April 3, 2019 – Wafra Inc. and Landmark Partners LLC said Wednesday, April 3, they paid an undisclosed sum for a minority stake in Siris Capital Group LLC on the heels of the New York firm’s $3.45 billion capital-raising for Siris Partners IV Fund LP last month.

The firm said they will buy passive, non-voting minority stakes and will provide capital to repurchase an existing minority stake that was issued at Siris’ inception in 2011.

“The investments will have no impact on the day-to-day management or operations of Siris,” the firms said in a statement.

Spokespeople for Siris, Landmark and Wafra did not comment further.

“Our partnership with Wafra and Landmark will help us continue to capitalize on attractive opportunities in our focus areas,” Frank Baker, co-founder and managing partner of Siris Capital, said in a statement.

“Driven by a talented investing team with deep domain expertise, Siris has the right infrastructure in place to skillfully execute on its differentiated investment strategy,” Russell Valdez, chief investment officer of Wafra, said in a statement.

Ian Charles, a partner at Landmark, said Siris stands out as an “impressive technology investor with significant experience working with mature companies to navigate difficult technology transitions while creating value through hands-on operational involvement.”

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Berkshire Global Advisors worked as advisors for Siris Capital on the deal. Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal advice. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP was legal counsel to Wafra.

While Blackstone Group LP (BX) Goldman Sachs- and Neuberger Berman Group LLC-backed Dyal Capital Partners have been gaining momentum in the practice of acquiring minority stakes in private equity firms, Wafra has been an active player as well.

Wafra lists strategic partnerships as one of seven core businesses. The firm plans to hold on to its ownership stakes in established and “next generation” alternative managers forever, Wafra executives said in a video posted on its website.

For its part, Simsbury, Conn.-based Landmark Partners joined Dyal and Petershill last year in acquiring a minority stake in Clearlake Capital Group LP.

The deal comes just a few days after Palo Alto, Calif-based HGGC LLC said it sold a minority stake in the firm to Dyal Capital in late March.