Advent opens first New York office

The globally focused buyout firm is establishing a presence in the US financial capital for the first time in order to deepen its investment platform and expand its list of contacts.

Although it has had a global focus since its founding in 1984, Advent International has just opened its first office in New York City.

The buyout firm’s other US office is in Boston, while it also has operations in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Argentina, Mexico and Japan, among other countries. The firm said its New York location is intended to deepen its global investment platform by giving it a physical presence in the US financial centre.

“New York is one of the principal hubs of private equity globally, and our new office there will provide Advent additional access and capabilities on the ground for our programs worldwide,” Advent managing partner David Mussafer.

Managing director Tim Franks will relocate from London to lead the New York office, and will be joined by principals Mohammed Anjarwala and Andrew Crawford from the Boston office and Kevin Feinblum, previously of Sun Capital. Franks, who has been with Advent for more than 10 years, said the move would help develop new business opportunities for the firm and expand its network of contacts.

Advent, which was one of the nominees for European mid-market firm of the year in the Private Equity International 2009 awards, has invested in more than 50 buyout and private equity transactions in the US and Canada in sectors such as financial services, industrial, retail and healthcare. Its North American team is currently investing its sixth buyout fund, GPE VI, which totals $10.4 billion.