Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (“CETP”), in partnership with Rabo Investments, announced a strategic growth investment in SurePay, a European leader in payment verification software. Following an earlier successful growth trajectory together with Connected Capital and Iris Capital, CETP and Rabo Investments now join forces to further expand SurePay’s suite of payment verification and fraud prevention solutions and geographical expansion.  

 Founded within Rabobank in 2016 and headquartered in the Netherlands, SurePay is a leading provider of payment verification technology solutions to financial institutions and corporates across Europe and the UK. The company reduces fraudulent and misdirected payments through its trusted real-time IBAN-name check, Confirmation-of-Payee (CoP), Verification-of-Payee (VoP), and Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) products, supporting 200+ banks and 750+ corporate customers.  

 David-Jan Janse, CEO and co-founder of SurePay: 

“We are thrilled to welcome Carlyle as a strategic partner for the next stage of our journey. With Carlyle’s deep experience in financial infrastructure and enterprise software, they are the ideal partner to join Rabo Investments in supporting our ambition to strengthen our leadership across Europe and the UK, and expand into other international markets. This investment is a major milestone for our team and a strong validation of the platform we have built together with top-tier financial institutions and leading corporates around the world.” 

 More about SurePay: Home • SurePay 

LONDON, 22 April 2025 – Advent, a leading global private equity investor, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire tbi bank (“tbi”), a leading tech-led challenger bank in Southeast Europe and regional leader in payment plan solutions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Currently operating in Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece, tbi is building an ecosystem by combining financing and shopping to address customers’ needs. Through various digital channels and trusted partnerships with over 32,000 merchant partner check-out points, tbi has a customer base of over 2.4 million and nearly 1,000,000 loans issued in 2024. Its digital-first business model and customer-focused approach has resulted in tbi becoming one of the leading and fastest growing challenger banks in the region.

“tbi is at a pivotal point in its growth journey and underlines our commitment to the CEE region,” said Ranjan Sen, Managing Partner at Advent. “It is a digital-first, agile and customer focused organisation, and we have a shared vision for helping to shape the future of banking. We are excited to partner with the team to support them as they continue to scale and provide innovative solutions for customers.”

Petr Baron, Chief Executive Officer of tbi, added, “In Advent, we’ve found the right partners who share our ambition, values and mindset. Their experience based on strong financial sector and CEE investment track record reinforces our mission to build a smarter and more accessible banking experience to our customers.”

Advent has developed significant expertise and track record investing in consumer-facing banks and financial institutions, including in the region. Prior and current Advent investments include Nubank, the largest independent digital bank in the world, Addiko Bank, a consumer and SME specialist bank active across Central and Southeast Europe, KreditBee, one of India’s leading consumer finance platforms, Aareal Bank, a leading provider of financing solutions and services, with a focus on the property industry, and YES Bank, the 6th largest private bank in India. Advent also executed multiple investments in Bulgaria and Romania, the core tbi markets.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

About Advent

Advent is a leading global private equity investor committed to working in partnership with management teams, entrepreneurs, and founders to help transform businesses. With 16 offices across five continents, we oversee more than EUR €88 billion in assets under management* and have made 430 investments across 44 countries.

Since our founding in 1984, we have developed specialist market expertise across our five core sectors: business & financial services, consumer, healthcare, industrial, and technology. This approach is bolstered by our deep sub-sector knowledge, which informs every aspect of our investment strategy, from sourcing opportunities to working in partnership with management to execute value creation plans. We bring hands-on operational expertise to enhance and accelerate businesses.

As one of the largest privately-owned partnerships, our 660+ colleagues leverage the full ecosystem of Advent’s global resources, including our Portfolio Support Group, insights provided by industry expert Operating Partners and Operations Advisors, as well as bespoke tools to support and guide our portfolio companies as they seek to achieve their strategic goals.

To learn more, visit our website or connect with us on LinkedIn.

*Assets under management (AUM) as of December 31, 2024. AUM includes assets attributable to Advent advisory clients as well as employee and third-party co-investment vehicles.

About tbi bank

Visit the tbi bank website.

