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Bridgepoint Group PLC on Monday said it has struck a deal to acquire a real estate investment platform, taking the private equity firm to around $120 billion in assets under management. The London-based private equity investment manager is to buy Kayne Anderson Real Estate in a deal worth $1.39 billion upfront. Bridgepoint will pay $759 million in cash and issue 189 million new shares, worth $634 million. Bridgepoint is acquiring the platform from Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP. The platform’s primary flagship fund is KAREP VII, which raised $5.12 billion, more than double what its predecessor raised, the FTSE 250 listing said. Bridgepoint shares jumped 9.3% to 254.19 pence each in London on Monday morning, giving it a £2.23 billion market capitalisation. The stock remains down 18% over the past 12 months. The deal will have a further consideration tied to ‘management fee-related performance hurdles’, Bridgepoint said. ‘The transaction executes on Bridgepoint’s long-term strategy, set out at IPO and reinforced at its 2024 capital markets day, to build a globally scaled, diversified middle-market private assets platform. Consistent with Bridgepoint’s proven track record of executing platform-enhancing M&A, the transaction builds on the prior acquisitions of EQT Credit, Energy Capital Partners and Newbury Partners,’ Bridgepoint said. Kayne Anderson Real Estate invests in specialist property sectors in the US, such as medical offices, senior and student housing, and light industrial properties. ‘Following closing, the enlarged Bridgepoint Group is expected to have $117 billion of AuM across five verticals: private equity ($40 billion), credit ($21 billion), infrastructure ($30 billion), real estate ($22 billion) and secondaries ($4 billion), marking a further step in Bridgepoint Group’s long-term growth trajectory.’ Bridgepoint said 48% of its AuM will be US-domiciled after the deal is completed. The deal is expected to close at the end of the year. It will boost Bridgepoint’s earnings per share by a mid-single-digit percentage in 2027 and then by more than 20% in 2028. In 2025, Bridgepoint achieved basic earnings per share of 5.0p, down from 8.0p in 2024. Chair Tim Score said: ‘Kayne Anderson Real Estate is a high-quality business with an outstanding management team, a strong track record and leading positions in attractive areas of the US real estate market. The board has been highly selective in its approach to strategic acquisitions, and we believe Kayne Anderson Real Estate is an exceptional fit for Bridgepoint. ‘The transaction strengthens the quality and diversification of the Bridgepoint Group’s earnings, broadens our capabilities and enhances our long-term growth prospects. We are confident it will further strengthen Bridgepoint’s position in global private markets.’ Shareholders will vote on the deal at a general meeting. In addition, Bridgepoint said it has traded ‘well year to date’, with fee related earnings in the first half expected to be in line with company-compiled consensus. ‘Guidance for performance related earnings remains at the top of the range of 20% to 25% of total income but with the phasing now expected to be around two-thirds in the first half of the year,’ it said. As a result, Bridgepoint expects first-half earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation ‘above the current consensus’. Consensus for underlying Ebitda for the first half stands at £155 million, which would represent a rise from £128.0 million in the first half of 2025. Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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