By Elliot Gulliver-Needham
Private equity firm Cinven has bought a majority stake in fund administrator Alter Domus from Permira in a €4.9bn (£4.2bn) deal.
The Luxembourg-based firm provides a range of services to fund management groups dealing in private equity, real assets and private debt, such as handling administrative issues.
Beginning as a spin-off from PwC in 2003, the administrator focuses entirely on alternative assets and has over $2.5trn in assets under administration.
The FT reported that Cinven’s stake represented a majority of the 5,000-employee-strong business.
Permira first took a stake in Alter Domus in 2017, with the firm having seen revenue, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) and employees quintuple in that time.
Permira will still keep a stake in the firm, along with its founding partners, a statement from the firm added.
Alter Domus CEO Doug Hart said: “With an enviable track record of investing in fast-growing, world-class businesses, we are thrilled to welcome Cinven as an investor in Alter Domus.
“Cinven shares our strategic vision and commitment to developing long-term technology-enabled partnerships with the leading alternatives firms globally through the delivery of operational and client service excellence.
“Together we look forward to further accelerating our international growth and delivering innovative new services to our clients.”
Rory Neeson, partner and head of the business services sector team at Cinven, added: “Cinven is delighted to make this investment in Alter Domus. Fund services has been a priority subsector for Cinven’s Business Services team due to the attractive business model characteristics and strong growth drivers.
“Cinven’s Business Services and Financial Services sector teams have worked together in close partnership and have followed Alter Domus closely over many years and admired it as a global leader, with blue-chip clients and leading service levels.
“Looking forward, we see significant potential for further growth and we look forward to working with the management team and shareholders in the next phase of its journey.”
