The private equity group Cinven has bought a 50 per cent stake in Indicus Advisors, a debt investment boutique.

The deal is a rare example of private equity funding an acquisition with its own capital, rather than on behalf of its investors. The remainder of the company will be held by the debt boutiqueâ??s senior managers. Indicus will continue to be run by its founders, according to a person close to Cinven.

Indicus was founded in 2006 by David Reilly and Ujjaval Desai. It has about $1.75bn of assets under management and advises on more than $2bn of structured debt investments.