Advent, the US private equity firm, has agreed to buy Vermeg, the Amsterdam-headquartered maker of post-trade and collateral software used by central banks and clearing houses, from Charterhouse Capital Partners and founder Badreddine Ouali. Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund is joining as a minority co-investor. No price was disclosed.

Image: illustrative, AI-generated (no press image supplied).

The agreement was announced on Monday 2 November in a statement from Advent datelined London. A wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) will take a minority stake alongside Advent, which is leading the deal. Ouali, who founded the company, will stay on as a shareholder and become vice chairman, remaining "actively involved in strategic and client priorities", according to the release. Completion is expected in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.

Neither side gave a price or valuation, and Vermeg's revenue was not disclosed. Evercore advised Vermeg and Charterhouse, while Sycomore advised the founder and management team, PE Hub reported.

Plumbing for Europe's financial markets

Vermeg sells into one of the least visible but most regulated corners of finance. Its capital markets business provides post-trade processing and collateral management technology to central banks, clearing houses, central securities depositories, custodians and investment firms. A second business supplies core policy administration systems to life and health insurers, mainly in France and the Benelux.

When Charterhouse invested in December 2020, buying its stake from the French cooperative bank group Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, it described Vermeg as serving around 400 blue-chip clients in more than 40 countries, including Santander, AXA, NN, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank, with more than 1,400 staff. Those figures date from 2020 and the companies did not provide updated numbers on Monday.

Under Charterhouse, the business was narrowed. In November 2024 Vermeg sold its regulatory reporting division, Agile, to Regnology, a portfolio company of Nordic Capital. PE Hub said the private equity owner worked with management to refocus Vermeg on its capital markets and insurance platforms and on recurring software revenue.

Sovereignty as a sales pitch

Advent is framing the deal around regulation and market structure. "Vermeg is positioned at the intersection of powerful structural trends reshaping global capital markets, as increasing regulatory complexity, harmonization of post-trading workflows and the accelerating shift towards sovereignty of market infrastructure fuel demand for its mission-critical technology," said Douglas Hallstrom, managing director at Advent.

That pitch lands at a sensitive moment. European policymakers are pushing to integrate the continent's fragmented post-trade landscape under the savings and investments union agenda, and debates over who controls critical financial infrastructure have sharpened. The irony is that a European supplier marketed on infrastructure sovereignty is passing from one European private equity owner to a US buyer backed by a Gulf state fund. Whether regulators look closely at that will become clear during the approval process.

Mike Ettling, an Advent operating partner who chairs the firm's insurance software holding Sapiens and manufacturing software group Syspro, will become Vermeg's chairman on completion. Advent said it plans to accelerate investment in Vermeg's products and AI capabilities.

"Advent brings the experience and resources to support the next chapter of that work," Ouali said in the statement.

For Charterhouse, the sale is its third exit in 12 months, according to PE Hub, following Casa Optima and a partial exit from Novétude Group.

Sources: Advent press release, 2 November 2026 (distributed via Public); PE Hub / Private Equity International, 2 November 2026; Charterhouse Capital Partners announcement, 18 December 2020; Arma Partners deal note on the Agile sale to Regnology, November 2024. No embargo applied.