Ex-BAML special sits pro launches SME-focused private equity firm (link)

“A former Bank of America Merrill Lynch pro has set up his own private equity firm in London, With Intelligence has learned. Vinay Vishwanath founded APR Capital in February with a buyout strategy focused on profitable B2B businesses with EBITDA between $2m and $25m. The strategy will be active across the UK, Europe, and North America and seek businesses requiring minor changes instead of an overhaul. Vishwanath is not looking to launch a fund at the minute but isn’t ruling it out for the future, he feels his current positioning aids him well against other forms of financing. “Traditional private equity funds got bigger and bigger, so minimum ticket sizes have mushroomed. In this market, there is still a lot of solid, stable, old school businesses like industrial manufacturing firms that are perfectly viable investments," Vishwanath told With. “We are different from traditional private equity because we are not looking to asset strip or bring on many management layers of changes, we typically look to promote from within," he added. Vishwanath sees viable businesses as firms with 20 to 30 years of operating experience and is particularly interested in Germany, where he sees plentiful manufacturing opportunities. APR will be sector-agnostic overall but sees great potential for B2B and industrial businesses. The firm will also avoid consumer-facing sectors. Before launching APR, Vishwanath spent 10 years with BAML across multiple roles, starting in 2013 as a director of global equities before transitioning to a European financial specialist position in September 2018. He moved to a distressed debt and special situations-focused role in June 2020. Before BOA, he held positions with JP Morgan and Cowen & Company.”