SINGAPORE -- The Global Loan Agency Services Group (“GLAS”) confirmed the successful completion of its acquisition of Watiga Trust and Watiga Asia (collectively, “Watiga”).

The transaction was first announced earlier this year in March pending regulatory approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) which was received in late November.

The integration will allow GLAS to offer its loan agency and trustee services to its local clients in Asia from a Singapore base. It will also provide Watiga’s clients with access to an enhanced, international service offering.

Watiga will be the second company acquired by GLAS this year, following French asset management and fiducie company Pristine, which became a GLAS company in April. Since then, GLAS and Pristine have jointly supported an enlarged client base, validating the strategic rationale of the transaction.

The acquisition of Watiga will expand the GLAS footprint across Asia Pacific, and the addition of the Watiga team will increase its team to over 60 professionals based locally in the region.

Watiga

Watiga is a corporate, trust and funds service provider.

Watiga Trust is a Licensed Trust Company, regulated by MAS and Approved Trustee for Collective Investment Schemes.

Offering a range of tailored trust, fiduciary and custodian services, Watiga Trust is a member of the Singapore Institute of Banking and Finance, the Singapore Trustees Association, the Singapore Venture and Private Capital Association and the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association.

Watiga Asia offers a full suite of fund, loan and company administration services and is a member of the Singapore Fund Administrators Association.

GLAS

GLAS has served the Asian market for several years, including roles in recent high-profile debt restructurings in China such as Sino Ocean, Evergrande and Sunac.

Following the completion of this acquisition, GLAS will support the expansion of the team’s local capabilities and ensure consistent client delivery globally, with GLAS’s existing APAC offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane providing additional operational support to Watiga.

GLAS Founders, Mia Drennan and Brian Carne, said:

“This has been another amazing year for GLAS. We are excited to be able to service our Asian clients locally in their time zone, and to work closely with Matt and the team to build out a wider selection of services and products which we can roll out globally.

This partnership bolsters the group’s comprehensive regulated coverage across APAC, the EU and the Americas, and gives our clients the opportunity to access our award-winning service and product offering to more clients than ever before.

This acquisition is another significant milestone on our global journey, and we are thrilled to be able to give our clients access to Watiga’s extensive knowledge, licensing and expertise through the GLAS network.”

Watiga Founder and Managing Director, Matt Richards, commented:

“Building WATIGA for the past thirteen years has been a rewarding journey of meeting market needs.

Our team is excited to continue this journey with GLAS, which brings fresh perspectives and new opportunities.

I believe GLAS's combination of technical expertise, financial infrastructure and their innovation mindset, all on a global scale, is beneficial and empowering for our clients, personnel, and stakeholders.”