ConvergEx Group Announces Definitive Agreement to be Acquired by CVC Capital Partners

NEW YORK, July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ConvergEx Group ("ConvergEx"), a leading technology company, today announced that its parent company ConvergEx Holdings, LLC has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by funds advised by CVC Capital Partners ("CVC") in an all cash transaction expected to close in the early autumn.  

Upon close of the transaction, CVC will be the largest owner of the ConvergEx group of companies.  The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation ("BNY Mellon") will remain as a minority shareholder.  The existing ConvergEx management team, led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Velli, will remain substantial shareholders and continue to manage the company.

ConvergEx was originally formed in 2006 by combining assets of BNY Mellon and Eze Castle Software.  Since its formation, the company has expanded its businesses through a series of strategic acquisitions and organic growth.  Today, its products and services include powerful, proprietary technologies for every stage of the investment life cycle across multiple asset classes.  The company has over 1,200 employees in 22 locations worldwide and partners with more than 4,000 customers accessing over 100 global markets.

"ConvergEx is thrilled to have CVC join us as our majority investor and our new partner as we continue to build our world-class technology company," commented ConvergEx Chairman and CEO Joseph Velli.  "We are also very pleased to be continuing our long-standing and highly productive relationship with BNY Mellon. Together, along with the ConvergEx management team, we see tremendous opportunities in our company's future and we are fully committed to growing our business even further."

"ConvergEx is a best-in-class software and technology provider to asset managers and financial intermediaries with strong positions across its broad portfolio of products and services. We are excited to partner with its highly regarded and exceptionally deep management team," said Kamil Salame, CVC Partner and Head of the U.S. Financial Institutions Group.  "The company is well positioned to benefit from the continued growth of capital markets globally and, given CVC Financial Institutions Group's global resources and CVC's worldwide office network, we believe our partnership will be complementary.    Furthermore, we welcome the continued ownership and cooperation of BNY Mellon during this exciting new phase of the company's growth."

"We have had a great period of growth since ConvergEx's inception. In fact, during the first six months of this year, both of our business segments posted strong results and we expect to see 20% year over year growth in 2011," said Velli. "Given that growth story, we were very pleased to be approached by CVC. We had a number of attractive offers and opportunities before us, but we believe that CVC will be the best partner in helping us accelerate our growth even more as we go forward."

ConvergEx's financial advisors for the transaction were Goldman, Sachs & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup, Inc. and Barclays Capital PLC. Kirkland & Ellis, LLP and Schulte Roth & Zabel, LLP served as legal counsel.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as financial advisors to CVC.  CVC received legal advice from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP on the transaction.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., affiliates of Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. provided fully committed financing to CVC.

About CVC Capital Partners

CVC Capital Partners ("CVC") is one of the world's leading private equity and investment advisory firms, with a network of 20 offices and some 250 employees throughout Europe, Asia and the United States. CVC funds seek to identify attractive investments and then develop sustainable, long-term value in close partnership with management teams. To date, CVC has raised over $44 billion from a diverse and loyal investor base and is currently investing from funds with an aggregate of just under $10 billion in available equity capital. Since its founding in 1981, CVC has completed over 290 investments in a wide range of industries and countries.

CVC has significant experience in financial services investments, and its dedicated Global Financial Institutions Group focuses on investing in leading financial businesses across North America, Europe and Asia. CVC has a number of portfolio companies in the financial institutions sector, including Acromas Holdings (leading finance, motoring and leisure services provider in the UK), Avolon (leading commercial aircraft lessor), Brit Insurance (leading global insurance and reinsurance provider), Fraikin (leading commercial vehicle operational leasing company in Europe), RCBC (leading private commercial bank in the Philippines), and Sun Hung Kai (Hong Kong's leading retail brokerage house and consumer finance company).

About ConvergEx Group

ConvergEx Group is a leading technology company providing mission-critical proprietary software products and technology-enabled services to asset managers and financial intermediaries globally.  Its products and services span the investment life cycle and are designed to enable customers to achieve improved results through operational and workflow efficiencies, execution and analytical tools and highly personalized service. The firm serves customers accessing over 100 global markets.  Formed in 2006, the firm has over 1,200 employees in 22 locations throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa.

BNY ConvergEx Group, LLC is comprised of the following businesses: BNY ConvergEx Execution Solutions LLC (member NYSE/FINRA/SIPC), LiquidPoint, LLC (member CBOE/SIPC); Eze Castle Transaction Services LLC (member FINRA/SIPC); Westminster Research Associates LLC (member FINRA/SIPC); G-Trade Services LLC (member FINRA/SIPC); NorthPoint Trading Partners, LLC (member FINRA/SIPC); Eze Castle Software LLC,  RealTick LLC and ConvergEx Research Solutions LLC, of which Jaywalk, Cogent Consulting and LDB are divisions.   Additional information is available at www.convergex.com.

Contacts:
For ConvergEx Group:
Elizabeth Anderson
[email protected]
212.468.7713

For CVC Capital Partners:
Mary Zimmerman or Christina Stenson, Brunswick Group
[email protected], [email protected]
212.333.3810

SOURCE ConvergEx Group