AlixPartners and CVC Capital Partners announced they have agreed to a recapitalization by which funds affiliated with CVC will purchase a majority ownership of AlixPartners. AlixPartners’ 125 managing directors will maintain a considerable equity stake in the enterprise. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close this summer. Deutsche Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and UBS have provided committed financing for the transaction.
Terms of the transaction were not 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.
Said Fred Crawford, CEO of AlixPartners, “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, commented, “AlixPartners is recognized globally as one of the top corporate advisory firms. We are delighted to partner with Fred Crawford and the world-class AlixPartners team to capitalize on the significant growth opportunities across its service offerings worldwide. With more than one third of AlixPartners’ revenue currently derived outside of the U.S., CVC, as a global private equity firm, is uniquely positioned to help further expand AlixPartners’ footprint.”
AlixPartners specializes in improving corporate financial and operational performance, executing corporate turnarounds, providing litigation consulting, forensic accounting, and specialized 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.
Philip Hammarskjold, CEO of Hellman & Friedman, commented: “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.
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.
AlixPartners, LLP is a global business advisory firm offering comprehensive services in four major areas: enterprise improvement, turnaround and restructuring services, financial advisory services and information management services.
CVC is a private equity and investment advisory firm.
Hellman & Friedman LLC is a private equity investment firm that focuses on investing in business franchises and serving as a value-added partner to management in select industries.
Previously on abfjournal.com:
Sources Say CVC is Near Agreement to Purchase AlixPartners, Monday, April 23, 2012
Reuters: Hellman & Friedman Examines Possible AlixPartners Sale, Friday, April 13, 2012