Bridge buys Connecticut firm

Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc., a Salt Lake City-based real estate investment manager, has announced its acquisition of Newbury Partners LLC, an investment manager that specializes in acquiring limited partnership interests in private equity funds through secondary transactions based in Stamford, Connecticut.

With approximately $43.3 billion of assets under management, Bridge focuses on select U.S. real estate verticals, including{mprestriction ids="1,3"} residential rental, office, development, logistics properties, net lease, real estate-backed credit, renewable energy and property technology.

Newbury operates in the secondaries market, with a focus on acquiring limited partnership interests in established buyout, growth equity and venture capital funds. Founded in 2006, Newbury has raised over $6.2 billion of committed investor capital across five dedicated funds and has invested in over 500 underlying interests on behalf of more than 250 limited partners worldwide.

The all-cash transaction is valued at $320.1 million, Bridge said in a release.

“The acquisition of Newbury is a natural next step in thoughtfully expanding Bridge’s investment platform and capitalizing on a value-enhancing growth opportunity,” said Robert Morse, executive chairman of Bridge. “As investors’ allocations to alternative investments grow, we believe growth in the secondaries market will also accelerate.”

Bridge CEO Jonathan Slager added, “This acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to Bridge’s core earnings metrics. We see significant near- and long-term growth opportunities to further enhance Bridge’s fee-related earnings.”

“The opportunity in the secondaries market is as compelling as ever. We are excited about the common vision and fit between Bridge and Newbury and believe strongly that the partnership will accelerate our growth within both our existing strategy and adjacent secondaries opportunities,” said Richard Lichter, managing partner and founder of Newbury. “Bridge has the platform to support our growth and is the natural next step for Newbury. I am confident that this transaction will position Newbury and Bridge for shared success, and we look forward to working closely with the entire Bridge team to realize the benefits of this complementary combination.”

Bridge said the transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2023.{/mprestriction}