Arctos Partners mulls Hayfin buyout
Sports investment group Arctos Partners is in talks to buy a majority stake in Hayfin Capital Management, alongside a number of senior Hayfin executives.
According to reports from Bloomberg and the Financial Times, Arctos is working with Hayfin executives, including co-founders Tim Flynn and Mark Tognolini, to buy the majority of the common stock owned by the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI).
The deal values Hayfin at approximately $1.3bn (£1.01bn).
BCI first invested in Hayfin in 2017. Since then, Hayfin’s assets have risen substantially. Last year, its flagship direct lending fund closed with more than €6bn (£5.07bn). As of 30 June 2024, the firm had approximately €31bn in assets under management.
Read more: Hayfin hails private credit opportunity in Europe
The company has been growing its business steadily over the past year, as demand for private credit solutions has grown.
In April, Hayfin appointed BlackRock veteran Michaela Campbell as a managing director in its private credit team.
At the time, co-head of direct lending Mark Bickerstaffe said that Campbell’s appointment came “at an exciting time as we look to capitalise on the recent increase of institutional asset allocation towards private credit in Europe and build on our recent private financing success across the continent.
“Establishing a specialised portfolio monitoring team is an important step for us as we continue to grow the capacity and ambition of our private credit strategy,” added Bickerstaffe.
Read more: Hayfin bolsters private credit team
Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that Hayfin had begun discussing a management buyout with potential financing providers after abandoning efforts to sell itself. MetLife and Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries were cited as possible partners.
Arctos Partners is a private equity platform dedicated to the professional sports industry and sports franchise owners.
In 2023, Arctos Keystone was launched as a division of the main company. It focuses on providing growth capital, financing and liquidity solutions to alternative asset managers, their portfolio companies and funds.
Read more: JPMorgan looks to buy private credit firm
