Author: tcpneu

The consortium of funds managed by TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P., funds managed by J.C. Flowers & Co., and Railsr shareholders led by D Squared Capital and Moneta, has completed its acquisition of Railsr.

The acquisition closely follows the Consortium’s take-private of Equals, and marks the official combination of two fintech innovators: Equals Money and Railsr – creating one of the largest embedded finance providers in Europe.

This transaction combines Equals Money’s leadership in multi-currency accounts, FX, corporate cards, and financial solutions with Railsr’s pioneering embedded finance, BaaS (Banking-as-a-Service), and CaaS (Cards-as-a-Service) infrastructure and creates one of the largest and most capable embedded finance platforms in Europe. The combined business will empower multi-geographical businesses and direct-to-consumer brands.

By integrating cross-border transaction expertise with next-generation embedded finance solutions, the newly combined group offers businesses a seamless way to embed financial services into their products, enabling them to launch, scale, and operate globally, with confidence.

The newly combined group is backed by majority investors TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P. and J.C. Flowers & Co. Lingotto Investment Management, through its Lingotto Horizon Strategy, also co-invested with J.C. Flowers & Co.

A stronger, more comprehensive offering

The newly combined group will provide customers with an expanded suite of services, including:

• Multi-currency accounts with enhanced payment capabilities
• Consumer and corporate-branded cards
• Embedded finance solutions tailored for fintech, corporates, and brands
• FX and international payment services with speed and efficiency
• Dual issuing of both Visa and Mastercard Cards Services
• Branded digital wallets for budgeting, tracking and rewards

By merging Equals’ deep industry expertise with Railsr’s infrastructure and embedded finance capabilities, the combined group will be positioned to drive innovation in the global fintech landscape.

Leadership and future vision

The newly combined group will initially operate under their existing brands, with co-CEOs and an aligned vision to empower companies and brands with seamless, borderless financial solutions.

Ian Strafford-Taylor, CEO of Equals Money and co-CEO of the new entity, said:

“Today marks an exciting milestone in our journey. By joining forces with Railsr, we are enhancing our ability to deliver flexible, scalable financial services that empower businesses of all sizes. Our customers will benefit from expanded capabilities, a stronger global presence, and a commitment to continuous innovation.”

Philippe Morel, CEO of Railsr and co-CEO of the new entity, says:

“This transaction will create an embedded finance leader with a strong balance sheet and real critical mass, positioning us to provide enhanced products and services to our customers while promoting financial stability and compliance in an otherwise fragmented sector.”

Lord Philip Hammond, Chairman of Railsr and the newly combined group, said:

“The combined Equals-Railsr business will be a major player and tech leader in embedded finance across the UK and Europe. I look forward to the business delivering strong growth and ground-breaking innovation in this dynamic area of fintech services in the years ahead.”

In a combined quote, Joseph Knoll, Managing Director of TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P.; Nikolay Skibnevsky, Principal at TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P.; Tughan Alioglu, Managing Director of J.C. Flowers & Co; Dan Adler, Managing Director of D Squared Capital; and Meirav Har Noy, Managing Partner of Moneta Capital, said:

“This transaction brings together two complementary businesses with a shared vision of delivering innovative, seamless financial solutions to global enterprises. The strengthened capabilities, enhanced product offering, and experienced leadership team position the combined business well for sustainable, long-term growth in the evolving embedded finance and payments landscape.”

Seamless integration and next steps

During the coming months, Equals Money and Railsr will work closely to integrate operations while ensuring uninterrupted customer service. Existing services will continue seamlessly, and clients will receive updates as enhancements are rolled out.

TowerBrook Delta (“Delta” or “the fund”), the SFDR Article 9 Impact Fund of transatlantic investment firm TowerBrook Capital Partners (“TowerBrook”), based in London and New York, is pleased to announce the fund’s fifth platform investment – Axil, a resource management firm specialising in innovative waste reduction, recycling, and resource recovery solutions across Europe.

Delta’s investment in Axil comes amid positive momentum for the fund, which closed in 2024 and today has AUM across all managed vehicles of $525m. The fund has made four previous investments which are all performing strongly:

• Envevo, a UK-based electric vehicle infrastructure services provider has secured two acquisitions since partnering with TowerBrook in 2023, helping the business to expand internationally and diversify across the value chain, delivering substantial organic growth
• TXO, a UK-headquartered, international telecom infrastructure company has almost tripled in size in terms of revenue since TowerBrook invested in 2023, pursuing a global consolidation strategy supported by acquisitions in the UK, Germany and the US
• AQUAchiara, a French filtered water solutions provider for the HoReCa (Hotel, Retail and Catering) and corporate sectors, achieved over 30% revenue CAGR growth for the last 3 years and will pursue acquisitive and international expansion with TowerBrook’s support following investment in H2 2024
• LiftWerx, a Canadian wind turbine repair & maintenance provider, is experiencing over 40% YoY growth by utilising its innovative up-tower crane technology to service clients across North America. TowerBrook is providing investment capital and expertise to help LiftWerx meet the growing demand for maintaining an aging onshore wind fleet

Axil, the latest UK-headquartered investment by Delta, is a resource management firm specialising in innovative waste reduction, recycling, and resource recovery solutions. Its business model maximises the recycling and reuse of manufacturing and industrial waste, conserving natural resources and reducing emissions, pollution and ecosystem damage from waste disposal. By supporting the transition to a circular economy, Axil aims to reduce carbon emissions and generate positive natural environment outcomes, aligned with Delta’s Resource Sustainability pillar and UNSDGs 9, 11 & 12.

