From: AltAssets
Two investors with a history of supporting the FinTech industry will join forces as Bridgepoint Advisers is going to buy rival private equity firm EQT Partners’ credit arm EQT Credit for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition will be combined with Bridgepoint’s existing credit business, with the enlarged group having total assets under management of roughly €7bn.
“This moves our credit strategy and ambitions significantly forward and provides further diversification for the Bridgepoint Group,” said William Jackson, managing partner at Bridgepoint Advisers. “This is in line with our strategic objective of offering a broader range of compelling middle market focused alternative asset investment strategies.
“It will also broaden Bridgepoint Credit’s geographic exposure with an enhanced presence in the Nordic region, Germany and the US, adding to our existing teams in London and Paris.”
Established in 2008, EQT Credit has €5.6bn in assets under management across its two core strategies of direct lending and special situations, a team of 27 investment professionals based in London, New York, Munich and Stockholm and employs approximately 40 colleagues in total.
The transaction is subject to regulatory and other consents and is scheduled to complete in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Among its notable investments Bridgepoint led a $160m growth round for US-based FinTech unicorn Kyriba in March 2019. Through that deal Bridgepoint has acquired a majority stake in Kyriba.
EQT has also supported the FinTech sector. For instance, in February 2020 the global investor made a “significant growth investment” to help RIMES Technologies Corporation support and accelerate execution of the company’s strategy to provide valuable and connected data insights to the investment industry as well as boosting its RegTech solutions.