Media contacts

Advent
Peter Folland
pfolland@adventinternational.co.uk

tbi bank
Anna Grigorova
agrigorova@tbibank.bg

Mumbai, April 17, 2025: The Board of Directors of IDFC FIRST Bank, at its meeting held today, approved a preferential issue of equity capital (CCPS) amounting to approximately ₹4,876 crore to Currant Sea Investments B.V., an affiliate company of global growth investor Warburg Pincus LLC and approximately ₹2,624 crore to Platinum Invictus B 2025 RSC Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) managed by its Private Equities Department. The proposed issues are subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Over the last six years, IDFC FIRST Bank has undergone a successful transformation from its legacy as an infrastructure-focused DFI to becoming a modern, technology-driven, pan-India, universal bank. In the process, it has made significant investments in distribution, technology, and talent to become a leading private sector bank in India.

During this time, deposits grew 6x, loans and advances doubled, and CASA ratio has significantly improved from 8.7% to 47.7%. PAT rose from a loss of ₹1,944 crore in FY19 to a profit of ₹2,957 crore in FY24. However, profitability dipped in 9M FY25 due to industry wide challenges in microfinance, which the bank has navigated well. With this fund raise, the overall capital adequacy will increase from 16.1% to 18.9%, (CET-1 ratio at ~16.5%, calculated on the capital position of the Bank as of December 31, 2024), strengthening the Bank’s balance sheet and positioning it for strong and self-sustaining profitable growth.

Mr. V Vaidyanathan, Managing Director & CEO, IDFC FIRST Bank: “From day one, we have always built our foundation of the Bank with a long-term vision of building a world class bank in India. We are building a culture of empathy for customers and strive to offer highest levels of customer service. We are technologically advanced and continue to stay cutting-edge.

The Bank has firmly moved into profits and is now at a pivotal stage, where our income growth is expected to consistently exceed OPEX growth, leading to improved operating leverage. We expect many businesses which are in the investment stage to turn profitable with scale.

It is great to have Warburg Pincus back and to welcome a wholly owned subsidiary of ADIA as our shareholder. We thank them both for believing in us and our future growth plans and for investing in us even under volatile global situations. We believe only by building a strong, respected franchise loved by customers and supported by strong unit economics, we will deliver sustainable long-term returns to our stakeholders.”

Vishal Mahadevia, Managing Director, Head of Asia Private Equity, and Global Co-Head of Financial Services, Warburg Pincus, said, “We believe the Indian banking sector presents an exciting opportunity and is poised for long-term growth. At Warburg Pincus, we have a long track record of partnering with exceptional teams. We have known the IDFC First Bank team for over a decade dating back to their early days and have closely seen the build out of the bank. We are excited to re-invest behind the IDFC First Bank team to support them in the next phase of growth and sustainable ROE improvement.”

Hamad Shahwan AlDhaheri, Executive Director of the Private Equities Department at ADIA, said, “IDFC First Bank has firmly established itself as one of India’s leading private sector banks, backed by a seasoned management team. It has expanded both its technology and branch infrastructure over number of years and is well positioned for the future. This investment is aimed at supporting the bank’s continued growth, enabling it to meet the rising demand for financial products in the country.”

About IDFC FIRST Bank

IDFC FIRST Bank is a new-age private bank in India, with a vision to create a world class bank in India, focused on Ethical, Digital, and Social Good Banking. It operates 971 branches spread over 60,000 locations including cities, towns, and villages across India. While it has a physical network, it is built as a digital first Bank in approach, scale and scope.

It is a full suite Universal Bank offering services across Retail, MSME, rural, corporate, wealth management, private banking, Fastag, cash management, NRI and treasury solutions. The Bank’s customer deposits are growing at 25.2% YoY and Loans & Advances growing by 20.3% YoY (as of March 31, 2025 as per provisional disclosure) based on friendly user digital interface, ethical approach, and a strong brand.

Bank’s mobile banking app was rated #1 in India and #4 globally by Forrester in Digital Experience: Indian Mobile Banking Applications, Q3 2024 and Digital Experience Review™: Global Mobile Banking Apps, Q4 2024.

Its employees believe that to create a world class bank in India is an incredible opportunity of their lifetimes.

