NBPE Announces Audited 2022 Results and 31 March 2023 Est. NAV
THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO AUSTRALIA, CANADA, ITALY, DENMARK, JAPAN, THE UNITED STATES, OR TO ANY NATIONAL OF SUCH JURISDICTIONS
25 April 2023
NB Private Equity Partners (NBPE), the $1.3bn FTSE 250 listed private equity investment company managed by Neuberger Berman, today releases its 2022 Annual Financial Report and 31 March 2023 Monthly NAV Update.
Audited Annual Results Highlights (31 December 2022)
- NAV per share of $28.38 (£23.59)
- (7.5%) NAV TR in the 12 months to 31 December 2022, with decline driven by changes in quoted holdings and FX
- Private portfolio +4.4% in 2022 on a constant currency basis
- Strong portfolio company operating performance of 14% LTM revenue and 12% LTM EBITDA growth, respectively, during 20221
- $143 million of announced realisations during 2022
- Well positioned to take advantage of investment opportunities - $308 million of cash and undrawn credit line available
- $0.94 per share of dividends paid during 2022
| As of 31 December 2022 | 2022 | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years |
| NAV TR (USD)* Annualised | (7.5%) (7.5%) | 62.7% 17.6% | 89.4% 13.6% | 231.2% 12.7% |
| MSCI World TR (USD)* Annualised | (17.7%) (17.7%) | 17.3% 5.4% | 38.2% 6.7% | 146.4% 9.4% |
| Share price TR (GBP)* Annualised | (9.7%) (9.7%) | 49.8% 14.4% | 87.3% 13.4% | 400.8% 17.5% |
| FTSE All-Share TR (GBP)* Annualised | 0.3% 0.3% | 7.1% 2.3% | 15.5% 2.9% | 88.2% 6.5% |
*Reflects cumulative returns over the time periods shown and are not annualised.
Peter Von Lehe, Managing Director and Head of Investment Solutions & Strategy at Neuberger Berman commented:
“Against challenging markets and macro-economic headwinds, we believe NBPE’s performance has been resilient, both from a net asset value perspective and with respect to the overall operating performance of our underlying portfolio companies. Our private investments, which represent almost 90% of the portfolio, appreciated in value by 4.4% on a constant currency basis – with strong operating performance more than outweighing the reduction in valuation multiples, which declined by over two turns. However, this resilient performance was outweighed by a decline in value of our publicly listed holdings and foreign exchange headwinds, which resulted in an aggregate NAV decline of 7.5% on a total return basis in 2022.”
Paul Daggett, Managing Director of Neuberger Berman, continued:
“Looking across our private company portfolio, returns continued to be driven by revenue and EBITDA growth and the portfolio, as a whole, has continued to perform well, reporting weighted average LTM revenue and LTM EBITDA growth of 14% and 12%, respectively, during the year. Given the macro-economic headwinds, unsurprisingly some companies experienced challenges mostly due to issues caused by supply chain pressures, inflation or labour costs. However, this was offset by resilient performance in other areas of the portfolio, which we believe speaks to the advantages of maintaining diversification and investing across our key themes.
As demonstrated by our private company performance, private equity’s ability to respond quickly to market forces, whether those be opportunities or threats, should continue to create the opportunity for value creation, and we believe NBPE’s portfolio is well positioned to generate growth over the long-term.”
The Company’s 2022 Annual Report and a video from Neuberger Berman to accompany the results are available to view at: /.
Portfolio Update to 31 March 2023
NAV TR increase of 1% YTD 2023
- 31 March 2022 NAV per share of $28.20 (£22.81), an increase of 0.4% in March
- Public investments up ~$19 million YTD 2023, or approximately 11%
Realisations from the portfolio in 2023
- $27 million of announced realisations in the first three months of 20232
- Realisation from the sale of one public stock position; partial sale of one portfolio company, and continued realisations from the Income portfolio
- A further $16 million of proceeds from previously announced realisations expected in the coming months
Robust liquidity – well positioned to take advantage of opportunities
- $308 million of available liquidity ($8 million cash, $300 million of undrawn credit line)
Portfolio Valuation
The fair value of NBPE’s portfolio as of 31 March 2023 was based on the following information:
- 16% of the portfolio was valued as of 31 March 2023
-
- 13% in public securities
- 3% in private direct investments
- 84% of the portfolio was valued as of 31 December 2022
-
- 83% in private direct investments
- 1% in private fund investments
Share Buyback Agreement
The Directors believe the current discount materially undervalues NBPE’s portfolio, balance sheet strength and prospects. The Board believes the share price represents a very attractive entry point for investors to gain exposure to high quality private companies and NBPE continues to expand its investor relations initiatives to increase its profile amongst existing and new investors. Alongside this, in October 2022, NBPE entered into an agreement with Jefferies, which allows them, in their sole discretion, to repurchase NBPE shares based on certain criteria. To date, no shares have been repurchased and the Company will be renewing its agreement with Jefferies, including updating the relevant repurchase criteria.
