Permira Capital (Permira), a global private equity firm with a total of €32 Bn ($35 Bn) capital under management, has offered $1.75 Bn (€1.49 Bn) to acquire Duff & Phelps (D&P), an advisory firm.
Permira makes long-term investments in companies with the objective of transforming their performance and driving sustainable growth. Duff & Phelps is the firm’s eighth acquisition in the financial services industry. In total, Permira has invested a total of EUR 2.7 Bn in equity to date.
Duff & Phelps advises clients on a range of strategic and complex business challenges in the areas of valuation, corporate finance, disputes and investigations, compliance and regulatory matters, and other governance-related issues. The firm has approximately 2,000 client service professionals located throughout offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia.
With this acquisition, Permira would access the post-crisis growing demand for advisory services as regulators tighten accounting and corporate practices. It also plans to leverage its international presence to support Duff & Phelps’ global expansion. The management team at Duff & Phelps will maintain a significant stake in the firm and will continue to lead the company in their current roles. In the press release, they emphasized the importance of a partner like Permira for the long-term success of the business.
Duff & Phelps was taken private in 2013 by an investor pool led by Carlyle Group for around $665 mln. Exiting investors, including Carlyle, Neuberger Berman, the University of California’s Office of the Chief Investment Officer of the Regents and Pictet & Cie are set to achieve 2.56x cash-on-cash return. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.
