CIBT Global purchased by private equity firm

Published June 2, 2017 by Jessica Sabbath

CIBT Global Inc. has been acquired by Kohlberg & Co. LLC, a private equity firm in New York.

Kohlberg bought the McLean-based company from ABRY Partners.

Based in McLean, CIBT employs nearly 1,300 employees in 15 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and the Netherlands.

The company provides travel visa and immigration services to corporations, travel management companies and individuals.

“CIBT is the clear market leader in travel visa and immigration services, providing a full suite of mission-critical services to blue-chip clients across the world,” Ahmed I. Wahla, a Kohlberg partner, said in a statement. “We are very pleased to be partnering with CIBT’s management team and its dedicated, worldwide employee base, and we look forward to supporting the company’s future growth initiatives.”

Credit Suisse and William Blair served as financial advisers and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel to CIBT. Ropes & Gray served as legal counsel to Kohlberg. Antares Capital, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and Owl Rock led the debt financing for the transaction.