Epiris acquires auction house Bonhams

Alessia Argentieri
05 September 2018

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Epiris has acquired UK-based auction house Bonhams.

As part of the transaction, Bruno Vinciguerra from Sotheby's will take on the role of executive chair.

The GP deployed capital from its Epiris Fund II to finance the transaction. The vehicle was launched in March 2017 with a target of £1bn, of which it had reportedly reached around half by May 2017. It invests £40-150m in companies with enterprise values of up to 500m.

This is the fourth deal completed by the fund since the GP ceased to be the investment portfolio manager of Electra Private Equity in 2017. The vehicle is currently invested in consumer magazine publisher TI Media, banknote substrate manufacturer Portals, and country club operator The Club Company.

Company
Founded in 1793 and based in London, Bonhams is an auctioneer of fine art and antiques, motor cars and jewellery. The business holds more than 250 sales a year at its flagship salerooms, which include London, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong. In 2017, Bonhams sold more than 50,000 lots, generating £450m in hammer sales.

People
Epiris – Alex Fortescue (managing partner); Owen Wilson (partner).
Bonhams – Matthew Girling (CEO); Jonathan Fairhurst (CFO).

Advisers
Acquirer – Lazard (corporate finance); Ropes & Gray (legal).
Vendor – Rothschild (corporate finance); Macfarlanes (legal).