Healy opens Hellman & Friedman’s London office

Patrick Healy and Blake Kleinman, managing director and associate, respectively, of Hellman & Friedman have moved from the firm’s San Francisco base to London to set up a European operation, based in London’s West End. Healy led the four investments where the firm has invested in Europe to date, which are in the UK and Germany: Formula One Holdings (exited), Delaware International Advisers and Axel Springer and ProsiebenSat.1 Media, both in Germany.

Healy is in the process of recruiting a German national and hopes to have three more team members on board by the end of this year, which he aims to make a mix of age and experience.

In terms of deals, Healy will target these could range from enterprise values of €100m to €700m and the firm is not necessarily control orientated. While the UK and Germany continue to interest, so too does southern Europe, although Healy does not anticipate moving into eastern or central European territory.

Hellman & Friedman has also announced that it has recently closed its fifth fund, Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners V, LP, on $3.5bn. It is this fund that the London-based European team, headed by Healy, will invest from.