Warburg Pincus has put a portfolio company, Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, up for sale, three sources familiar with the situation said.
Raymond James is advising on the auction, the sources said. Warburg just received first-round bids for ACAMS, one of the sources said.
Warburg is seeking bids in the “mid-double-digit multiples,” or $250 million to $300 million, two of the sources said.
The investment is relatively old. Warburg invested in ACAMS in 2006 when it was known as Alert Global Media, then a Miami-based publisher of moneylaundering.com and Money Laundering Alert, according to a statement from that time. The company also provided anti-money-laundering conferences and training for financial professionals.
ACAMS currently has 33,000 members worldwide, a February statement said. ACAMS is dedicated to “enhancing the knowledge and expertise of anti-money laundering and financial crime detection and prevention professionals” in the public and private sectors, a profile on the Warburg site said.
Warburg, a New York private-equity firm, invests in sectors including financial services, health care and consumer, as well as technology, media and telecommunications. Last year, Warburg closed its 12th global private equity fund at $12 billion. Warburg’s Fund XI collected $11.2 billion in 2012, while the firm’s 10th fund, its biggest, raised $15 billion in 2007.
Warburg Fund XI is generating a 17.93 percent net IRR and a total value multiple of 1.3x as of Sept. 15, performance data from the Washington State Investment Board said. Warburg’s 10th fund is generating a 7.65 percent net IRR and a 1.4x investment multiple, the WSIB said.
Performance data for Warburg Fund XII was not available.
Executives for Warburg declined comment. ACAMS and Raymond James could not be reached for comment.
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