Natixis continues M&A spree with MV takeover

Investment banking giant Natixis has yet again expanded its offering through the takeover of private debt specialist MV Credit. Pending approval by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, Natixis’ investment management division will acquire the London-headquartered player, which focuses on credit deals in Western Europe. Founded in 2000, MV Credit is led by managing partners including Rafael Calvo and Nicole Downer and typically supplies its debt products – senior debt, mezzanine and others – to private equity-backed companies. In addition to its flagship debt funds, the firm has raised in recent years vehicles that co-invest alongside private equity houses on a case-by-case basis. The acquired business, Natixis said, will remain a “fully autonomous affiliate”. “There will be no changes to MV Credit’s operations, branding, staffing or investment strategies, and the existing management team will continue to lead the firm as a partnership,” the buyer said in a statement. The takeover adds to a long running M&A series by Natixis. In recent years, the €818.1bn-AUM, Paris-listed investor has purchased stakes in M&A boutiques and firms including Australia’s Investors Mutual and asset manager Airborne Capital. The deal is also the latest to showcase the consolidation movements in an overheating French private equity market. The Drawdown recent quizzed France Invest’s new chair Dominique Gaillard over the trend and will explore it at length in a feature on French operations, to be published later this summer.