tim Greenway David Whitaker, former president of Foreside Financial Group, is now global services leader at ACA.
By Renee Cordes

Portland-based Foreside Financial Group LLC is set to get a new majority owner under an agreement announced on Wednesday.

Genstar Capital, a San Franciso-based private equity firm focused on investments in targeted segments of the financial services, health care, industrial and software sectors, said it has agreed to buy a majority stake in Foreside from Lovell Minnick Partners, of Radnor, Pa.

The deal comes four years after Lovell Minnick added Foreside Financial to its portfolio. Financial terms of the transaction, expected to close in the third quarter of 2021 subject to customary approvals, were not disclosed.

Foreside Financial, established in 2005 and with numerous regional offices including New York and Boston, provides compliance technology and service solutions for the investment management industry. 

The company, which recently embarked on its seventh acquisition in two years and first in the western United States, is led by CEO Richard Berthy and President David Whitaker, who will remain shareholders and continue in their current management roles under the new ownership.

“Genstar has extensive experience in the investment management space, and we’re excited to be starting this new chapter with them,” Berthy said in Wednesday's news release. “We share a strategic vision to broaden our current scope of products and services, underscored by the belief that there remains a significant need for outsourced fund and GRC services in the market. We want to be perfectly clear — maintaining first-class service for our clients is our top priority. With this support, we feel like we can grow and expand our client base while maintaining and upholding this standard.”

Tony Salewski, Genstar's managing director, said, “Foreside is a signature Genstar transaction, representing an opportunity to invest in a high-quality business in the asset and wealth management ecosystem supported by compelling secular GRC tailwinds. We look forward to this new partnership.”

Since Lovell Minnick Partners added Foreside Financial to its portfolio four years ago, the Portland-based firm has been on a growth trajectory owing in part to acquisitions.

“It’s been an amazing and rewarding journey to be a part of and support Foreside’s rise as a trusted leader in the distribution and compliance needs of the asset and wealth management industry,” said Spencer Hoffman, a partner at Lovell Minnick. “We have every confidence they will enjoy continued success in the future.”

Willkie Farr & Gallagher served as legal advisor to Genstar, while Foreside took financial advice from Raymond James and legal counsel from Morgan Lewis.

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