As global resource scarcity rises, raw material costs increase, and supply chains grow more complex, Resource Sustainability is more critical than ever. In Europe, stricter regulations, higher disposal costs, and limited access to raw materials are driving a stronger push for resource sovereignty. Axil’s innovative resource management solutions help businesses reduce waste at the source, improve recycling rates, and lower operational costs.

With a 43% 4-year revenue CAGR and approximately 70% YoY EBITDA growth, Axil reflects the high-growth profile seen across the rest of the Delta portfolio.

Tom Redpath, European lead for TowerBrook Delta, commented:

“We are delighted to be making our fifth Delta investment into Axil, an innovator in waste management that has an exciting growth profile. Axil is a great example of the deep thematic work we do to identify high growth, high potential, high impact opportunities with enduring economic and behavioural tailwinds. Axil is closely aligned with one of Delta’s six key investment themes: resource sustainability.

Our investment in Axil comes at the perfect time, with our four existing investments performing well and benefiting significantly from TowerBrook’s investment and partnership on both organic and inorganic growth initiatives.

We believe this strong momentum reflects the continued demand for innovative services and technologies that underpin more sustainable supply chains while also enhancing business resilience and profitability.

We are excited to partner with the Axil team to support their organic and inorganic growth aspirations, while maintaining their award-winning culture.”

TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P. (“TowerBrook”) today announced a majority equity investment in Washington D.C.-based Berkeley Research Group (“BRG”), an industry-leading expert services and consulting firm.

Founded in 2010, BRG is a global consulting firm whose top-tier experts bring a diversity of real-world experience to economics, disputes, investigations, corporate finance, and performance-improvement services that address the most complex challenges for organizations across the globe.

Since its founding just 15 years ago, BRG has built a premier reputation and brand in the industry. It has achieved strong year-over-year growth, broadly doubling in revenue every four years. The firm now boasts more than 1,600 professionals serving the world’s largest law firms, government agencies and corporations, with deep expertise across a variety of sectors including healthcare, energy, construction, technology, retail and financial services.

Tri MacDonald, Chief Executive Officer and President of BRG, stated: “BRG’s incredible success in our first 15 years is rooted in our multi-disciplinary, entrepreneurial platform built with a best-in-class team of experts. We look forward to BRG’s next chapter of growth in partnership with TowerBrook, a highly sophisticated and well-respected financial sponsor. TowerBrook is committed to and experienced in the professional services space, has known BRG well as a client for many years, shares our strategic vision and has the resources and relationships to help us drive profitable growth and success in the coming years.”

“We are excited to partner with BRG and its management team,” said TowerBrook Managing Director Walter Weil. “BRG’s experienced team of experts, distinctive culture and innovative growth model have helped the company secure a strong market position. We believe TowerBrook’s expertise and shared vision for success make us ideal partners to support BRG in its next phase of growth.”

As part of the transaction, Endeavour Capital will exit its investment in BRG following several years of strong partnership and exceptional growth. Endeavour made a strategic investment in 2017 to support the firm’s organic growth initiatives and partially redeem early seed investors.

BRG’s executive management team will not change. Tri MacDonald will continue to lead the organization as Chief Executive Officer and President. David Teece will step down as Executive Chairman but will remain active as a professional within the firm.

Jefferies served as financial advisor to TowerBrook. Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, LLP served as legal counsel to TowerBrook. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP served as debt financing legal counsel. Royal Bank of Canada leads a group including Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo, TD, Jefferies, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation that will provide committed financing on the transaction.

JP Morgan Securities LLC served as lead financial advisor and American Discovery Capital served as financial advisor to BRG. Kirkland & Ellis served as transaction counsel.

We have been made aware of a cryptocurrency platform that falsely claims to be associated with TowerBrook Capital Partners. Please be advised that TowerBrook has no involvement with any cryptocurrency trading operations. The platform is likely carrying out a scam operation, using TowerBrook’s business name and branding to convince people to invest in cryptocurrency. The operation is largely targeting people in Australia via social media, including Facebook and messaging app WhatsApp.

If you receive any communication or come across any information suggesting our involvement in cryptocurrency transactions or investments, please disregard it.

TowerBrook has reported the operation to the relevant authorities.

For any concerns or to report suspicious activity, please contact us at contact@towerbrook.com