Barclays Bank PLC has completed the spin out of its private equity arm. In a management buyout, Equistone Partners Europe, has acquired the management company of Barclays Private Equity from the U.K. bank's investment banking arm Barclays Capital.
The newly independent firm, which will control the BPE funds I, II and III is called Equistone. As the single largest investor in these funds, Barclays will continue to have a close relationship with Equistone in the short to medium term until the assets in the portfolio are sold.
Talks regarding a spin out had been going on for more than 18 months.
The Equistone management team built at Barclays Private Equity built a strong proven track record, with 30 years of managing private equity investments. Equistone will have a track record to raise further funds for investment in businesses with enterprise values between $80 million and $478 million.
Barclays Private Equity was focused on backing management buyouts from 1996 and has invested $8.4 billion in 214 transactions in that time. The majority of these investments have been realised or partially realised and generated excellent returns for BPE's investors.
Guillaume Jacqueau, managing partner of Equistone said: "Our team's successful investment track record has been established over many years by a consistent focus on identifying and partnering with winning management teams in the European mid-market to achieve long term growth and impressive returns for our investors.
"This strong track record means Equistone is well positioned from the outset to capitalise on continuing investment opportunities in Western Europe as an independent investment firm."
