Carlyle’s minority stake in the company will be acquired through Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP) II, a €530 million (£460 million) fund, which closed in November 2008. Falcon Investment Advisors has converted its current shareholding in The Foundry into mezzanine notes in support of the acquisition, according to a statement from Advent.
Advent and Falcon invested in the management buy-out of The Foundry in June 2009. The Foundry’s founders and management, led by chief executive Bill Collis, will continue to retain their minority shareholding.
Headquartered in London with more than 100 employees, The Foundry provides software to major feature film studios and post-production houses in the US and UK. Its products have been used to make recent movies including Avatar, Tron: Legacy, Alice in Wonderland, The King’s Speech, 127 Hours and Black Swan. In the past two years, headcount has tripled from 35 to more than 100, and revenue increased from £6.1 million to £14.9 million in 2010.
Michael Wand, managing director and co-head of Carlyle’s European Technology Partners team, comments that the investment will support the ‘next phase of growth’ in the business that includes further international expansion and product diversification.
Advent general partner Mike Chalfen adds, ‘This transaction highlights the high-quality growth equity opportunities available in European tech.’
