Wendel Group, a French private equity firm, has entered into an agreement alongside Colibri Group to purchase the financial services segment of Adtalem Global Education.
ACAMS acquired by PE firm Wendel
Wendel will acquire the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), while Colibri will acquire Becker Professional Education and OnCourse Learning.
Scott D. Liles, current ACAMS president and managing director, will become CEO upon closing of the transaction, which is expected in H1 this year.
The acquisition values ACAMS at approximately $500 million and contemplates an equity investment from Wendel of around $355 million, for a 99% interest in the company.
ACAMS is the world’s largest membership organisation dedicated to fighting financial crime. It provides training and certifications for anti-money laundering (AML) and financial crime prevention professionals.
It has a global membership base of 90,000+ members in 175 countries.
It has around 275 employees primarily located in the US, London and Hong Kong.
For the 12-month period ending 30 September 2021, ACAMS reported revenues of $83 million.
Wendel CEO André François-Poncet and deputy CEO David Darmon comment that ACAMS fits well with Wendel’s CSR values.
“The investment represents a new milestone in our 2021-24 roadmap, and our announced target to accelerate the redeployment of our capital toward companies with higher growth rates,” they add.
