Sagard Acquires Swiss Boutique Asset Manager Unigestion

Montreal-based Sagard Holdings on Tuesday announced that it was acquiring the Swiss boutique asset manager Unigestion’s private-equity business, expanding its reach in a fast-changing market for private assets that is courting a new wave of wealthy individual investors.

Sagard, an alternative asset manager and subsidiary of the Desmarais family’s Power Corp. of Canada, is merging Unigestion’s private equity manager with its own, adding $2.5-billion of private equity assets. The transaction is expected to close in early 2026, pending regulatory approvals.

The new platform will manage over $23 billion in private equity assets and will offer a greatly enhanced geographical reach and product scope, delivering bespoke and scalable private equity solutions across primaries, secondaries and co-investments to institutional and high net worth investors. As a result of this combination, Sagard will manage approximately $44 billion in assets post-closing.

Sagard Chairman and CEO Paul Desmarais III said that Unigestion, a firm with a long and successful history under the leadership of Bernard Sabrier, and a culture that is highly aligned with Sagard’s, brings deep investment expertise, strong investor relationships and formidable investment discipline.

He also said: “Unigestion’s track record of building deep client relationships by crafting customized private equity programs makes them a natural partner for Sagard as we take this next step toward becoming a global leader in the middle market.”

New Growth Chapter

Unigestion Group Chairman Bernard Sabrier said that this combination paves the way for a new growth chapter and will be first and foremost beneficial to their Limited Partners (LPs) and Sagard’s values and long-term orientation align closely with his company.

“It allows us to remain true to the entrepreneurial DNA and client focus that define Unigestion, while positioning us for long-term growth within a broader global firm,” Sabrier added.

Sabrier will be the chairman of the new private equity platform and will join Sagard’s Board as Vice Chairman, reinforcing long-term alignment and continuity as the two firms unite. The FAMSA foundation which he chairs will become a significant shareholder of Sagard.

Jonathan Tétrault, Managing Partner at Sagard, said that this partnership will considerably accelerate their journey to become a global leader in middle market private equity.

He added: “It also marks a key milestone in our strategic expansion across both Europe and Asia. I look forward to working with Christophe de Dardel and Mark Zünd, who will continue to lead Unigestion’s private equity business, in building out our combined platform.”

UBS acted as exclusive financial advisor to Unigestion and Lenz & Staehelin acted as legal counsel to the Unigestion Private Equity Holding SA shareholders in this transaction.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) acted as financial due diligence advisor, Deloitte LLP acted as tax advisor, and McDermott Will & Schulte, Schellenberg Wittmer Ltd, and Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP acted as legal advisors to Sagard in this transaction.