Investor Call
NBPE plans to hold an investor update call on Tuesday 25 April 2023 in order to discuss the investment portfolio and provide an update on performance.
The webinar will take place at 12:00 BST / 13:00 CEST / 7:00 AM EDT. Registration for the event and the call can be accessed here:
For further information, please contact:
NBPE Investor Relations
Kaso Legg Communications +44 (0)20 3995 6673
Charles Gorman
Luke Dampier
Charlotte Francis
Supplementary Information (as at 31 March 2023)
| Company Name | Vintage | Lead Sponsor | Sector | Fair Value ($m) | % of FV |
| Action | 2020 | 3i | Consumer | 64.0 | 4.6% |
| Advisor Group | 2019 | Reverence Capital | Financial Services | 54.2 | 3.9% |
| Constellation Automotive | 2019 | TDR Capital | Business Services | 54.2 | 3.9% |
| AutoStore (OB.AUTO) | 2019 | THL | Industrials | 52.9 | 3.8% |
| USI | 2017 | KKR | Financial Services | 50.0 | 3.6% |
| Agiliti (NYSE: AGTI) | 2019 | THL | Healthcare | 39.9 | 2.9% |
| Material Handling Systems | 2017 | THL | Industrials | 39.7 | 2.8% |
| Cotiviti | 2018 | Veritas Capital | Healthcare | 35.5 | 2.5% |
| GFL (NYSE: GFL) | 2019 | BC Partners | Business Services | 33.2 | 2.4% |
| Business Services Company* | 2017 | Not Disclosed | Business Services | 32.9 | 2.4% |
| Kroll | 2020 | Further Global / Stone Point | Financial Services | 32.1 | 2.3% |
| BeyondTrust | 2018 | Francisco Partners | Technology / IT | 29.4 | 2.1% |
| True Potential | 2022 | Cinven | Financial Services | 29.2 | 2.1% |
| Marquee Brands | 2014 | Neuberger Berman | Consumer | 28.5 | 2.0% |
| Solenis | 2021 | Platinum Equity | Industrials | 27.0 | 1.9% |
| Monroe Engineering | 2021 | AEA Investors | Industrials | 26.6 | 1.9% |
| Stubhub | 2020 | Neuberger Berman | Consumer | 26.4 | 1.9% |
| Engineering | 2020 | NB Renaissance / Bain Capital | Technology / IT | 25.5 | 1.8% |
| Addison Group | 2021 | Trilantic Capital Partners | Business Services | 23.9 | 1.7% |
| Branded Toy Company* | 2017 | Not Disclosed | Consumer | 23.8 | 1.7% |
| Branded Cities Network | 2017 | Shamrock Capital | Communications / Media | 23.6 | 1.7% |
| Staples | 2017 | Sycamore Partners | Business Services | 22.8 | 1.6% |
| Excelitas | 2017 | AEA Investors | Industrials | 22.1 | 1.6% |
| Auctane | 2021 | Thoma Bravo | Technology / IT | 21.9 | 1.6% |
| Bylight | 2017 | Sagewind Partners | Technology / IT | 21.9 | 1.6% |
| Petsmart / Chewy (NYSE: CHWY) | 2015 | BC Partners | Consumer | 20.8 | 1.5% |
| Accedian | 2017 | Bridge Growth Partners | Technology / IT | 20.6 | 1.5% |
| FV Hospital | 2017 | Quadria Capital | Healthcare | 20.4 | 1.5% |
| Renaissance Learning | 2018 | Francisco Partners | Technology / IT | 19.7 | 1.4% |
| Solace Systems | 2016 | Bridge Growth Partners | Technology / IT | 17.2 | 1.2% |
| Total Top 30 Investments | $923.1 | 66.1% |
*Undisclosed company due to confidentiality provisions.
