LONDON: Bridgepoint Group has agreed to acquire Kayne Anderson Real Estate for approximately $1.39 billion, significantly expanding the London-based investment firm’s U.S. presence and adding a fifth investment vertical to its platform, the company announced Monday.
The deal includes $759 million in cash and approximately 189 million newly issued Bridgepoint shares valued at about $634 million.
The transaction is structured to align the interests of Kayne Anderson Real Estate’s management with Bridgepoint shareholders, with staggered lock-up provisions extending through 2029.
Boca Raton, Florida-based Kayne Anderson Real Estate manages $22 billion in assets across real estate equity and debt strategies, focusing on medical office, seniors housing, student housing, multifamily housing and light industrial properties. The platform, which employs approximately 100 investment and operations professionals, has demonstrated consistent growth with assets under management increasing at a roughly 20% compound annual rate between 2019 and May 2026.
The acquisition follows Bridgepoint’s previously announced acquisitions of EQT Credit, Energy Capital Partners and Newbury Partners as the firm executes on its long-term strategy to build a globally scaled, diversified middle-market private assets platform.
Following the closing, the enlarged Bridgepoint Group is expected to have $117 billion in assets under management across five verticals: private equity ($40 billion), credit ($21 billion), infrastructure ($30 billion), real estate ($22 billion) and secondaries ($4 billion).
“This transaction represents a significant step forward in our strategy to build a diversified global private markets platform,” Bridgepoint said in a statement. “Real estate is a large and strategically important asset class, and Kayne Anderson Real Estate brings a 19-year track record of top-quartile investment performance.”
The deal materially expands Bridgepoint’s U.S. footprint, with U.S.-domiciled management fees expected to increase from 28% to 42% of the company’s total fee income on a pro forma basis. Fee-related earnings are expected to represent approximately 60% of EBITDA, compared to roughly 50% for Bridgepoint on a standalone basis.
Real assets, comprising infrastructure and real estate, will represent approximately 45% of pro forma assets under management, up from about one-third currently.
Kayne Anderson Real Estate’s latest flagship equity fund, KAREP VII, closed oversubscribed with $5.12 billion in commitments on May 15, nearly double the size of its prior vintage.
The management team, led by Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Al Rabil and Chief Investment Officer David Selznick, will continue to manage the real estate business under the Kayne Bridgepoint brand. Rabil and Selznick will also take senior roles within Bridgepoint’s executive leadership team.
“Kayne Anderson Real Estate’s experienced management team, led by Al Rabil, will continue to manage the business, preserving continuity of culture, investment process and client relationships,” Bridgepoint said.
The transaction, which constitutes a “significant transaction” under U.K. Listing Rules, requires shareholder approval. Bridgepoint said shareholders representing approximately 36% of its existing issued ordinary share capital have undertaken to vote in favor of the resolutions to be proposed at a general meeting.
Bridgepoint was advised by Moelis & Co. as lead financial adviser, Goldman Sachs as capital markets adviser and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as legal adviser. Kayne Anderson Real Estate was advised by Evercore as lead financial adviser and Kirkland & Ellis as legal adviser.
Based on current guidance, the transaction is expected to be mid-single digit earnings per share accretive in 2027 and more than 20% accretive in 2028. Bridgepoint now expects standalone EBITDA for the twelve-month period ending Dec. 31, 2027, to be between £390 million and £460 million.
The company also raised its 2024-2026 fundraising guidance to €28 billion.
Bridgepoint shares trade on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker BPT. The company listed in 2021.
Raoul Hughes, Chief Executive of Bridgepoint, commented: “This marks another major step forward in our strategy to strengthen our position as a leading global middle-market private markets platform. Real estate is a growing private markets asset class and Kayne Anderson Real Estate has built a leading position as a scaled specialist with an exceptional track record and strong fundraising momentum. The Transaction is highly complementary and immediately accretive. Bridgepoint’s and Kayne Anderson Real Estate’s investor networks have limited overlap, creating attractive opportunities to broaden relationships and enhance fundraising. Adding Kayne Anderson Real Estate creates a more balanced and diversified platform, with around half of our AUM invested in real assets and around half of our management fees generated in the US.”
“Importantly, Kayne Anderson Real Estate is an outstanding cultural fit. We share an entrepreneurial mindset, a commitment to investment excellence and a long-term approach to building businesses. We look forward to working alongside Al and the Kayne Anderson Real Estate team to continue delivering for clients and growing the platform together.”
Tim Score, Chair of Bridgepoint, commented: “Kayne Anderson Real Estate is a high-quality business with an outstanding management team, a strong track record and leading positions in attractive areas of the US real estate market. The Board has been highly selective in its approach to strategic acquisitions, and we believe Kayne Anderson Real Estate is an exceptional fit for Bridgepoint.”
“The Transaction strengthens the quality and diversification of the Bridgepoint Group’s earnings, broadens our capabilities and enhances our long-term growth prospects. We are confident it will further strengthen Bridgepoint’s position in global private markets.”
Al Rabil, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kayne Anderson Real Estate, commented: “For the last 20 years, we have built a scaled real estate platform focused on mission-critical alternative sectors where we believe long-term fundamental tailwinds and operational complexity create compelling investment opportunities. We are in the beginning of a super cycle for the alternative real estate sectors on which we focus, and joining together with Bridgepoint provides additional global resources to capitalise on this opportunity and support our continued growth. Importantly, this partnership allows us to preserve our culture and investment approach while continuing to manage the business as we always have. We are deeply grateful to our investors and look forward to building on our long track record of delivering strong risk-adjusted returns.”
