Draycott buys ECS from Davidson Kempner
Portuguese asset manager ECS is being sold to Draycott, expanding the buyer’s scale in alternative assets while Davidson Kempner stays on as a strategic partner.
Draycott has agreed to buy Portuguese asset manager ECS from U.S. fund Davidson Kempner, in a deal that would expand its presence in alternative assets in Portugal and Iberia. The transaction has been notified to Portugal’s competition authority and still depends on definitive agreements and regulatory approvals, including clearance from CMVM, the securities market regulator.
The value of the deal was not disclosed. Draycott said Davidson Kempner will remain a strategic partner of the funds management platform, while ECS’s portfolio and its current contacts with investors, partners and lenders will remain unchanged.
In a statement, Draycott said the combined platform would gain the scale and capabilities to originate and execute larger and more complex transactions, broaden its base of domestic and international investors, and follow the development of the Iberian alternative assets market.
ECS, founded in 2006, became one of Portugal’s largest tourism asset managers after the financial crisis, building a portfolio of hotels, resorts, golf courses and other real estate assets, according to Bloomberg as cited in the original report. Davidson Kempner bought ECS at the end of 2022 for about €850 million, while Draycott now has more than €3.5 billion under management after also acquiring real estate-focused Square Asset Management.
Originally published at Eco.pt
