Women in PE: Triton’s Meier-Kirner on deploying in times of crisis and resisting herd mentality

Triton has two priorities in the current environment, according to Meier-Kirner, the first of which will be to protect the value in its existing portfolio. “Our deal teams are regularly reporting on their defensive and offensives strategies, safeguarding value and finding ways to leverage the crisis to our advantage,” she said.

This includes working on operational expenditure, pricing, working capital and capex projects, she said, all of which allow Triton to analyse the positioning of its portfolio companies in the value chain and how they can leverage this to their advantage.

Seeking new deals to take advantage of market dislocation is the firm’s second priority, she said, with the firm scouting out “bespoke buying opportunities”.

Meier-Kirner highlighted Triton’s two platform buyouts that it has done in 2022 to date as examples of the kind of deals it is looking for. In January 2022, the GP announced the GBP 1.3bn take-private of Clinigen, which valued the pharmaceutical group at an implied 14x multiple of its adjusted EBITDA, as reported. “The fundamental underlying value we see in the company was not reflected in its stock market valuation from our point of view,” she said.

In July 2022, Triton acquired UK-based infrastructure service firm OCU Group in a GBP 400m deal. The firm saw opportunities here due to the structural tailwinds present in the sector, she said.

“We are looking to unlock opportunities where the market has downrated and undervalued a business, and/or resilient business models that have passthrough mechanisms with pricing power,” she said. The GP is therefore seeking businesses that “would not usually be accessible at a price we like,” she said, as well as “resilient opportunities” that have M&A and development potential.

Steady deployment
“In assessing opportunities in times of crisis, you have to resist the herd mentality,” Meier-Kirner said. “We are under no pressure to deploy in an overly aggressive manner – good buying opportunities will be out there, but we are mindful of not rushing into anything.” The firm will continue to assess opportunities with each deal team and its investment committee, seeking opportunities that “create immediate positive results in the portfolio,” she said.

This mindset will be reflected in Triton’s approach to exits, too, Meier-Kirner said, adding that an IPO, for example, is currently a less accessible route than options such as strategic M&A.

Unquote sister publication Mergermarket reported in October 2022 that Triton could launch the sale of specialty pharmaceutical business Pharmanovia in 2023, although the GP could also seek to bring in a new minority investor before launching an IPO in 2024. Triton declined to comment at the time the report was published.

The sponsor is currently deploying equity via its flagship fund, Triton Fund V, which held a final close in December 2019 on EUR 5bn. The vehicle was 56% deployed as of December 2021, according to Unquote Data, and has made 18 platform investments.

Alongside its flagship strategy, Triton also manages a smaller mid-cap fund. The second vehicle in the series held a final close in March 2021 on EUR 815m, surpassing its EUR 600m target. In addition, the firm manages a direct lending strategy; it raised EUR 744m for its second Debt Opportunities fund in 2020.

Learning from crisis
Triton is looking back to its roots to navigate through the current environment. “We have seen the importance of building on your strength, staying consistent and being a stable and predictable partner as you build your platform,” she said. The firm considers itself an “all-weather investor”, backing “fundamentally good companies that have some issues they want a partner for.”

Triton has made some of its best deals in past crises, she added. Meaning that it has experience in approaching the market both offensively and defensively in times of market headwinds.

Developing its team will remain important as the firm navigates the current environment. “Crisis allows you to upgrade and change things quickly, and people are the key to our success: you have the opportunity to review your talent bench and make changes with conviction,” she said.

This development will involve supporting those in the team who were not part of the PE industry during the GFC. “With our current bench, there is a whole generation of professionals who started after 2008/09, so they have never seen a crisis,” Meier-Kirner said. “This makes learning from your mistakes and being transparent about them important. Being open about the mistakes we have made in the past and what we have learnt from navigating those past muddy waters is important in building a firm, as it allows you to change faster in the future.”

Changes to the industry over the course of Meier-Kirner’s career include the fact that global private equity AUM has grown 6x, and LPs are now presented with “an abundance of choice,” she noted. “LPs are looking for GPs who provide a differentiated angle, partners who have a unique angle to value creation, and ultimately returns,” she said. “It’s important to have that excitement around building fundamentally better businesses – we ultimately serve our LPs and their clients, so remaining excited about creating that value and making those returns for them is something that inspires me, and I hope that it inspires the next generation.”

Responsible approach
Meier-Kirner joined Triton in 2006, having begun her career in investment banking with Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. She is a member of the investment advisory committee for Triton’s flagship private equity strategy, in addition to her roles as partner and co-head of services.

“I did a total of seven internships in my university studies, and used the winter and summer breaks to figure out where I wanted to start my career,” she told Unquote. “I enjoyed the fast-paced environment in the city in banking, working with smart and dedicated people, and playing a role in changing the industry with M&A and corporate finance.”

In time, she came to find that being involved in the value creation journey of companies was the missing element in her role. “I spoke to a recruiter who got me in touch with Triton,” she said. “At that time, the firm was investing from Triton II, and the focus was on DACH and Nordics. We have later grown our geographic scope and adopted a sector-led investing model.”

Values are also a “key pillar” of how Triton approaches investment processes, Meier-Kirner added. These include acting with integrity, making responsible decisions, and growing its businesses through growing our people, she said. “In spite of the agility an investor needs to demonstrate, you also need to remind yourself of the core values that built the organisation,” she said.

Meier-Kirner’s advice to those looking to enter the private equity industry is centred around building skills and keeping the right attitude to the job.

“The job is multifaceted and building a strong technical toolbox is really important,” she said. “No one can take that away from you and it will help to advance your career. You should remain curious and excited, but also humble. We have a lot of responsibility, being aware of that and being grounded and open and learning as you go along is important. We have an apprenticeship model at Triton, and it’s important to look at those around you and learn from the people that you have the pleasure of working with, on the fund, portfolio company or advisory level.”

Services in focus
Triton makes investments in the consumer, health, industrials and business services sectors. and Meier-Kirner has developed expertise in the latter over the course of her career with Triton. The firm has deployed EUR 3.2bn to date across 24 companies in the services sector, and 30% of the portfolio of Triton V is made up of this segment, she said.

The firm’s sector expertise and its “sector-specific toolbox” allow the firm undertake deep-dives into the most appealing subsectors, as well as “sub-sub-sectors”, she said.

“We seek to invest behind long-term megatrends – for example in Services we are looking at future-orientation, so sustainability and energy efficiency, urbanization and infrastructure, digital and safety/security are themes we like to back,” Meier-Kirner said. “Specific subsectors include technical and decentral services, which have a lean headquarters where the action happens in the decentralised units. We focus on B2B, mission-critical services in growing niches.”

Triton’s current services sector portfolio includes Germany-headquartered traffic safety service provider AVS Verkehrssicherung, for which the GP has been pursuing a buy-and-build strategy since its initial investment in 2018. Within the same subsector, Triton also owns UK-based traffic management company Chevron.

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