Carlyle to acquire majority stake in Anthesis

• Investment to support Anthesis’ impact and growth, expand its differentiated ESG and sustainability offering, and widen its international footprint.
• Transaction further strengthens Carlyle’s ESG strategy, advancing progress across its portfolio and on industry-wide ESG initiatives.

Global Investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) today announced that it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Anthesis, a leading global pure-play sustainability advisory and solutions firm. Carlyle will be investing alongside Anthesis’ employee shareholders, with existing shareholder, Palatine, reinvesting for a minority stake. Details of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Over the last 10 years, Anthesis has built deep and broad expertise in analyzing, designing and implementing impact-led sustainability, ESG, and net zero programmes for over 4,000 clients across corporates, financial and governmental institutions, delivered by a high-quality team of over 1,250 specialists across 39 offices in 22 countries. The company, which has achieved B Corp certification, has established itself as one of the largest group of dedicated sustainability professionals globally, having experienced rapid growth across its global customer base and network in recent years, and has completed 18 add-on acquisitions since inception.  Anthesis supports its highly diversified blue-chip client base in multiple aspects of their business, focusing on developing and activating sustainability strategies, enhancing digital capabilities, implementing carbon reduction plans and creating purpose-led communications.

Equity for the investment will be provided by the Carlyle Europe Partners (CEP) platform, which will support Anthesis to build upon its industry leading position in end-to-end sustainability solutions through international expansion, broadening the company’s service offering and continuing its successful track record of M&A. This transaction strengthens Carlyle’s firm-wide commitment to demonstrating leadership around critical ESG issues, and to create and execute increasingly more effective decarbonization strategies to build value across investments. Read more about Carlyle’s approach to ESG in its latest 2023 ESG Report.

Stuart McLachlan, CEO of Anthesis, said: ”Anthesis is uniquely positioned to provide the holistic solutions the market demands, harnessing its advisory, digital, carbon, and communication skills in response to regulatory and stakeholder pressures. We are excited to work closely with Carlyle to further strengthen their approach to ESG and sustainability, as they seek to lead by example in the global investment industry. We will continue to act as guides to our clients, realizing the value creation opportunity of sustainability in our rapidly changing world.”

Mark Dale, Managing Director on the Carlyle Europe Partners investment advisory team, said: “In Anthesis, we identified an opportunity to partner with a mission driven business that is uniquely positioned to deliver impact. As demand for sustainability solutions continues to accelerate, we believe Anthesis’ long-standing reputation for leading technical expertise and track record of high-quality delivery, makes the company exceptionally well positioned to further scale to meet this growing opportunity. Leveraging Carlyle’s global network and expertise in scaling similar businesses, we are delighted to support Stuart and the entire team in the next chapter of its growth journey.”

Meg Starr, Global Head of Impact at Carlyle, said: “We are excited to partner with Anthesis and look forward to working closely in the coming years to develop solutions around material ESG topics both within our portfolio and on a broader, global scale. We are particularly looking forward to collaborating with Anthesis given its convening power to drive convergence on critical ESG issues in private markets, such as their market-leading work on decarbonization and Net Zero guidance for private equity.”

Beth Houghton, Impact Managing Partner at Palatine, said: “We have enjoyed a close and successful partnership with Stuart and the Anthesis team, achieving significant organic growth and five successful acquisitions, delivering strong impact and returns for Palatine. In re-investing, we will continue to deliver on our mission of generating Returns with Purpose. We’re excited to be part of the next stage of the Anthesis’ growth journey alongside Carlyle, as more organisations embrace the imperative to act with urgency to address the climate crisis.”