Private Equity’s Biggest And Busiest In The First Half Of 2016 by Kevin Dowd, PitchBook
From massive fundraising to a series of multibillion-dollar buyouts, from an IPO drought to a spree in insurance add-ons, the world of private equity hasn’t been wanting for storylines during the first six months of 2016. With 1H set to conclude Thursday, here’s a recap of the headline-making deals, largest funds and most active investors to date:
Largest completed deal: Keurig Green Mountain ($14.2B)
A group led by German investor JAB Holding acquired the single-serving coffee company in a massive take-private buyout; the deal was announced last December and closed on March 3. Shortly thereafter, in May, JAB agreed to buy another breakfast-related business, reaching a deal to acquire Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE: KKD) for about $1.35 billion.
Largest announced deal: MultiPlan ($7.5B)
One of the hottest potatoes on the PE marketplace is set to change hands yet again, with Hellman & Friedman leading an agreement to purchase the provider of healthcare cost-management services in early May. Previous owners in the past 10 years include Partners Group, BC Partners, Silver Lake, The Carlyle Group and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe.
Largest completed exit: Petco ($4.6B)
CVC Capital Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased the retailer of pet food and supplies from a group of investors led by TPG and Leonard Green & Partners. Like the Keurig Green Mountain acquisition, this was a deal announced in 4Q 2015 but closed during the first months of 2016.
Largest IPO: US Foods ($1.02B)
PE-backed IPOs were painfully sparse throughout 1H, but the foodservice business (NYSE: USFD) provided some late-May fireworks by topping the $1 billion dollar mark with its offering. On its first day of trading, the former portfolio company of KKR and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice saw its stock climb 8%, though the price has since declined slightly.
Largest buyout fund: Advent Global Private Equity VIII ($13B)
Advent International takes the top spot in this category by a significant margin, as no other fund closed during 1H came closer than TPG’s $10.5 billion Fund VII, according to the PitchBook Platform. Advent’s predecessor fund had closed on $10.8 billion in 2012.
Largest European buyout fund: Sixth Cinven Fund (€7B)
The U.K.-based investor snuck its latest investment vehicle just under the 1H wire, unveiling news of a €7 billion raise on Wednesday. Cinven reached its hard cap on the fund after just four months.
Most active investor: ABRY Partners (43)
There’s plenty of competition at the top, with KKR, Audax Group and The Carlyle Group all within shouting distance of the No. 1 spot. But ABRY takes the cake, with its most notable deal of the year the purchase of Dermatology Associates, reportedly for more than $300 million. ABRY also leads all investors in 1H add-ons with 34, again narrowly edging Audax.
Investor with most PE-backed exits: The Carlyle Group (11)
Carlyle’s headline deal of 2016 was the sale of Landmark Aviation to BBA Aviation for $2.1 billion in February. LDC, Apollo Global Management and Advent International have all completed 10 PE-backed exits this year, according to the PitchBook Platform.
Most active platform company: AssuredPartners (10)
The Apax Partners-backed insurance brokerage averaged nearly two deals per month during 1H, tacking on a wide array of businesses to expand its reach. The company was at its busiest from February 1 to March 15, when it consummated a total of seven add-ons—more than one per week.
