The Carlyle Group Exits bfinance

London – Global private equity firm The Carlyle Group today announces that it has fully exited its investment in bfinance, an independent specialist financial services consulting firm, via an MBO. The Carlyle Group bought a minority stake in bfinance at the early stages of the company shortly after its inception in 1999. The transaction creates a full exit for Carlyle. The financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Under the support of Carlyle, bfinance has enjoyed commercial success with compound annual growth of more than 30% over the last five years. Furthermore, the company has expanded from its initial base in three countries ten years ago and now has clients in over 20 countries and operations in London, Paris, Munich, Milan, Montreal and Toronto. Founded in 1999, bfinance is an independent financial services consultancy. Its core business is its Investment Consulting practice which focuses on the search and selection of investment managers.

David Vafai, founder and CEO of bfinance, stated, “Carlyle has supported bfinance since inception and our partnership with the investors has been fundamental to the success we have enjoyed. Carlyle’s understanding of our business has been invaluable to the company. This deal represents an important milestone in bfinance’s growth and management is very excited about taking the business to the next level. ”
Carlyle’s investment in bfinance was made through Carlyle Europe Venture Partners. This fund was launched in January 2000 with €553 million and invested in venture capital in emerging technology companies in Europe.

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About bfinance

bfinance is an independent, specialist financial services consulting firm. Its Investment Consulting practice focuses on investment manager search and selection for institutional investors. The Corporate Banking Consulting practice focuses on search and selection of banking solutions. Established in 1999, bfinance has over 60 employees in offices in London, Paris, Munich, Milan, Montreal and Toronto. bfinance UK Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

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