IQ-EQ Acquires Another US Business, Enters Private Wealth

Tom Burroughes

8 April 2021

IQ-EQ, the private equity-owned global services group, has agreed to buy Concord Trust Company, adding to its run of US acquisitions over the past year.

Concord Trust Company is based in South Dakota and has offices in New Hampshire. The transaction is subject to state regulatory approval from the South Dakota Division of Banking, the firm said in a statement yesterday.

The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The acquisition follows IQ-EQ’s purchases of Constellation Advisers and Blue River Partners . The process of integrating Concord into the group’s US and global businesses will begin once the necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained, it said.

The Concord acquisition is the first in the US private wealth space, it said . Concord was founded in 2011 by Christopher “Chip” Martin and principal of a New Hampshire law firm and joined thereafter by Andrew Powell .

When the deal is complete, IQ-EQ will have a total of 331 US-based employees. Work to rebrand the Concord business to IQ-EQ will start once regulators give the deal the green light. In the interim period, the business will continue to be promoted in the US under the Concord brand.

Mark Fordyce will be in charge of the group’s US operations when the transaction is signed off; Martin and Powell will retain their existing roles. Martin also joins IQ-EQ’s private wealth leadership committee, led by Steve Sokic, group head of private wealth.