Morgan Stanley Capital Partners Completes Sale of World 50 to New Continuation Fund Investment Vehicle

Investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners (“MSCP”) today announced the sale of World 50 Parent LLC and its related subsidiary companies (“World 50” or the “Company”) to a single asset GP-led continuation fund investment vehicle managed by an affiliate of MSCP. The continuation fund is led by investments from Pantheon with co-lead participation from Blue Owl Strategic Equity and Lexington, with Norwest, Ares Management Funds, AltamarCAM and Churchill also committing to the vehicle.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, World 50 is an invitation-only, peer-to-peer network and knowledge exchange platform. Global CEOs, board directors, and senior executives across a variety of functions – from 37 countries across six continents – join World 50 to learn from one another, build relationships, and engage with the World 50 community to discover powerful insights. Since investing in World 50 in 2020, MSCP has partnered with Company management to further build out the offering and continuously improve the member experience through complimentary services and products. The Company’s focus on creating an unmatched member experience has further cemented World 50 as an important resource to its members, which in turn, has led to consistent growth for the Company.

“We are proud to have partnered with the World 50 management team through this past chapter, ultimately transforming World 50 into what we believe to be a differentiated, leading platform,” said Adam Shaw, Managing Director and Head of Business Services at MSCP. “We believe World 50 is a unique business model with multiple levers for continued growth. We appreciate the World 50 team’s extraordinary talent and dedication over the past four years and look forward to being a value-added partner in the Company’s next chapter.”

“Morgan Stanley Capital Partners has been an outstanding partner over the past four years, helping solidify World 50’s position as an invaluable resource to our members, which has delivered exceptional value to them and growth for the company,” said David Wilkie, former CEO and current Chairman of the Board of World 50.¹

World 50 CEO Ken Davis, added: “We are extremely excited for the growth opportunities ahead at World 50 and look forward to continuing our partnership with the MSCP team to deliver a differentiated experience for our members.”

Baird acted as lead transaction advisor to MSCP on the continuation fund while Harris Williams provided industry related advice to MSCP, and Debevoise & Plimpton served as legal advisor to MSCP.