News

Aquiline Capital Partners Leads $225 million Investment in CRT Capital Group

NEW YORK and STAMFORD, CT, September [7], 2010 - Aquiline Capital Partners LLC (“Aquiline”), a New York-based private equity firm investing in financial services, today announced that its funds have made a $225 million investment in CRT Capital Group (“CRT”), an independent institutional broker-dealer based in Stamford, Connecticut. The investment, which also includes funds from CRT’s management, will significantly expand the firm’s balance sheet with the objective of building a full-service broker-dealer.

Founded in 1989, CRT is a diversified and entrepreneurial sales, trading and research firm led by institutional brokerage veterans Ben Carpenter and Ron Kripalani. The firm has established a reputation for cross-capital structure research, superior client service and its growing market position in U.S. Treasuries and Mortgage and Asset Backed Securities.

CRT plans to expand its team and the products and services it currently provides to nearly 1,000 institutional clients. In the near-term, CRT will focus on scaling its customer flow and market-making activities in U.S. Treasuries, Mortgage and Asset Backed Securities, Credit, Convertibles, Equities and Emerging Markets.

“CRT has leveraged its existing infrastructure to take advantage of the post-crisis dislocation and build its market share. We are pleased to be partnering with CRT to address increasing client demand for more extensive execution and trading services,” said Jeff Greenberg, Chief Executive of Aquiline. “Ben and Ron’s success in building industry leading brokerage platforms and the strength of CRT’s client relationships will allow the firm to continue recruiting top talent while strategically growing its business.”

“This capitalization allows us to offer more capital-intensive client services than most independent brokerages at a time when investors are seeking to diversify their counterparty relationships away from large financial institutions,” said Mr. Carpenter, Chairman of CRT. “We look forward to working with Aquiline and benefiting from their strategic guidance and financial and operational experience as we execute our business plan.”

Mr. Kripalani, CEO of CRT added, “The market is saturated with excellent talent departing constrained brokerage platforms. This is the result of various industry dynamics, including uncertainty due to regulatory reform, reduced capital dedicated to client trading activities at bulge-bracket firms, and niche players unable to sustain their businesses in the face of capital deficiencies. We believe it is imperative to maintain a partnership structure and merit-based culture to attract and retain a seasoned team that will consistently provide outstanding client service and differentiated investment solutions.”

About Aquiline Capital Partners LLC

Aquiline is a private equity firm based in New York investing in financial services enterprises in industries such as property and casualty insurance, banking, securities, asset management, life insurance and financial technology. Aquiline seeks to add value to its portfolio companies through strategic, operational, and financial guidance.

About CRT Capital Group

CRT Capital Group (“CRT”) provides security brokerage and research services to nearly 1,000 institutional accounts with established counterparty relationships around the world. The Firm caters to asset managers, insurance companies, pension funds, hedge funds and investment firms. CRT, formerly known as Credit Research and Trading LLC, was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. For more information, please visit www.crtllc.com.