There seems to be a glimmer of continuity in HIG Europe buying the restructuring division of KPMG (in that the name ends in a 'G' and no-one had a clue what KPMG stood for in any event). Our guess in the NTI newsroom is that the negotiating parties will eventually decide on a more catchy name for the business, valued at £400 million (the going rate, it seems, for a Top Four restructuring business, as that was the vaunted amount when Teneo purchased Deloitte a week or so ago).
HIG Europe is the European affiliate of HIG Capital, a leading global alternative investment firm focused on the small and mid cap market with over £31 billion of equity capital under management and over 400 investment professionals worldwide, which shouts out big numbers, but tells us little about the new owners of one of the most experienced and active restructuring teams in Europe. HIG's website appears to have been designed by a nine year old and tells us virtually nothing about their business ... just like MI5's. Hmm.
Perhaps more interestingly from a UK restructuring gossip point of view is that John Connolly, a former chair of Deloitte, is understood to be in talks with HIG about becoming chair of the new standalone business. John, who is a huge friend of the NTI newsroom and who we feel compelled to say is 71 this year, is an English business person. Which tells you next to nothing about him, either. He is the chair of two FTSE-100 companies, G4S and Amec Foster Wheeler, and now a third. He clearly has no concept of the term 'retirement'.
We are sure that Blair Nimmo, Will Wright and Mark Radden, the big hitters of the current KPMG Restructuring team, are delighted about this and will welcome John with a flurry of loud noises and big surprises when they first all get together under the new banner ...
... HIG PMG (No, Not A&M).