About Warburg Pincus

Warburg Pincus LLC is the pioneer of private equity global growth investing. A private partnership since 1966, the firm has the flexibility and experience to focus on helping investors and management teams achieve enduring success across market cycles. Today, the firm has more than $87 billion in assets under management, and more than 220 companies in their active portfolio, diversified across stages, sectors, and geographies. Warburg Pincus has invested in more than 1,000 companies across its private equity, real estate, and capital solutions strategies.

The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.warburgpincus.com.

About Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)

Established in 1976, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (“ADIA”) is a globally diversified investment institution that prudently invests funds on behalf of the Government of Abu Dhabi through a strategy focused on long-term value creation.

United Trust Bank (UTB), a leading UK specialist bank, has announced that an agreement has been reached between its majority shareholders and Warburg Pincus, the pioneer of private equity global growth investing, whereby Warburg Pincus will acquire a minority equity interest in UTB.

This agreement, which is subject to the relevant regulatory approvals, will support the continuation of UTB’s strong growth and expansion into new products. The investment, which values the banking group at approximately £520 million, is a significant endorsement of UTB’s current strategy and future prospects.

UTB has been successfully building its business and brand for over 20 years with its focus on recruiting the best people, developing its product range and a disciplined approach to growth. Today, UTB has around 60,000 deposit customers and total assets approaching £4 billion. The Bank has dedicated divisions providing development finance, bridging finance, structured finance, asset finance, BTL finance and mortgages. UTB’s reputation for in-depth knowledge combined with commercial awareness and its robust funding model has made it a popular choice for finance brokers, developers and individuals seeking a high quality, bespoke service and a reliable source of finance solutions.

Harley Kagan, Chief Executive Officer of United Trust Bank, commented:

“This is an exciting milestone for UTB and an excellent opportunity for our staff, shareholders and for Warburg Pincus.

“I am delighted that Warburg Pincus will be joining us as a new partner to help accelerate our growth and provide support and experience as the group heads for a £4 billion balance sheet and explores exciting new products and markets in the future.

“It just remains for me to say that the growth story over the last 20 years would not have been achievable without the exceptional UTB staff who work carefully every day to build the Bank and deliver outstanding products and services to our customers, and for that we wish to sincerely thank them. United, we really do go further.”

Mike Thompson, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus, commented:

“We are delighted to partner with United Trust Bank as an investor and a strategic partner. UTB has established itself as a market leader in the UK, with an impressive track record of growth and innovation. The Bank’s strong management team, customer-centric approach, and focus on specialty lending solutions are key drivers of its success. We look forward to working closely with Harley and his team to support the Bank’s continued growth and leveraging the expertise of our Financial Services and Capital Solutions teams to help the company seize new opportunities in the UK market.”

Warburg Pincus was one of the first global private equity firms to invest in Europe in 1983, investing more than $15 billion in over 125 companies across more than 20 European countries. Within the financial services industry globally, Warburg Pincus has invested more than $25 billion across 60 companies, with a particular focus on specialist banking and lending. The firm has a successful track record of investing in capital solutions related transactions historically and recently closed the Warburg Pincus Capital Solutions Founders Fund, backed by over $4.0 billion in commitments.

UTB was advised by Lazard and CMS.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

For further information:

Jason Wyer-Smith – 42 PR: 07824 818242

To link to our website home page please use: http://www.utbank.co.uk/

United Trust Bank

UTB is an expanding specialist bank providing a wide range of secured funding facilities for individuals and businesses and deposit accounts for individuals, businesses and charities. UTB has been named ‘Specialist Bank of the Year’ four times at the Bridging and Commercial Awards and is the only lender to have done so.

UTB was incorporated in 1955. It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. UTB is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and the Financial Ombudsman Service. The Bank is a member of UK Finance, a Patron of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB), a Member of the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA), a Member of the Bridging & Development Lenders Association (BDLA) and a Member of the Open Property Data Association (OPDA).

Warburg Pincus

Warburg Pincus LLC is the pioneer of private equity global growth investing. A private partnership since 1966, the firm has the flexibility and experience to focus on helping investors and management teams achieve enduring success across market cycles. Today, the firm has more than $86 billion in assets under management, and more than 230 companies in their active portfolio, diversified across stages, sectors, and geographies. Warburg Pincus has invested in more than 1,000 companies across its private equity, real estate, and capital solutions strategies.

