European private credit manager Pemberton Asset Management has acquired Bonhams from private equity firm Epiris for an undisclosed sum.
Bonhams Chairman Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard sent an email to employees saying, arts news, He wrote: “Today marks the start of a new chapter for Bonhams. Pemberton Asset Management, one of our existing lenders and a leading investor backed by Legal & General, the UK’s largest insurer, has taken over the business from Epiris.”
Hoejsgaard added that the move also resulted in the departure of Bonhams’ global CEO Chabi Nouri and its chief commercial officer Céline Assimon. Both live in London. Swiss-born Nouri was appointed last August after serving as chief executive of Richemont-owned watch and jewelry company Piaget and most recently as a private equity partner at Mirabaud Group. Bonhams hired Assimon in May 2023.
Alex Lejeune, Bonhams’ chief financial officer and chief operating officer, will stay on until the end of the year to “support the transition.”
“I will continue to serve as chairman and am pleased to welcome the new senior leadership team with Seth Johnson as CEO, Liese Thomas as chief financial officer and Jennifer Babington as chief operating officer,” Hoejsgaard wrote. “Chris Ellerker and Mohit Agarwal from Pemberton will join the board, replacing Owen Wilson and Zoe Lai from Epiris.”
In 2023, Epiris offered to sell Bonhams and reportedly approached JPMorgan to advise on the deal. Epiris had sought $1 billion to acquire the 232-year-old auction house (whose total revenue is set to top $1 billion in 2022), but the sale process fell through.
Epiris acquired Bonhams in 2018 and has gone through a phase of significant growth. During that time, it added several smaller regional auction houses to its portfolio, including Nordic firm Bukowskis, New England-based Skinner and Danish auction house Rasmussen. In June 2022, Epiris further expanded Bonhams’ influence by acquiring French auction house Cornette de Saint Cyr. The move brings Bonhams’ total number of auction centers worldwide to 14, including in Hong Kong, Los Angeles and, most recently, Paris, where it launched operations last year.
Following these acquisitions, Bruno Vinciguerra, then CEO of Bonhams, stated The Art Newspaper 2022: “[Bonhams’s sale] It will happen one day, but it is not the driver of our strategy. I personally firmly believe that as a company we’re going to be working on this for 20 years; it’s a long-term thing. “
in an email art news Writing in the “Pemberton and Bonhams Press Office” on Sunday, a Bonhams spokesman declined to say how much Pemberton paid for the acquisition. “The investment cycle for Epiris is over [so] “It is clear that a new owner is best placed to support the business into its next phase,” they wrote. “Pemberton is better placed to support Bonhams’ ongoing transformation and long-term ambitions due to their extensive experience of portfolio companies in industries and geographies that are highly relevant to Bonhams, as well as the work they have done in repositioning the iconic brand.”
They added: “This transaction marks a defining moment for the company’s business, removing its debt burden and delivering balance sheet strength and strategic flexibility.”
The email also included a statement from Hoejsgaard: “Bonhams has achieved significant growth and continued profitability in recent years, and we are grateful to our former owner Epiris for the role they played during this time. Despite challenging markets, Bonhams’ resilient performance relative to the wider industry has been supported by investment in technology, global business expansion, strategic positioning in the premium auction space and being a mid-market leader. This is all part of our 60 “Working with Pemberton and the new leadership team strengthens our market position and supports our long-term growth objectives.”
No response from Epiris art newsComments requested at time of publication.
