Bridgepoint Group has made a major move in its transition to providing a more diversified alternative asset management offering with the addition of Energy Capital Partners (ECP), a North American infrastructure investor with a track record spanning more than two decades.
ECP, which has raised over $30bn of capital since inception in 2005, including more recently in the fast-growing energy transition sector, focuses on power generation, renewables, battery storage, environmental infrastructure and sustainability sectors.
ECP and its management team add a significant third pillar to Bridgepoint’s existing private equity and credit businesses, and accelerates the firm’s stated strategy of scaling through both product and geographic diversification.
ECP will continue to operate under its existing brand and be led by its current management and investment team. Doug Kimmelman, ECP’s Senior Partner and Founder, will continue to lead the infrastructure platform and ECP leadership will join Bridgepoint’s executive team bringing new sector, management and transaction experience.
The transaction will be immediately accretive to Bridgepoint’s shareholders and continue to be accretive over time by diversifying and enhancing Bridgepoint’s earnings profile and profit margins.
The transaction, which is expected to close within four to six months, will be funded with units in a new limited partnership exchangeable for Bridgepoint shares and Bridgepoint’s existing balance sheet resources, and will see ECP’s senior management and many of its employees becoming significant shareholders in the company.
A share ownership program will be instituted across ECP’s employee base and will be designed in a similar way to the existing structures established at Bridgepoint at the time of its IPO. As a result, ECP partners will collectively become one of Bridgepoint’s largest shareholders, holding 19% of the company’s shares pre-earn out and up to 25% assuming full earn-out.
JPMorgan Cazenove and Morgan Stanley served as lead financial advisors to Bridgepoint, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel.
BofA Securities served as exclusive financial advisor to ECP, and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel.
