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The Wire

Private equity deal news and insights from the London newsroom

Oct 30, 2024

 

Leon Capital, Nuveen buy sustainability consultancy Longevity Partners; Bridgepoint on Achilles Info add-ons, agrees Eckoh deal; Bain takes AQ Compute stake

Morning all, Craig McGlashan here with the Europe Wire.

 

It’s a busy morning in the London newsroom.

 

First up we interview Leon Capital about its investment alongside Nuveen Private Equity Impact in climate and sustainability consultancy Longevity Partners, a deal being announced later today.

 

Next, we speak to Bridgepoint Development Capital’s Matt Legg about his firm’s add-on plans for supply chain management business Achilles Information.

 

Sticking with Bridgepoint, the company has just agreed a recommended cash acquisition of Eckoh, a data security company for customer contact centers.

 

Elsewhere in data, Bain Capital is buying a stake in AQ Compute, the data center subsidiary of private investment company Aquila Group.

 

Switching sectors, ECI Partners has invested in pensions trusteeship and governance services provider Independent Governance Group.

 

We’ve got more premium clothing news, as Palladio Holding portfolio company Nice Footwear has made two acquisitions.

 

Finally on deals, Cinven has agreed to sell a another minority stake in Synlab, a medical diagnostic services and specialty testing provider.

 

And of course, it’s Budget day here in the UK and private equity firms will be wondering whether chancellor Rachel Reeves has tricks or treats in store ahead of Halloween. Will there be a hike in capital gains tax? We covered a report from accountancy and business advisory firm Lubbock Fine a little while back suggesting that UK M&A jumped in part because entrepreneurs wanted to cash out before any potential rises. The other thing keeping PE up at night is a rumoured change to carried interest taxation – check out this note from our colleagues from Private Equity International for more on that.

 

Going green

Leon Capital and Nuveen Private Equity Impact have made a majority investment in Longevity Partners, a climate and sustainability consultancy for the real estate and infrastructure sectors, the firms will announce later today. PE Hub spoke to Leon Capital to find out the drivers behind the deal and its growth plans for the business.

 

Find out details in the premium version of the Wire.

  

Supply chain demand

Bridgepoint is looking at more potential add-ons for Achilles Information, as it hopes to boost its name in the supply chain management industry, Matt Legg, partner at Bridgepoint Development Capital, told PE Hub’s Sophie Rose.

 

Read more in the premium version of the Wire.

 

Data protection

Meanwhile, Bridgepoint has just reached agreement on a recommended cash acquisition of Eckoh, a data security company for customer contact centers.

 

Details, including the size of the offer, EBITDA multiple and estimated premium, are available in the premium version of the Wire.

 

(Note: Bridgepoint owns PEI Group, the publisher of PE Hub.)

 

Big on data

From data protection to the booming data center market, where Bain Capital is buying a stake in AQ Compute, the data center subsidiary of private investment company Aquila Group.

 

Pension play

ECI Partners has invested in Independent Governance Group (IGG), a professional pensions trusteeship and governance services provider.

 

Foot forward

Palladio Holding portfolio company Nice Footwear has made two acquisitions: Corrado Maretto and Dyva.

 

Private equity has been placing bets on premium clothing businesses lately. Permira agreed a few days ago to buy a minority stake in K-Way, a French premium outerwear brand.

 

Minority sale

Cinven has agreed to sell a minority stake in Synlab, a medical diagnostic services and specialty testing provider, to financial investor Elliott Advisors.

 

Read about some of Cinven's other recent Synlab deals in the premium version of the Wire.

 

Right, that’s all from me today. I’m on holiday tomorrow (I need one after covering so much this morning!) so Nina Lindholm will bring you the Europe Wire, while Michael Schoeck will bring you the US Wire later today as usual.

 

Cheers,

 

Craig

 

Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...

Today's must reads

> Leon Capital and Nuveen buy sustainability consultancy Longevity Partners More...
> Bridgepoint on the hunt for more Achilles add-ons More...
> LMP's Jason Barg: Regulatory complexities drive demand for CPA-focused companies More...
> Audax eyes add-ons to scale life science platform Resonant More...
> BayPine recruits Bain Capital veteran Will Tetler as partner More...

Also of note (may require subscriptions)

 

SWIB anchors Hughes & Company’s second healthcare tech fund: Hughes & Company was founded by Travis Hughes, formerly an executive at JMI Equity, where he specialized in healthcare IT and services investing. (Buyouts)

 

Secondaries will account for a quarter of Adams Street’s latest fund: The firm’s 2024 Global Fund Program raised just over $1bn. (Secondaries)

 

LP demand grows for waterfall transparency: survey. A CSC survey found that many LPs are pushing back on less transparent waterfall provisions. (Private Funds CFO)

 

AMERRA exits Brazilian sugar company: CIO Craig Tashjian says Brazil has seen a significant uptick in M&A activity in the fertilizers, biostimulants and sugarcane markets. (Agri Investor)

 

Aware Super’s UK platform to capture ‘window of opportunity’ in offices: The investor’s newly formed international team has partnered with Delancey to invest £1bn in the UK, with London offices as the initial focus. (PERE)

Deals

> Bridgepoint to take Eckoh private for £162m EV More...
> Bain Capital to buy 80% stake in Aquila Group’s data center unit AQ Compute More...
> Leon Capital and Nuveen buy sustainability consultancy Longevity Partners More...
> Palladio-backed Nice Footwear snaps up Corrado Maretto and Dyva More...
> Cinven agrees to sell minority stake in Synlab More...
> Bridgepoint on the hunt for more Achilles add-ons More...
People
> Cresset appoints Malkin as chief growth officer and exec managing director More...
> Black Bay Partners promotes Schovee to partner and Scofield to principal More...
> Gamut Capital-backed Davis-Standard taps Andrews as chairman and CEO More...

They said it

“We see a tremendous opportunity to augment what is a really encouraging organic growth story at Achilles with further acquisitions, where our focus is on either adding further scale to our existing geographies, expansion into select new geographies or acquiring valuable product capabilities to cross-sell into our existing customer base.”

— Matt Legg, partner, Bridgepoint Development Capital

 

Today's letter was prepared by Craig McGlashan

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