Alternative money manager HighVista Strategies LLC, said it’s buying the private markets subsidiary of one of Scotland’s largest asset managers abrdn plc.
The purchase of abrdn’s US private equity and venture capital unit, abrdn Inc., nearly doubles HighVista’s assets under management to $9 billion, according to a press release. Terms of the transaction, expected to close later this year, were not disclosed.
Boston-based HighVista, which already has a private equity business, wanted to bolster its capabilities with a dedicated team that adds additional investment offerings and to compliment its opportunity sourcing efforts, according to Raphael Schorr, deputy chief investment officer at HighVista Strategies.
“A year ago there was an article that leaked that abrdn was selling the business so we contacted the bankers and expressed interest,” Schorr said in a telephone interview. “It was just our luck that abrdn decided to leave this market.”
The deal negotiations survived the failure of three US banks and rise in interest rates to combat inflation. One of those institutions — Silicon Valley Bank — was an important lender in the venture community and its failure contributed to a shock wave through venture companies valuations.
With banks that would have financed the deal pulling back or out of business, HighVista tapped private credit to help arrange financing, according to Schorr. “A minority of them lend to investment managers but we were able to find a few that would,” he added, referring to direct lenders that are willing to finance money managers’ deals.
“We might have had a tough time winning the deal in the go-go years but in this environment there was much higher market uncertainty and volatility, and that may have benefited us,” Schorr said. “We showed consistent interest in this business even in the face of more challenging market conditions and there was a strong cultural fit between the two firms.”
