Building a shared vision for a portfolio company is at the heart of our business.
Wherever
we are around the world, Advent’s business is based on the success of the partnerships we build.
We work
together with management teams and bring more to companies than capital.
Western Europe and North America
Western Europe’s economic recovery remained fragile in 2011. Nevertheless, our diligence and
persistence paid off with the successful realizations of Takko, Sophis, Nucletron and RAET and
the acquisition of five promising new businesses.
In terms of investments, Towergate, a leading UK SME insurance broker and virtual underwriter,
marked the culmination of six years’ tracking. Priory Group, one of the UK’s leading mental
healthcare providers, is well-positioned to benefit from industry reforms. Mondo Minerals is a
leader in talc minerals for industrial use. With the help of our experienced professionals, we
expect Mondo to grow its business globally, both organically and through the consolidation of
regional talc producers. Oberthur Technologies, the global #2 in smart cards based in France,
offers high-growth potential in the payments field, telecoms and identity systems. MAXAM is a
European leader in civil explosives and initiation systems, which Advent will support in
pursuing its national and international growth plans.
In North America, despite M&A prices returning to pre-crisis levels during the first half of the
year, we worked with our operating partners to complete two new sector-driven deals, Bojangles’
and Morrison Supply, and sign a third, TransUnion. Bojangles’, a regional quick-service
restaurant chain, offers expansion and operational enhancement opportunities. Morrison Supply is
a plumbing supply business that will benefit from the experience and initiatives we deployed at
ABC Supply. TransUnion, a $3 billion global provider of information and risk management
services, offers the opportunity to expand into new products and markets. Capitalizing on market
conditions, we also successfully exited Aspen Technology.
Central and Eastern Europe
A general drop in M&A activity in Central and Eastern Europe in 2011 failed to deter our
highly experienced local teams. Following sector themes, we acquired four companies with great
potential. We expect ISIDA, our first investment in the Ukraine, along with American Heart of
Poland to take advantage of increasing healthcare spend in the region. In the Czech Republic,
TES Vsetin, a leading European manufacturer of tailor-made power generators and components, has
clear competitive advantages in the high-growth wind and water alternative energy sectors.
Partner in Pet Food, with regional headquarters in Hungary, has considerable scope to expand its
position in the region’s underdeveloped private-label pet food market.
Latin America
Latin America continued to lead the way to global recovery in 2011 offering excellent exit and
acquisition opportunities. We achieved the key realizations of Cetip, Pronto! and Nuevo Banco
Comercial and sold part of our holdings in International Meal Company’s IPO. The investment in
TCP a fast-growing but undermanaged port operator in Brazil, marked a strong start for our new
regional fund, LAPEF V. In the healthcare sector, we acquired two pharmaceutical companies:
Laboratorio LKM, our first deal in Argentina in recent years, and Biotoscana Farma, our
inaugural deal in Colombia. In March 2012, our Brazilian team completed an investment to support
a transformative acquisition for Kroton, one of Brazil’s largest private education
businesses.
Asia Pacific
The highest economic growth rates of 2011 were seen in Asia Pacific, led by China and India. Our
team in Mumbai signed an agreement to invest in CARE Hospitals, a multi-speciality hospital
chain, ranked number five by number of beds and revenue in India. The team also led a follow-on
acquisition of the Indian business Element-K for SkillSoft, a North American portfolio
company.
Operating highlights
Proving our strength in difficult times, we continued to grow in 2011. Our total staff increased
by 11% to 355. Geographically, we expanded further into Latin America, opening an office in
Bogotá, Colombia which has already proved a useful platform for our first acquisition in the
country. A China office is planned for 2012. Recognizing the increasingly large and complex
nature of deals, we continued to work even more closely with our operating partners globally,
using their expertise to great effect in sourcing as well as value creation. Our Portfolio
Support Group of senior managers doubled in size, bringing their analytical, strategic and
project management skills to all regions. Lastly, we continued to invest heavily in our finance,
compliance and administrative operations in a continuous effort to employ best practice across
our business.