The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.warburgpincus.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

NEW YORK – July 17, 2024 – Global investment firms Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) and KKR (NYSE: KKR) today announced that one or more strategic partnerships comprised of funds and accounts managed by Carlyle and KKR’s respective credit businesses have agreed to purchase an approximately $10.1 billion portfolio of prime student loans from Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS).

“This acquisition highlights Carlyle’s proven expertise in private student loans and asset-backed finance, demonstrating our Global Credit business’s ability to provide scaled, tailored solutions to meet our clients’ dynamic needs,” said Akhil Bansal, Head of Credit Strategic Solutions at Carlyle. “As the lending space evolves, we believe private markets are well-positioned to offer financial institutions increased flexibility amidst this transformation.”

“We are pleased to leverage our scale, deep experience in ABF investing and capital markets capabilities to be a capital solutions provider of choice to financial institutions that are focusing on optimizing their balance sheets,” said RJ Madden, a Managing Director at KKR. “This transaction demonstrates the value that scaled private lenders can bring to key areas of the economy as the priorities of traditional lenders continue to evolve.”

“We’re very pleased to consummate this transaction with two outstanding strategic partners in Carlyle and KKR,” said Dan Capozzi, Executive Vice President and President of Consumer Banking at Discover. “This agreement represents an important milestone in our journey to simplify our operations and business mix.”

Carlyle’s investment in the portfolio was led by its Credit Strategic Solutions (“CSS”) team, a group within its Global Credit business focused on asset-backed investments. The highly experienced team seeks to leverage the knowledge, sourcing, structuring, and breadth of the entire Carlyle investment platform to deliver tailored asset-focused financing solutions to businesses, specialty finance companies, banks, asset managers, and other originators and owners of diversified pools of assets.

KKR’s investment in the portfolio comes primarily from its asset-based finance strategy and other credit vehicles and accounts.  KKR has made more than 80 ABF investments globally since 2016 through a combination of portfolio acquisitions, platform investments and structured investments. The firm has approximately $54 billion in ABF assets under management and a team of more than 50 professionals directly involved in the ABF effort globally.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2024 subject to customary closing conditions.

KKR Capital Markets and TCG Capital Markets structured and arranged the debt for the transaction. Monogram LLC, a portfolio company of Carlyle, will serve as portfolio manager for the student loan portfolio. Firstmark Services, a subsidiary of Nelnet, Inc. will service the loans in the portfolio. Sidley Austin LLP served as legal advisor to KKR and Carlyle. Paul Hastings LLP also served as a legal advisor to Carlyle and Clifford Chance LLP also served as a legal advisor to KKR. Wells Fargo served as exclusive financial advisor, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as legal counsel, to Discover Financial Services in connection with the transaction.

About Carlyle

Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across three business segments: Global Private Equity, Global Credit and Global Investment Solutions. With $425 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2024, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. Carlyle employs more than 2,200 people in 28 offices across four continents. Further information is available at www.carlyle.com. For more, follow Carlyle on X and LinkedIn.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com. For additional information about Global Atlantic Financial Group, please visit Global Atlantic Financial Group’s website at www.globalatlantic.com.

About Discover Financial 

Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is a digital banking and payment services company with one of the most recognized brands in U.S. financial services. Since its inception in 1986, the company has become one of the largest card issuers in the United States. The company issues the Discover® card, America’s cash rewards pioneer, and offers personal loans, home loans, checking and savings accounts and certificates of deposit through its banking business. It operates the Discover Global Network® comprised of Discover Network, with millions of merchants and cash access locations; PULSE®, one of the nation’s leading ATM/debit networks; and Diners Club International®, a global payments network with acceptance around the world. For more information, visit www.discover.com/company.

Media Contacts:

For Carlyle:

Kristen Ashton

212-813-4763

Kristen.ashton@carlyle.com

For KKR:

Julia Kosygina

212-230-9722

media@kkr.com

For Discover Financial: 

Matthew Towson

224-405-5649

matthewtowson@discover.com