Blackstone and Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division to Acquire Ipreo from KKR

NEW YORK, April 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Ipreo Holdings LLC ("Ipreo"), a leading global provider of market intelligence and workflow solutions to capital markets and corporate professionals, announced the signing of a definitive agreement to be acquired by private equity funds managed by Blackstone (NYSE:BX) and by the Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division ("Goldman Sachs") (together, the "Sponsors"). The Sponsors are acquiring the business from affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. ("KKR"), who will retain a minority ownership stake in the business. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Ipreo is a leading global provider of new issuance software solutions across the equity, fixed income, municipal, and syndicated loan markets, including bookbuilding systems, roadshow & conference management platforms, and electronic document delivery. Ipreo's extensive suite of investor relations services provides corporate clients with unparalleled cross-asset class surveillance, shareholder analysis, investor targeting, perception studies, proxy solicitation and transaction analytics. Ipreo is especially known for its Bigdough database, widely recognized as the leading source for institutional contact data and investor profiles, which is available via a suite of sophisticated CRM and prospecting applications and relied upon by both capital markets and investor relations professionals.

"Together with KKR, we have grown significantly and solidified our leadership in capital markets software, and data and analytics services. We are excited to partner with Blackstone, Goldman Sachs and KKR in our next phase of development," said Scott Ganeles, Chief Executive Officer of Ipreo. "Our new investors bring a complementary set of experience, relationships, and in-market expertise that will help support the growth of the business and will allow us to provide our customers with accelerated access to new market-leading products."

"The Ipreo executive team has done a remarkable job building Ipreo's leading product portfolio and strong market position. We are pleased to have the opportunity to partner alongside management, Goldman Sachs and KKR," said Martin Brand, Senior Managing Director of Blackstone. "We look forward to working with Ipreo and positioning it for continued innovation and success."

"Ipreo is a world-class organization, and Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking is delighted to be an investor in the company. We are looking forward to helping maximize Ipreo's growth potential alongside our new partners," said Sumit Rajpal, Global Head of Financial Services Investing for the Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division.

Over the last three years since KKR's initial investment, Ipreo has seen tremendous growth. The company has grown revenues by approximately fifty percent, undertaken strategic acquisitions of Debtdomain and Discovery Data that have enabled it to expand its offerings to customers, established new operations with a sizable employee base in Raleigh, North Carolina, and significantly expanded its footprint globally.

Ipreo was advised by BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup. Legal counsel was provided to Ipreo and KKR by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

The Sponsors were advised by Blackstone Advisory Partners, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Marlin & Associates; and financing for the transaction is being led by Goldman Sachs & Co. and BofA Merrill Lynch, with Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and RBC Capital Markets also participating. Legal counsel was provided to the Sponsors by Davis Polk & Wardwell, Fried Frank and Kirkland & Ellis.