Bridge Investment To Buy Newbury Partners In $320.1 Mln Cash Deal

(RTTNews) - Real estate investment manager Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. (BRDG) announced Tuesday its agreement to acquire substantially all of the business of Newbury Partners LLC, an investment manager. The all-cash transaction is valued at $320.1 million.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and investor approvals.

The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to Bridge's core earnings metrics. The company projects significant near- and long-term growth opportunities to further enhance Bridge's fee related earnings.

Upon completion of the transaction, Newbury will retain its headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, and will continue to be led by its long-standing management team.

Newbury, which was founded in 2006, has raised over $6.2 billion of committed investor capital across five funds and has invested in over 500 underlying interests on behalf of more than 250 limited partners worldwide. It also has $4.3 billion in fee earning assets under management.

Bridge said the acquisition would add significant assets to its platform, while enabling the firm to expand into the rapidly growing private equity secondaries market, which continues to see accelerating demand.

In connection with the deal, Bridge has entered into a $150 million note purchase agreement pursuant to which its operating company, Bridge Investment Group Holdings LLC, issued two tranches of notes in a private placement.

The transaction consists of $120 million of 5.99 percent notes with a seven-year term and $30 million of 6.10 percent notes with a ten-year term.

Additionally, the company has exercised an option to increase its Senior Secured Credit Facility from $125 million to $225 million, with full capacity currently available.