New Mountain Capital has agreed to make an undisclosed significant minority investment in Appleby Global Group, an offshore legal and corporate services platform founded by Major Reginald Appleby in Bermuda in the 1890s. The firm employs more than 500 people and over 200 attorneys across 11 offices in eight jurisdictions. Under the agreement, New Mountain will take a minority interest in a newly formed Cayman Islands company that will indirectly hold Appleby Global Group. Existing management and partners will retain majority control of the business, and the law firm entities will remain owned and controlled by Appleby partners qualified in the relevant jurisdictions. Appleby provides legal and fiduciary services — including corporate and disputes work — to financial institutions, investment managers, insurers, corporations and private clients. The firm's offices span the key offshore financial centers of Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Mauritius and the Seychelles, along with hubs in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

New Mountain manages approximately $60 billion in assets across private equity, strategic equity, GP-led single-asset secondaries, credit and net lease strategies, working closely with management teams to build long-term value. The firm has deep experience scaling professional services firms through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, said Harris Kealey, managing director at New Mountain, adding that expanding employee equity ownership is central to the partnership approach.

Appleby's leadership team will retain majority ownership of the firm following the deal. Malcolm Moller, Appleby's group managing partner, is set to become CEO once the transaction closes. Guggenheim Securities and Ropes & Gray served as financial and legal advisers to Appleby, respectively. Piper Sandler advised New Mountain, with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Addleshaw Goddard serving as legal advisers.

Editor's note: This news brief was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence.