Bridgepoint makes energy transition push with ECP deal; Josh Harris’ 26North expands partner group

Morning Hubs!

This is Chris, on for Wire Wednesday.

I’m just gearing back up after a nice break at the end of August in which I indulged my passion for fishing. Explored some of the local waterways around NJ (salt and fresh). Hope you got some time off as well before the fall rush. Speaking of which, tons of news this morning!

Merge
Big news from Bridgepoint Group, (owner of PE Hub and Buyouts publisher PEI Group) which announced a $1.05 billion acquisition of Energy Capital Partners. The deal is said to add a “third pillar” to Bridgepoint’s business, incorporating ECP’s energy transition-focused infrastructure strategy to Bridgepoint’s existing private equity and credit businesses.

ECP, since its founding in 2005, has raised more than $30 billion for investments across energy transition, power generation, renewables, battery storage, environmental infrastructure and sustainability. ECP will continue to operate as a distinct brand and be led by existing management, including Doug Kimmelman, senior partner and founder. ECP leadership will join Bridgepoint’s executive team.

The deal, expected to close in four to six months, comprises 235 million of newly issued Bridgepoint shares, £233 million of cash and £179 million of existing debt, according to a statement about the transaction.

The transaction will be funded with units in a new limited partnership exchangeable for Bridgepoint shares and Bridgepoint’s existing balance sheet resources. ECP’s senior management and many of its employees will become significant shareholders in the company.

A share ownership program will be established across ECP’s employee base, which will result in ECP partners collectively becoming one of Bridgepoint’s largest shareholders, holding 19 percent of the firm’s shares pre-earn out and up to 25 percent assuming full earn-out, the statement said.

Blue Owl, which owns minority stakes in ECP and Bridgepoint, will convert its share of ECP fee-related earnings into Bridgepoint equity, while Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank will retain its minority interest in ECP’s fee-related earnings.

Joiners
Ex-Apollo big Josh Harris’s new shop, 26North Partners, added seven partners to the firm recently: Larry Berg, Jon Garcia, Andrew Rabinowitz, David Yu, Michael Mastropaolo, Jordan Walter and Jorge Beruff. The firm also reported an increase in total assets to $12.7 billion, according to a statement. Buyouts reported in December the firm had grown quickly to around $9.5 billion in AUM.

In private equity, Berg joins as a partner from Apollo Global Management, where he was a senior partner; Garcia joins as head of 26North’s Alpha Creation Team to drive performance in portfolio companies. He was previously a senior partner at McKinsey. PE is led by Mark Weinberg, who formerly led US private equity at Brookfield Asset Management.

Rabinowitz joins as head of operations, finance and legal after most recently working as co-CEO of K2 Integrity, and nearly 20 years at Marathon Asset Management.

Meanwhile, in private credit, Yu, Mastropaolo and Walter join from Goldman Sachs, with Yu coming in as head of credit; and Mastropaolo and Walter joining as co-heads of origination. Private credit is led by Brendan McGovern, former head of Goldman Sach Asset Management’s private credit group.

And Beruff joins as partner focused on insurance and private origination from 777 Partners, where he was head of insurance.

Take-private: Thoma Bravo agreed to take-private NextGen Healthcare, which provides healthcare tech services. As part of the deal, NextGen Healthcare shareholders will receive $23.95 per share in cash. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Read more here on PE Hub.

Your perspective
We need your help! PEI Group’s LP Perspectives 2024 survey, our annual study of institutional investors’ approaches to private markets asset classes over the coming year, is now live. The survey gathers insight on investors’ asset allocations, propensity to invest, performance predictions and views on the wider market. It takes no longer than 10 minutes to complete, and all submissions will remain anonymous.

We’d love to hear from you by Friday 6 October. Since the survey will be published across our various titles, respondents will be given the choice of which asset class’s results they’d like to receive as a thank you for completing the survey. PEI will also donate $5 to UNICEF for each completed response. You can find it here.

That’s it for me! Have a great rest of the day. Hit me up with feedback, tips n’ gossip or your theories on the state of the economy at cwitkowsky@buyoutsinsider.com or find me on LinkedIn.

Rafael Canton will be with you tomorrow.