Bedell Cristin has advised Inflexion Private Equity on the acquisition of Estera, a leading global provider of funds, corporate and trust services, from previous owner Bridgepoint.

Bedell Cristin provided BVI, Cayman, Guernsey and Jersey legal advice to Inflexion alongside onshore legal advisers, White & Case LLP. The multi-jurisdictional team was led by Bedell Cristin's global managing partner Tim Pearce, supported by partners Kate Ovenden, Alasdair Hunter, Guy Westmacott, Jonathan Fitzgibbons, Kristian Wilson and Richard Le Liard, managing associate Sukh Chana, senior associate Louise Hassell, associates Natasha Bairstow, Craig Geraghty and Eugene Reavey and legal assistants Jennifer Mills and Philip Kendall.

The Estera business will now merge with Inflexion's existing portfolio company, Ocorian and the combined business will operate under the Ocorian name. Ocorian now becomes one of the largest administrators globally, with assets under administration of US$260 billion, operating from 20 jurisdictions, with over 1,250 professionals serving 8,000 clients. In particular, Ocorian clients will benefit from Estera's established North American presence (Bermuda, BVI and Cayman), while Estera clients will be able to leverage Ocorian's strong links to the Middle East and Africa.

Bedell Cristin global managing partner Tim Pearce, commented: "we've been thrilled to work with Inflexion during its acquisition of Estera, a deal which represents one of the most significant transactions of its kind in the global financial services sector. We are delighted to have been able to demonstrate Bedell Cristin's ability to support a large, multi-jurisdictional, complex M&A deal. We would like to congratulate the parties on completing this landmark deal and wish the merged business every success."