BC Partners forms €1bn single asset fund for Springer Nature stake

Harriet Matthews
14 June 2021

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BC Partners has formed a new single-asset acquisition fund with commitments of more than тЌ1bn to buy publishing house Springer Nature, which the GP acquired in 2013 via its 2011-vintage BC European Capital Fund IX (BCEC IX).

BC Partners* said in a statement that Neuberger Berman is leading the secondary deal. Some BCEC Fund IX investors are also backing the vehicle, alongside investors in BC Partners' latest fund, BCEC XI, which held a first close in September 2020 on €4bn against an €8bn target.

Holtzbrinck Publishing Group will continue to hold a strategic stake in the publishing house; it holds a 53% stake in the company, according to a statement.

The deal provides BCEC IX LPs with the option to realise liquidity, as well as providing investors in the new vehicle with an opportunity to benefit from BC Partners' plans for the company's future growth.

Evercore provided advice to BC Partners, and JP Morgan provided a fairness option to the fund.

Mergermarket reported in August 2020 that BC Partners intended to renew its attempt to list Springer Nature. The company's first IPO attempt under BC Partners' ownership took place in May 2018, but did not go ahead. A second listing attempt was put on hold in March 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Europe.

Headquartered in Basingstoke, Springer Nature was formed in 2015 via the merger of Springer Science & Business Media with Holtzbrinck Publishing Group's Nature Publishing Group. BC Partners acquired a majority stake in the company in June 2013 in a €3.3bn deal from GIC and EQT. The GP held its stake in Springer Nature via BCEC IX, which held a final close in February 2012 on €6.5bn. The fund was fully deployed as of June 2018, according to Unquote Data.

The company posted EBITDA of €341m at the time of BC Partners' investment.

The single-asset acquisition fund for Springer Nature is not the first time that BC Partners has taken advantage of the secondaries market to extend holding periods or to provide liquidity for existing LPs. As reported by Unquote, Lexington Partners agreed a $1bn stapled secondary deal with BC Partners in 2017 for commitments in BCEC IX and BCEC X.

The deal comes shortly after several other GP-led deals; HPE Growth formed a single-asset continuation vehicle for cross-border payments platform PPro in a GP-led deal backed by firms including Adams Street and Coller Capital, as reported; and in March 2021, Ergon formed a special purpose vehicle for its fire protection systems business SVT, as reported.

*BC Partners holds a minority stake in Acuris, the publisher of Unquote.