British Columbia Investment (BCI), an institutional investor in Canada, has entered into a definitive agreement with Arctos Partners, a private investment firm, to sell its majority stake in Hayfin Capital Management, a European-focused alternative asset management firm. Following completion of the transaction, BCI will remain a limited partner in certain key Hayfin fund strategies.
BCI acquired a majority stake of Hayfin in 2017. During its ownership, BCI made significant strategic investments to support the continued growth of Hayfin’s strategies and worked with management to grow the investment teams and platform capabilities.
“BCI’s successful private equity partnership with Hayfin’s management reflects our flexible, creative and collaborative approach to investing,” Jim Pittman, executive vice president and global head of private equity at BCI, said. “Given our long-term investment horizon, we were able to spot an emerging trend early on in the cycle – in this case, the growth of the European private credit market – and help scale Hayfin into the market leader it is today.”
“We are delighted to have reached this agreement with Hayfin and Arctos, delivering an excellent outcome for BCI’s pension plan and insurance clients. We’re extremely proud of the partnership we forged with the Hayfin team over the past seven years, which has delivered significant growth in a critical period for the private credit market,” Pittman said. “We remain confident in Hayfin, its management team, strategic vision and investment strategies and are pleased to remain as a significant limited partner in certain key funds.”
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is anticipated to close in Q4/24.
Goldman Sachs International and Moelis & Company served as financial advisors to Hayfin and BCI. Weil Gotshal & Manges acted as legal counsel to BCI, Macfarlanes and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton acted as legal counsel to Hayfin, Kirkland & Ellis acted as legal counsel to Hayfin management and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom acted as legal counsel to Hayfin’s independent directors.
