IPEM Paris 2023 – Destined to Outperform 1/2
IPEM Paris 2023 – Destined to Outperform 1/2. Understanding how private market practitioners will navigate the next market cycle and deliver value to their investors over the coming years.
$9.5 billion sandwich
It looks like Subway’s owners will just miss out on their hoped for $10 billion valuation with news that Roark Capital have agreed to buy the well-known sandwich chain in a deal worth up to $9.55 billion. The private equity firm will pay a lower calorie figure of $8.95 billion if certain financial milestones in the agreed earn-out are not achieved over a two-year (or more) period post-close. Subway becomes the latest addition to Roark’s menu of acquisitions, which includes Dunkin’ Donuts and sandwich chain competitor Jimmy John’s. It may not be quite the finger-licking figure the DeLuca and Buck families were hoping for but at least they won’t need to catch the subway to the bank!
Investing monthly…forever…always!
Evergreen funds which offer investors an open-ended fund route in to private markets are gaining momentum. By allowing clients to invest monthly, rather than sweat over when the next capital call will come, the evergreen fund means that capital commitments are regular and predictable – and a great way to further democratize the private market funds industry. Could this be a time to hop on board the evergreen express? HarbourVest Partners is hoping so, following news that last month it partnered with AP7, the Swedish government pension fund, to launch a PE-focused perpetual fund solution. The backing of such a prominent institution could mean that it is a case of Anchors Away! as more institutions look to bring their own evergreen funds to market.
Private Capital FC
US private capital investment in Europe’s biggest football teams puts a whole new spin on ‘club deal’. According to Pitchbook data, more than one-third of the 98 clubs it analyzed across Europe’s five biggest leagues have US minority or majority ownership, with private equity dollars accounting for 21 of those deals. US investors have shown their preferred colors in England, owning half of the English Premier League’s clubs; even Tom Brady, the NFL goat, has decided to wade in and invest in Birmingham City FC in the country’s second tier of football. Chelsea FC has been the biggest deal inked after Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital led a consortium to acquire the club last year for £4.25 billion. Sports team ownership is fast becoming the ultimate club deal.
AXA and Finerge: ‘Watt’ a team
The alternatives division of AXA IM has swept into Portugal to acquire a 25% stake in Finerge, a renewable energy platform, from Igneo Infrastructure Partners. Watt a team this could be. AXA IM is in its element with this strategic investment. It perfectly aligns with the firm’s strategy of investing in decarbonization-focused assets, and underscores the importance of infrastructure investment as Europe transitions to a net zero economy. The Finerge platform invests in, and operates, a series of wind farms and solar cell plants across Portugal and Spain. The winds of change are growing in strength, so expect to see more investment managers acquiring energy transition assets over the coming years.