| Geography | % of Portfolio |
| North America | 73% |
| Europe | 23% |
| Asia / Rest of World | 4% |
| Total Portfolio | 100% |
| Industry | % of Portfolio |
| Tech, Media & Telecom | 21% |
| Consumer / E-commerce | 19% |
| Industrials / Industrial Technology | 16% |
| Business Services | 13% |
| Financial Services | 15% |
| Healthcare | 10% |
| Other | 5% |
| Energy | 1% |
| Total Portfolio | 100% |
| Vintage Year | % of Portfolio |
| 2014 & Earlier | 5% |
| 2015 | 2% |
| 2016 | 8% |
| 2017 | 24% |
| 2018 | 18% |
| 2019 | 19% |
| 2020 | 11% |
| 2021 | 11% |
| 2022 | 2% |
| Total Portfolio | 100% |
About NB Private Equity Partners Limited
NBPE invests in direct private equity investments alongside market leading private equity firms globally. NB Alternatives Advisers LLC (the “Investment Manager”), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Neuberger Berman Group LLC, is responsible for sourcing, execution and management of NBPE. The vast majority of direct investments are made with no management fee / no carried interest payable to third-party GPs, offering greater fee efficiency than other listed private equity companies. NBPE seeks capital appreciation through growth in net asset value over time while paying a bi-annual dividend.
LEI number: 213800UJH93NH8IOFQ77
About Neuberger Berman
Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategies—including equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity, real estate and hedge funds—on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. With offices in 26 countries, Neuberger Berman’s diverse team has over 2,700 professionals. For nine consecutive years, the company has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). Neuberger Berman is a PRI Leader, a designation, since last assessed, that was awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms for excellence in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. In the 2021 PRI Assessment, the firm obtained the highest possible scoring for its overarching approach to ESG investment and stewardship, and integration across asset classes. The firm manages $436 billion in client assets as of March 31, 2023. For more information, please visit our website at .
| 1. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Fair value as of 31 December 2022 and the data is subject to the following adjustments: 1) Excludes public companies. 2) Analysis based on 67 private companies. 3) The private companies included in the data represent approximately 81% of the total direct equity portfolio. 4) Six companies were excluded from the revenue and EBITDA growth metrics on the basis of the following: a) one company with a value of $24 million used an industry-specific metric as a measurement of cash flow b) one company experienced extraordinary positive growth rates c) two companies (less than 1% of direct equity fair value) had anomalous percentage changes which the manager believed to be outliers d) two investments held less than one year. If all exclusions had been included (except for investments held less than one year), LTM Revenue and LTM EBITDA growth would be higher. Portfolio company operating metrics are based on the most recently available (unaudited) financial information for each company and based on as reported by the lead private equity sponsor to the Manager as of 31 March 2023. Where necessary, estimates were used, which include pro forma adjusted EBITDA and other EBITDA adjustments, pro forma revenue adjustments, run-rate adjustments for acquisitions, and annualised quarterly operating metrics. LTM periods as of 31/12/22 and 30/9/22 and 31/12/21 and 30/9/21. LTM revenue and LTM EBITDA growth rates are weighted by fair value. |
2$37 million received during 2023, of which $11 million was attributable to an announced sale in 2022, but received in 2023.
| This press release appears as a matter of record only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any security. NBPE is established as a closed-end investment company domiciled in Guernsey. NBPE has received the necessary consent of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission. The value of investments may fluctuate. Results achieved in the past are no guarantee of future results. This document is not intended to constitute legal, tax or accounting advice or investment recommendations. Prospective investors are advised to seek expert legal, financial, tax and other professional advice before making any investment decision. Statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are based on current expectations, estimates, projections, opinions and beliefs of NBPE's investment manager. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and undue reliance should not be placed thereon. Additionally, this document contains "forward-looking statements." Actual events or results or the actual performance of NBPE may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in such targets or forward-looking statements. |
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