Ex-Credit Suisse PFG chief to join UK firm CapVest

Michael Murphy, the former co–head of Credit Suisse’s private capital advisory group who left recently, will lead investor relations in a newly created role with London mid-market shop CapVest, sources told Buyouts.

Murphy is among a slew of executives who left Credit Suisse in the wake of the bank’s  emergency acquisition by UBS for more than $3 billion. UBS now is in the process of figuring out an integration plan for Credit Suisse executives and operations.

Murphy’s head of IR role is a new one at CapVest, which was formed in 1999. The firm closed its fourth flagship pool on more than €1 billion in 2019, and was raising its fifth fund as of 2021, according to PEI data.

Murphy joined Credit Suisse in 2000 when the bank merged with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, where he worked as an associate in DLJ’s private fund group. He co-led the group at Credit Suisse alongside David Klein.

Klein remains sole head of the group, which has been one of the biggest and busiest placement shops in the industry. PFG raised 441 funds with $636 billion in capital since inception in 1994, PEI reported earlier this year.

CapVest focuses investments primarily in three key sectors: staple consumer goods; healthcare; and essential services, according to its Form ADV. It looks for buy-and-build opportunities in fragmented markets where there is an opportunity for consolidation and international expansion.

Recent deals include the acquisition of Second Nature Brands last year from Palladium Equity, a platform investment onto which the firm added-on Brownie Brittle in December. Also last year, the firm acquired Natra, a European producer and distributor of chocolates and cocoa products, from Investindustrial.

The firm also exited Valeo Foods to Bain Capital and sold Eight Fifty Food Group to Sofina Foods, a Canadian multi-protein producer, both in 2021. CapVest has acquired more than 80 companies over the last 20 years.