Funds affiliated with CVC Capital Partners (CVC) are to purchase majority ownership of AlixPartners with the firm’s exisiting 125 managing directors maintaining a considerable equity stake in the enterprise. The transaction is subject to closing conditions and is expected to close this summer.
Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Hellman & Friedman made a significant investment in AlixPartners in 2006; as part of that transaction, Jay Alix, who founded the firm in 1981, transferred a substantial portion of his interest. He will maintain a substantial minority stake in the firm.
Fred Crawford, CEO of AlixPartners, says: “In recent years, AlixPartners has significantly expanded our offerings, to the point that while we continue to enjoy a leadership position globally in restructuring, today the majority of our revenues come from our other service lines, including performance-improvement consulting, litigation and investigations support, and IT transformation and data analytics. Partnering with CVC will enable us to continue to develop our services and expand geographically.”
David Tayeh, Managing Director at CVC, says, “AlixPartners is recognised globally as one of the top corporate advisory firms. We are delighted to partner with Fred Crawford and the world-class AlixPartners team to capitalise on the significant growth opportunities across its service offerings worldwide. With more than one third of AlixPartners’ revenue currently derived outside of the US, CVC, as a global private equity firm, is uniquely positioned to help further expand AlixPartners’ footprint.”
AlixPartners specialises in improving corporate financial and operational performance, executing corporate turnarounds, providing litigation consulting, forensic accounting, and specialised IT services. Since its founding, AlixPartners has achieved consistent and significant growth by providing a high level of value-added services to its clients across a number of practice areas and geographies.
Since 2006, AlixPartners has grown from 550 to more than 950 professionals; expanded from 12 to 17 offices globally; expanded into mainland China, Hong Kong and the Middle East; and has greatly expanded its services to clients in industries including retail, consumer products, financial services and media, among many others.
Philip Hammarskjold, CEO of Hellman & Friedman, says: “We have been pleased to work with the Managing Directors at AlixPartners to help them significantly grow the Firm into new geographies and service lines over the past six years. The Firm has an outstanding roster of people and capabilities, which allows them to do great work to serve their clients’ most pressing business challenges. We wish our colleagues at AlixPartners continued success in the coming years.”
Some of AlixPartners’ clients in recent years include Ruby Tuesday, Media General, Dubai World, Henkel, Nokia Siemens Networks, BorgWarner, Baccarat, Diamond Foods and General Growth Properties, as well as the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC case.
Deutsche Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and UBS have provided committed financing for the transaction. Goldman Sachs & Co. and Bank of America Merrill Lynch served as financial advisors to AlixPartners and Hellman & Friedman. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal counsel to AlixPartners and Hellman & Friedman. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP served as legal counsel to Jay Alix. Morgan Stanley served as financial advisor to CVC. Gibson Dunn & Crutcher served as legal counsel to CVC.
