RBA Group advises on PEI Group’s acquisition of Scientific Infra & Private Assets

Project overview
This transaction involves the acquisition of Scientific Infra & Private Assets Pte Ltd (SIPA), a leading provider of index, benchmark, and rating services for private infrastructure and private equity markets. Originally developed from over a decade of academic research at the EDHEC Infrastructure & Private Assets Research Institute (EIPA), SIPA has established itself as a pioneer in delivering robust and representative asset-level metrics aligned with the Infrastructure Company Classification Standard (TICCS), and the Private Company Classification Standard (PECCS).

PEI Group Ltd (PEI Group) is a globally recognised provider of market intelligence, valuation analytics, and advanced research for private markets, supporting more than 30,000 institutional investors, asset managers, and advisors worldwide. Through this acquisition, PEI Group strengthens its analytics capabilities by integrating SIPA’s proprietary solutions, including infraMetrics, privateMetrics, and privateAlpha, into its broader platform.

The acquisition reflects a shared ambition to enhance transparency, benchmarking accuracy, and data availability across the private markets ecosystem, enabling more informed investment decision-making on a global scale.

Our role & support
RBA Singapore (RBA) was a primary advisor to SIPA and its shareholders throughout the transaction, across all corporate and regulatory aspects, supporting the process from inception to closing. The team prepared and implemented the corporate documentation required to formalise the transaction and helped ensure compliance with applicable Singapore legal requirements.

Beyond documentation, our team provided critical coordination between the legal advisors representing both SIPA, its shareholders and PEI Group, participating in transaction discussions and facilitating the resolution of outstanding matters. We also conducted a rigorous review of PEI Group’s corporate elements as part of the due diligence process to identify and mitigate potential risks.

RBA’s involvement extended to the management of all regulatory formalities, including the payment of stamp duties and mandatory filings with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). We maintained close oversight through to the final closing, ensuring that all execution timelines were met and that communication remained effective among all the parties involved.

Strategic outcome

The acquisition of SIPA marks a significant milestone for the private assets industry. By joining PEI Group, SIPA’s industry-leading indices, infraMetrics, privateMetrics, and privateAlpha, will reach a broader global audience from institutional investors to consultants and fund managers, private wealth advisors, and retail investors. This integration will allow both PEI Group and SIPA clients to benefit from a comprehensive view of private markets performance and risk reporting, fund and manager selection, and private asset valuation.

We are delighted to have supported this important transaction involving a highly specialised business in the private markets ecosystem. This deal reflects the growing strategic importance of infrastructure and private assets, and demonstrates RBA’s ability to bring together corporate, legal, and regulatory expertise to help clients execute complex cross-border transactions with confidence!

Read more about pei.group, sipametrics.com, and edhecinfraprivateassets.com