Solactive makes strategic investment in European governance, sustainability and proxy voting firm, Minerva Analytics.

Solactive announces the completion of a strategic investment in Minerva to accelerate growth of the electronic voting, stewardship and ESG research services firm.

Following the deal’s completion, Minerva will build-out its research and client service capability through Solactive’s offices in Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Toronto, while leveraging Solactive’s technological capabilities in the fields of natural language processing to broaden its product suite.  Minerva will now be able to offer clients global coverage, 24 hours a day. Solactive will seek to leverage Minerva data in the continued development of its offerings.

The founders of each company are committed to using technology to develop client-centric bespoke solutions. They share a similar philosophy in developing their businesses, which set out to empower clients and offer them value for money. This will be of particular importance as regulatory shifts increase demand for customised sustainable stewardship strategies, most notably with Shareholders Rights Directive 2 (SRDII) which becomes effective next month.

Solactive CEO Steffen Scheuble commented: “This is an important step for us in ensuring we stay relevant to the entire asset management ecosystem. Quality governance and sustainability data, research and analytics, as well as voting technology and services solutions are areas of increasing importance to all asset owners and asset managers. Minerva and Manifest have built over the years a strong reputation and we look forward to work with them to accelerate their growth.”

Minerva CEO Sarah Wilson has spent over 20 years in the business of proxy research, during which she has found that clients benefit from bespoke research and data to inform their voting decisions. Commenting on the deal, Sarah said: “We are delighted to become part of the Solactive Group of companies. Stewardship, ESG and shareholder voting tools are growing in importance as investors seek to meet new and extended fiduciary responsibilities. Solactive’s commitment to innovation, value for money client-centric solutions and their global network enables Minerva to grow coverage and offer a truly 24-hour service.” Shawpoint acted as exclusive financial advisor to Minerva on this transaction.

About Solactive:

Solactive AG is an innovative index provider and financial data and technology provider that focuses on the development, calculation and distribution of tailor-made indices across all asset classes. As at January 2019, Solactive AG served approximately 400 clients in Europe, America and Asia, with approximately USD 200 billion invested in products linked to indices calculated by the company globally, primarily via 380 exchange-traded funds from a number of well-known providers. Solactive AG was established in 2007 and is headquartered in Frankfurt, with additional offices in Berlin, Dresden, Hong Kong and Toronto.

About Minerva

Minerva Analytics Ltd was launched in March 2019 and was founded by Sarah Wilson and Tim Clarke following their acquisition of Manifest – the proxy voting agency. Manifest was the UK’s first electronic proxy voting service founded in 1995. In addition to a full-service voting platform, Minerva’s services include objective data and research covering voting results, governance, remuneration and sustainability, customised voting policies as well as a number of proprietary ESG benchmarking solutions for up to 6,500 global companies.

About Shawpoint

Shawpoint Ltd. is a UK-based corporate finance advisor founded by former business owners and investment bankers who first-hand understand business needs. Shawpoint specializes in proving access to the City and investment banking services for sub-£50 million businesses across Europe.

Last Updated: 26 May 2019