Similar to much other PE activity over the past few years, 2021 stood out for financial services deals in the region, with €30.58 billion (about $33.18 billion) spent over 411 transactions, according to PitchBook data. While deal value shrank to €17.09 billion in 2022, this total came from 406 deals, suggesting that the sector is still popular.
This year, there have already been 144 deals conducted in the space.
US-based Carlyle’s activity in the space is ongoing, with its UK-based platform Hurst Point Group agreeing Thursday to buy Helm Godfrey. It’s one of a number of deals the firm has made through Hurst Point as it seek to roll up the wealth management and asset management spaces in the UK. Others were the 2020 acquisitions of asset manager Argentis Group and wealth manager AJ Gallagher.
The second-most-active firm, with a lower tally of 42 deals, is London-based Apax Partners. A standout deal was the firm’s acquisition of large insurance broker consolidator PIB Group, which was purchased from sector-leader Carlyle in 2021.
Below are the top 10 most-active investors in European financial services. All are private equity firms.
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