BC Partners LLP is a British international investment firm with over $40 billion of assets under management across private equity, credit and real estate in Europe and North America. Its global headquarters are in London. The firm invests across all industries. BC Partners was founded in 1986 and has offices in New York, Paris and Hamburg. Since inception, BC Partners has completed 113 private equity investments in companies with a total enterprise value of €145 billion.
As one of the largest European private equity firms, BC Partners competes for buyouts and investment opportunities with other large cap private equity firms including Blackstone Group, KKR, CVC Capital Partners, Advent International and The Carlyle Group. The firm raised its eighth fund in 2005, which at the time made it the largest European buyout fund. Raised in less than five months, the fund was heavily oversubscribed. Investors in previous funds supplied 90% of the capital. The firm's most recent fund, BC Partners X, was one of the largest buyout funds raised in 2018.
BC Partners was until recently majority shareholder of Intelsat, the global satellite services provider valued at US$16.6 billion in its leveraged buyout in 2007—one of the largest private equity buyouts of all time led by a consortium of investors including BC Partners and Silver Lake Partners. In 2008, BC Partners replaced Intelsat's chairman with Raymond Svider, BC's New York–based co-chairman. Sometime between 2008 and 2018, BC Partners sold all of Intelsat to the company.
History The firm, founded in 1986 as Baring Capital Investors Ltd. by Otto van der Wyck, who was also a co-founder of CVC Capital Partners. Originally, BC Partners was formed by Barings to advise funds providing development capital, in particular for management buyouts. John Burgess joined him from Candover, the US and UK buyout house, a month after. The principals of Baring Capital Investors completed a spinout of what would become BC Partners following the collapse of Barings in 1995. Van der Wyck left the firm in 2001, and has held senior roles with firms including Coller Capital, Climate Change Capital and AlpInvest Partners.
Raised / Announced FundVintage YearFund Size (USD) BC Partners X2017€7.0 billion BC Partners IX2011€6.7 billion BC Partners VIII2005€5.9 billion BC Partners VII2000€4.3 billion BC Partners VI1998€1.1 billion BC Partners V1994€450 million
Significant transactions
BC Partners portfolio includes 114 companies with aggregate sales revenue of €145 billion. BC Partners can commit over $2.75 billion (€2.0 billion) of equity to any single transaction. The firm's most successful and profitable realized investments include General Healthcare (leading acute care hospital provider and independent provider of psychiatric care), C&C Group plc (leading seller of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages), Galbani (market-leading cheese company) and Phones 4u (leading mobile phone provider in the UK - until its bankruptcy in September 2014).
In June 2013, BC Partners agreed to buy German publisher Springer Science+Business Media for about 3.3 billion euros.
BC Partners revealed in January 2015 that it would sell its 40.25 percent stake in its supermarket chain Migros Türk to the Turkish conglomerate Anadolu Endustri Holding AS for around $2.74 billion.BC Partners to sell half of its stake in Migros to Turkey's Anadolu. Reuters, 31 December 2014
In June 2019 Chewy, which was acquired by BC Partners in 2017, and is the online pet retailer division of PetSmart, announced its IPO on the NYSE when it was valued at $8.8 billion.
In 2019, BC Partners announced their backing for the acquisition (via the United Group) of Vivacom, the largest Bulgarian telecom. The acquisition became an issue of the media and legal dispute with the company's previous owner, Empreno Ventures, which asked BC Partners to wait until judicial resolution.
On November 7, BC Partners was added to a lawsuit by Empreno seeking to ban the sale of Vivacom.
In early 2021, the firm entered into talks with Inter Milan owner Suning about potentially buying the football club.
YearCompany nameDescription of BC Partners Transaction2022FedrigoniUS$3.0 billion for 50% stake 2022Havea GroupUS$1.1 billion (approx.)2018GFL EnvironmentalCAD$5.1 billion for majority stake in waste services company GFL Environmental.2018United Group€2.6 billion for majority stake in telecom provider United Group.2018Navex GlobalAcquisition of ethics and compliance software and services company NAVEX Global from Vista Equity Partners2017Chewy$3.4 billion for the e-commerce company specializing in pet products — largest e-commerce acquisition in history 2016CenturyLink$2.3 billion acquisition of data center operations.2016Keter€1.4 billion for the acquisition of global manufacturer of quality resin consumer products2016Elysium Healthcare£360 million for the acquisition of a portfolio of mental health hospitals from Partnerships in Care and the Priory Group2014CartrawlerCar rental technology platform bought from ECI Partners 2014PetSmart$8.7 billion acquisition of pet services and products vendor 2013AcurisAcquisition of MergerMarket, now called Acuris, news service from Pearson plc 2012Sullair Milton Roy Sundyne$3.4 billion LBO of industrial business engaged in the design, manufacture and supply of specialist pumps and compressors 2012Suddenlink$6.5 billion LBO of 7th largest cable communications system operator in the US; sale of 70% interest in Suddenlink held by BC and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for $9.1 Bn announced in May 2015Scott, Mark, and Emily Steel, "Altice's Deal to Buy Suddenlink May Be Prelude to Pursuit of Time Warner Cable", New York Times, May 20, 2015. Retrieved 2015-05-21. 2011Phones 4uBought for £700 million; entered into administration on 15 September 2014 2011Com HemLargest LBO in Europe in 2011 2010MultiPlan$3.1 billion LBO of provider of health care cost management services 2009Office Depotprovider of office products and services2008SGB-SMIT GroupManufacturer of transformers (sold in 2017) 2008Migros TürkTurkey's leading supermarket chain 2008Intelsat$16.6 billion acquisition of fixed satellite service provider 2007FoxtonsUK estate agency, bought at the top of the property market in May 2007 for £370 million In December 2009, BC Partners lost control of Foxtons, less than three years after buying it, after creditors reorganized the real estate broker's debt. 2006BrenntagSecond largest LBO in Germany to date 2006Regency EntertainmentLargest public-to-private LBO in Greece to date 2005Amadeus IT GroupLargest LBO in Spain to date 2004PicardLargest LBO in France that year 2003SEAT PGLargest LBO in Europe at the time 2002HirslandenLargest LBO in Switzerland that year 2001SanitecLargest public to private LBO in Finland to date 2000Mark IVLargest LBO in the US by a European sponsor at the time
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