Australia's corporate governance leader to set a new international standard as Acclime expands its footprint with the acquisition of Mertons

MELBOURNE, Australia, May 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Asia Pacific's premier corporate services provider, Acclime, has expanded its Australian footprint with the acquisition of leading corporate governance consultancy, Mertons.

Co-Founder and CEO of Acclime, Martin Crawford, said Mertons' corporate governance model is aligned with Acclime' s vision to improve corporate governance standards across the region, and would be rolled out across Acclime's international operations as the 'gold standard' of compliance services.

"Our strategic acquisition of Mertons not only expands Acclime's Australian footprint and exposes us to the listed company sector, it also serves a far broader purpose in enhancing the quality of our corporate governance services across Asia," Mr Crawford said.

"The high bar that Mertons meets in its governance duties to clients reflects the standard by which we deliver all governance services across APAC."

"It is a truly exceptional model, delivered by a talented team, and we're thrilled to welcome them to the Acclime family."

Mr Crawford said Acclime's continued growth, both organically and through strategic acquisitions, enable the group to nurture and develop established, local teams with the added support of an international network, as well as Acclime's proprietary technology platform enhancing board management capability.

Established in 2007, Mertons Corporate Services operates in Melbourne and Sydney, servicing clients across Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, the UK and the US, specialising in corporate governance and compliance. It is the second Australian professional services consultancy to be acquired by Acclime in the past year as the company's 750-strong workforce, operating across Asia-Pacific and the United States, expands its global network.

Mertons founder and Managing Director, Mark Licciardo, will lead the rollout of a significant IT upgrade across Acclime's 12 international markets, integrating board management software in to a fully digitised, encrypted cloud-based service for clients.

"The integration of Mertons and Acclime recognises the depth of talent and exceptional standard of service Mertons is known for, and the modern, tech-enabled services that support the delivery of our work," Mr Licciardo said. "Like us, Acclime is absolutely committed to creating genuine, collaborative partnerships with clients and we're excited at the opportunities that lay ahead."

Mertons will formally transition to the Acclime Australia brand on 1 July 2022.

About Acclime

Acclime is the premier corporate services provider in Asia, operating in ten key Asian jurisdictions including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, Thailand and Singapore. Acclime also has client representative offices in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The company's vision is to reinvent the corporate services sector with innovative solutions that help corporate and private clients to advance their businesses and interests in difficult-to-navigate markets in emerging Asia. For further information, please visit www.acclime.com

About Mertons

Established in 2007, Mertons works directly with Senior Management, CEOs, and Boards on best practice company secretarial and corporate governance issues to satisfy key stakeholder compliance and regulatory requirements. Our full capabilities include providing governance and compliance expertise whilst controlling costs and negating the risk associated with potential non-compliance. Mertons has operations in Sydney and Melbourne, and has been recently acquired by Acclime.