IQ-EQ buys Blue River

IQ-EQ has expanded into the US through its acquisition of Blue River Partners, a provider of outsourced services to alternative funds.

Established in 2009, Blue River counts more than 400 clients in the US. It employs 180 people across its seven locations; Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, New York and San Francisco.

Blue River provides fund administration to private equity funds, as well as fund operations, middle office and outsourced CFO services to hedge funds. Additionally, it offers management company operations services as well as regulatory compliance solutions across all structures. Services include tax compliance, IT and cybersecurity consulting and managed solutions.

As part of the deal, Blue River’s founding partners Mark Fordyce (CEO), and Michael Minces (president) will take on leadership of IQ-EQ’s US operations.

In a statement, IQ-EQ group executive chair Serge Krancenblum commented, “The acquisition of Blue River marks a key milestone for us as it strategically increases our presence in the US, the largest and fastest growing fund administration and regulatory compliance market in the world.”

IQ-EQ was previously SGG Group, having rebranded in March 2019. The driver behind the renaming exercise was to unify SGG with its many acquisitions, including SGG, First Names Group, Augentius, Iyer Practice and Viacert. Since then, the group has also completed the acquisition of Paris-based Peru & Partners.