BC Partners Announces Springer Nature Acquisition Fund, Led by Neuberger Berman
One of Europe’s largest Single Asset Acquisition Funds launched to support the continued growth of Springer Nature, a leading global scientific, technical and medical information service provider and education publisher-
Fund includes over €1 billion of capital commitments from a range of new and existing institutional investors, as well as BC Partners
London, 10 June, 2021
BC Partners, a leading international investment firm, has today announced a new Single Asset Acquisition Fund (the “Fund”), led by funds advised by Neuberger Berman, a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. In total, the fund has attracted more than €1 billion of investment, making it one of the largest such vehicles in Europe.
The Fund was formed to extend BC’s investment in Springer Nature, a Fund IX asset in which BC sees multiple opportunities for continued growth and additional value creation. The Fund will allow BC to realise capital for Fund IX investors, while continuing to create value for its investors via robust organic growth and selective M&A initiatives to further consolidate its leading position in the Scientific, Technical and Medical publishing market.
The Fund is capitalised by lead investor Neuberger Berman, as well as syndicate investors, reinvesting BC Fund IX investors and BC’s most recent fund, Fund XI.
Nikos Stathopoulos, Partner and Member of the Executive Committee at BC Partners, said: “We have pursued this creative solution to extend our investment in Springer Nature because we continue to see a compelling investment opportunity in this high-quality asset. We look forward to continuing to support management in positioning this highly defensive and market leading business globally to capitalise on the significant growth prospects stemming from the transition to open access and open science.
We are delighted to have the support of Neuberger Berman as the lead investor in this Fund, and we look forward to partnering with them, our new and existing investors and our longtime partners and strategic shareholder, the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, as we continue this journey.”
Philipp Patschkowski, Managing Director of Neuberger Berman, said: “On behalf of our investors, we are pleased to have the opportunity to invest in Springer Nature and in the continued progress of this strongly positioned, market leading business. It is an excellent example of our solutions-oriented approach to complex transactions, involving high-quality assets managed by a strong GP.”
Ethan Falkove, Managing Director of Neuberger Berman, added: “This transaction is testament to the strength of our integrated private markets platform and the resulting depth of our relationships with world class private equity firms. We have successfully collaborated with BC Partners on multiple occasions over the last few years and look forward to continuing the partnership.”
Frank Vrancken Peeters, Chief Executive Officer of Springer Nature, concluded: “I’m delighted to announce this transaction, which puts Springer Nature in a great position to execute on our strategies and plans. These include continuing to drive the transition to open access and harnessing the longer-term potential of open science. Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, our Research business has demonstrated its resilience and delivered growth. I’d like to thank my colleagues across the entire group for their continued dedication to delivering on our mission.”
Evercore advised BC Partners in this transaction. J.P. Morgan provided a fairness opinion to BC European Capital IX.
BC Partners is a leading international investment firm with over €33 billion of assets under management in private equity, private credit and real estate strategies. Established in 1986, BC Partners has played an active role in developing the European buyout market for three decades. Today, BC Partners executives operate across markets as an integrated team through the firm's offices in North America and Europe. Since inception, BC Partners has completed 122 private equity investments in companies with a total enterprise value of €160 billion and is currently investing its eleventh private equity fund.
Springer Nature opens doors to discovery for researchers, educators, clinicians and other professionals. For over 175 years its brands and imprints have been trusted sources of knowledge to these communities. As the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted, there is an ever-increasing responsibility to ensure that fundamental knowledge can be found, verified, understood and used to improve outcomes, make progress, and benefit the generations that follow. Through its prestigious brands, including Nature¸ Springer Nature has provided researchers and decision makers worldwide with access to the knowledge needed to tackle the pandemic. The company is a digital pioneer and has led the way in the growing open access (OA) market, having published more than 900,000 OA articles to date. As a sustainable business, Springer Nature is already carbon neutral in its direct operations (offices, fleet and flights) and is a signatory of The Climate Pledge.
Prosek Partners
Joyce Lorigan
Joyce.Lorigan@springernature.com
