UK mid-market private equity firm LDC has backed the management buyout of PEI Media Group Ltd (PEI), an alternative assets information groups.
Founded in 2001 following a buyout from Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, PEI has developed a portfolio of globally recognised publications, databases and branded events focused exclusively on alternative asset finance and investment. Its products and services sit at the heart of the fast-growing markets of private equity, real estate, infrastructure and private debt.
The PEI publication portfolio includes Private Equity International, PERE, Infrastructure Investor, Real Estate Capital and pfm. PEI has also expanded into emerging alternative investment fields and practices, successfully adding such publishing brands as Private Debt Investor, Agri Investor and Secondaries Investor.
Alongside its core publications and databases, PEI brands host over 50 events globally every year, with flagship annual conferences including Infrastructure Investor Europe in Berlin, PERE Asia in Hong Kong, PEI COOs and CFOs Forum in New York and the PERE Europe in London.
As part of the transaction, LDC is backing the strong management team led by Chief Executive Tim McLoughlin and has made a significant equity investment in return for a minority shareholding. The group’s original founders, David Hawkins and Richard O’Donohoe, will continue to hold a minority stake in the company and are becoming non-executive directors.
Following the deal, PEI plans to accelerate its investment in new product development, enhance its data-led subscription products and extend the reach of its existing portfolio across the EMEA, US and Asian markets.
The deal was transacted by LDC’s London team, led by LDC Investment Director Chris Neale (pictured), supported by Investment Director Troy Harris-Speid and Investment Manager Rob Apollo.
Neale says: “PEI has developed a truly market-leading position as an added value provider of market information, analysis and events to leaders of blue chip organisations around the world. It is led by a highly capable management team that has the drive, ambition and incentive to continue developing the business and take advantage of this unique proposition.”
“The long-term growth and professionalisation of the alternative assets industry – driven by expanding numbers of institutions, practitioners and assets under management – creates a favourable backdrop for the further extension of PEI’s brands as well as the development of new insight-led products and services.”
Tim McLoughlin, Chief Executive of PEI Media Group, says: “We’re very pleased to have the support of an investment partner like LDC: it gives us the capital, strategic insight and operational support to help us continue investing in our platforms for the benefit of the markets we serve, while creating new opportunities to help them connect, engage and promote. Together we will be able to go further, faster.”
