NASHVILLE, Tenn., March 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AllianceBernstein
L.P. ("AB") and AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. ("AB Holding")
(NYSE: AB), a leading research and global investment firm,
announced today it will acquire CarVal Investors L.P.
("CarVal").
CarVal is a leading global private alternatives investment
manager with approximately $14.3
billion in assets under management ("AUM")(1),
primarily focused on opportunistic and distressed credit, renewable
energy infrastructure, specialty finance and transportation
investments.
The acquisition represents an important step forward in AB's
continued goal of better serving its clients by building and
growing its world-class Private Alternatives business. The addition
of CarVal, with 190 employees, including 68 investment
professionals, in five offices across four countries, enhances AB's
Private Alternatives platform by adding complementary investment
capabilities in opportunistic and private credit and expanding
across multiple geographic regions, including North America, Europe, Latin
America, and Asia.
As clients increasingly look to private market strategies for
return and yield enhancement, as well as diversification, CarVal
brings complementary private markets capabilities to AB's Private
Alternatives business and augments the firm's position as a market
leader. The addition of CarVal now expands AB's private markets
capabilities to encompass almost $50
billion in AUM(1) on a pro forma basis.
CarVal's senior leadership team will continue to lead the firm.
CarVal's teams will remain independent, continuing to operate from
its Minneapolis, Minnesota,
headquarters and offices around the world, with no change to the
current investment process or personnel, and will benefit from AB's
broader resources, including global distribution and product
development.
"This acquisition reflects our firm's continued commitment to
advancing AB's Private Alternatives business," said CEO and
President of AB Seth Bernstein.
"CarVal's global presence and broad capability set creates new and
exciting growth opportunities for AB – diversifying and expanding
our services to meet our clients' evolving needs."
"We are pleased to join forces with CarVal to broaden our global
Private Alternatives platform," said AB's Head of Private
Alternatives Matt Bass. "CarVal's extensive market experience,
combined with its strong leadership team and collaborative,
entrepreneurial culture, is a natural and strong fit with AB's
strategic priorities. Working closely with the CarVal team, we look
forward to all that we will accomplish together."
"AB's leadership, track record, values and platform make it an
excellent business partner for CarVal and our investors long term,
aligning in culture, execution and excellence," said CarVal
Investors Managing Principal Lucas
Detor. "This acquisition allows CarVal to grow while
retaining our investment and day-to-day independence."
This agreement is an example of the unique synergies between
AllianceBernstein and Equitable, the two complementary and
well-established companies of Equitable Holdings. Equitable has
committed to deploy $10 billion in
investment capital from its General Account towards AB's Private
Alternatives platform. Of the commitment, $750 million will be allocated across targeted
CarVal strategies, further improving Equitable's risk-adjusted
return and strengthening AB's efforts to grow higher multiple,
higher margin and capital light businesses.
AB has announced a definitive agreement to purchase 100% of
CarVal for an upfront purchase price of $750
million, and a multi-year earnout if certain targets are
reached. At the transaction closing, expected to occur in the
second quarter of 2022, CarVal will become a wholly owned
subsidiary of AllianceBernstein L.P. and will be rebranded as AB
CarVal Investors. The transaction is subject to customary
regulatory and closing conditions.
Citi served as financial advisor and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen
& Katz served as legal counsel to AB. Rothschild & Co
served as financial advisor and Schulte
Roth & Zabel LLP served as legal counsel to CarVal.
Conference Call Information
Management will host a live audio webcast today at 8:00 a.m. (CDT) to discuss the acquisition. The
conference call will be hosted by Seth P.
Bernstein, President and Chief Executive Officer;
Ali Dibadj, Chief Financial Officer
and Head of Strategy; Matthew Bass,
SVP and Head of Private Alternatives; and Steven M. Joenk, Chief Investment Officer,
Equitable Holdings. Access to the webcast and presentation deck
will be available via the firm's Investor Relations website.
Parties may access the conference call by either webcast or
telephone:
- To listen by webcast, please visit AB's Investor Relations
website at http://alliancebernstein.com/investorrelations at least
15 minutes prior to the call to download and install any necessary
audio software.
- To listen by telephone, please dial (833) 495-0952 in the U.S.
or (409) 216-0498 outside the U.S. 10 minutes before the scheduled
start time. The conference ID# is 9198961
A replay of the webcast will be made available beginning
approximately one hour after the conclusion of the conference call
and will be available on AB's website for two weeks. An audio
replay of the conference call will also be available for two weeks.
To access the audio replay, please call (855) 859-2056 in the
US, or (404) 537-3406 outside the US and provide the
conference ID #: 9198961.
(1) AUM of CarVal comprised of approximately
$9.9 billion in fee-earning AUM and
$4.5 billion in fee-eligible AUM.
Private markets pro forma AUM of AB comprised of approximately
$37.2 billion in fee-earning AUM and
$12.0 billion in fee-eligible AUM.
Figures may not sum due to rounding. Numbers as of December 31, 2021.
About AllianceBernstein
AllianceBernstein is a leading
global investment management firm that offers high-quality research
and diversified investment services to institutional investors,
individuals, and private wealth clients in major world markets. As
of February 28, 2022,
AllianceBernstein had $739 billion in
assets under management. Additional information about AB may be
found on our website, www.alliancebernstein.com.
Cautions Regarding Forward Looking
Statements
Various statements provided by management in
this news release are "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995 and relate
to the acquisition by AllianceBernstein LP ("AB") of CarVal
Investors, LP ("CarVal"). These statements, which are subject to
risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from future results expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements, concern expected
growth, client and stockholder benefits, key assumptions, timing of
closing of the transaction, revenue realization, financial benefits
or returns, accretion and integration costs. The most significant
transaction-related and other risk factors that may cause actual
results to differ materially from future results expressed or
implied by our forward-looking statements include: (i) the
occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could
give rise to the termination of the acquisition agreement; (ii) the
transaction closing conditions may not be satisfied in a timely
manner or at all, including due to the failure to obtain regulatory
and client approvals; (iii) the announcement and pendency of the
acquisition may disrupt CarVal's business operations (including the
threatened or actual loss of employees, clients or suppliers); (iv)
CarVal could experience financial or other setbacks if the
transaction encounters unanticipated problems; and (v) anticipated
benefits of the transaction, including the realization of revenue,
accretion, and financial benefits or returns, may not be fully
realized or may take longer to realize than expected, including if
ABH units to be issued after the closing trade at a price below
anticipated levels. We caution readers to carefully consider such
factors.
Further, these forward-looking statements speak only as of
the date on which such statements are made; we undertake no
obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect
events or circumstances after the date of such statements. For
further information regarding these forward-looking statements and
the factors that could cause actual results to differ, see "Risk
Factors" and "Cautions Regarding Forward Looking Statements" in
AB's Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2021, and subsequent Forms 10 Q. Any or all of the
forward-looking statements made in this news release, Form 10-K,
Forms 10 Q, other documents we file with or furnish to the SEC, and
any other public statements we issue, may turn out to be wrong. It
is important to remember that other factors besides those listed in
"Risk Factors" and "Cautions Regarding Forward Looking Statements,"
and those listed above, could also adversely affect our revenues,
financial condition, results of operations and business
prospects.
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SOURCE AllianceBernstein