Synova sells minority stake to Bonaccord

BCP is a subsidiary of US-listed private markets firm P10, which acquired the firm from abrdn in September 2021. It specialises in making non-control investments in mid-market private equity, private credit and real estate and real assets firms.

According to its website, drivers for BCP’s mid-market focus include the competitive dynamics in this segment, with “less committed capital pursuing [a] larger opportunity set”. It seeks firms with differentiated investment capabilities, strong growth characteristics, attractive financial characteristics and stable partnership dynamics.

Synova will be the firm’s second investment in a manager headquartered outside the US, having invested in UK-headquartered private credit firm Park Square in January 2022.

Synova held a final close for its latest fund, Synova V, in April 2022 on GBP 875m, surpassing its GBP 750m target. The fund writes equity tickets of GBP 15m-GBP 150m, with its smaller deals in its GBP 250m “Chrysalis Pool” typically falling in the GBP 15m-GBP 30m range, according to Unquote Data.

The firm is currently looking to exit aviation software platform Vistair, as reported by Unquote sister publication Mergermarket, although it has paused the sale of Scottish dental clinic chain Clyde Monroe in March amid a challenging financing environments and macro headwinds, as reported.

Synova will not undergo any changes in governance, the investment process, or day-to-day management, with managing partners David Mention and Philip Shapiro continuing to lead the firm, according to a statement.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial adviser to Synova, with Kirkland & Ellis providing legal advice, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson acted as legal counsel to BCP.

The deal sees Synova join the likes of UK-headquartered market peers Inflexion, Coller Capital and MML Capital Partners in taking on an outside minority investor in recent weeks. While the market has typically been dominated by US firms and US dealflow, investors are seeing increasing opportunities in Europe.

The market has also seen new entrants such as France-headquartered Armen, as reported, with GPs increasingly seeking to monetise their management fees and bring on board additional capital to assist with growth, succession planning and liquidity as a whole.

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• GPs
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• Synova Capital
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