Vistra

Private Equity Manager (GP)

Case study

About the company

Vistra is a global provider of corporate and trust services.

BPEA EQT (“BPEA”) first invested in Vistra in 2015, completing a major merger with Orangefield at the time of acquisition.

The combined entity has become the third largest player globally in the corporate and trust services industry and the largest in Asia, with a broadened geographical reach a broadened geographical reach and coverage in 85 locations across 45 jurisdictions, broadly split equally between Asia and Europe.

Investment rationale

• Vistra is an asset-light business with high recurring revenues and strong cash conversion.
• At the time of acquisition, Vistra had a deep track record of acquisitions alongside robust organic growth. There was significant scope for more bolt-on acquisitions and operational improvement opportunities.
• Strong alignment with management team who also took up equity stakes in the new enlarged business.

Our relationship

Pantheon has been a long-term investor with the manager, having backed its funds on a primary and secondary basis since 2005. In addition, Pantheon has been an Advisory Board member for numerous BPEA funds.

Active management and value creation

BPEA first invested in Vistra in 2015, completing a major merger with Orangefield at the time of acquisition. This initial acquisition was followed by 21 additional bolt-ons which added $77m of incremental EBITDA at a blended average multiple of 9x Enterprise Value (EV)/EBITDA, delivering on a planned transformational Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) strategy.

Through this M&A and organic growth, BPEA expanded Vistra’s geographical reach to the Americas, UK, and Middle East, and restructured its divisions to better service the faster-growing Alternative Investment client base.

As a result, Vistra has grown revenue and EBITDA by over 131% and 172%, respectively since 2015.

Exit

Vistra merged with Tricor in 2023, creating a business with a combined enterprise value of $6.5bn. This transaction gave existing investors, like PIP, the opportunity to exit at an attractive return of 3.4x cost multiple.