Dealmaker Sam Breuning leaves Barclays spinout Equistone

Sam Breuning, a partner at Equistone Partners Europe, left the firm at the end of May, according to a note the firm sent to limited partners June 19.

Breuning joined Equistone in 2006 from Bain & Co and focused on specialist engineering. He is taking an extended leave with his family, the LP letter said.

“In the immediate future they are going to be working with a charity project in Africa,” said the letter from Christiian Marriott, partner and investor-relations chief.

The firm did not know whether Breuning was planning to return to the private equity industry, the letter said. Breuning did not respond to a LinkedIn connection request.

Breuning was promoted to partner when Equistone spun out of Barclays in 2011. He was involved in deals like The Mill in 2011, which the firm sold to Technicolor in 2014 for 190 million pounds ($242 million), creating a more than 2x return, the firm said at the time.

Other deals on which Breuning worked were UK Power Reserve in 2015 and ChartCo in 2016, the letter said.

Equistone closed its most recent fund, Equistone Partners Europe Fund V, on 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) in 2015, the firm said. It closed Fund IV, which it was raising at the time of the spinout, on 1.5 billion euros in 2013. It hired three members of its UK investment team in the past year.

The firm targets the middle market in the U.K., France, Germany and Switzerland. Earlier this month, it announced a majority investment in Willerby, a U.K. company that makes modular homes.

Action Item: Reach Christiian Marriott: +44 20 7653 5300

Photo of Sam Breuning courtesy of LinkedIn.