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PE Guide PDF
Private Equity
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to all Vault staff for their help. Special thanks to our family and friends,
especially Angelina, Antoine, Ariana, Olivier, Andrew, Goncalo, Christelle and the
Candesic team.
We are also grateful to all the private equity fund managers who agreed to answer
our questions and complete our data.
PREAMBLE
THE SCOOP
Who invests
10
Industry statistics
10
12
GETTING HIRED
25
26
29
Lifestyles
32
33
34
35
Career paths
39
40
Campus recruiting
40
Networking
41
Search firms
42
Websites
42
42
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
47
48
Advent International
48
Bain Capital
53
57
65
General Atlantic
71
76
81
TPG
87
PAN-EUROPEAN FUNDS
91
3i Group
91
Allianz Capital Partners /Allianz Private Equity Partners / Allianz AGF PRE
98
Apex Partners
103
111
118
BC Partners
124
130
Candover
135
Cinven
140
145
Doughty Hanson
151
154
EQT Partners
157
Eurazeo
161
European Capital
164
167
HgCapital
171
176
181
PAI Partners
184
Permira Advisers
188
TerraFirma
195
199
Englefield Capital
199
202
Investitori Associati
205
Mercapital
208
Sagard
211
MEZZANINE FUNDS
214
214
FUND-OF-FUNDS
218
Partners Group
218
225
226
Mezzanine Funds
304
Distressed Funds
310
Secondary Funds
312
Fund of Funds
316
APPENDIX
335
RECOMMENDED READING
337
WEB RESOURCES
337
ACADEMIC SOURCES
337
338
342
Table of Contents
Industri Kapital
PREAMBLE
Preamble
his guide covers late stage private equity funds only, excluding venture
capital. Using the Candesic database of private equity firms, we have
identified around 250 companies that meet the following criteria: a minimum
of 200-300 million of committed private equity investments in Europe. The list
includes LBO, growth capital, distressed, mezzanine funds and, to an extent, funds
of funds. The guide excludes sovereign funds, which are state owned pools of money,
as well as most of the real estate and infrastructure funds. Together and excluding the
funds of funds, the first 200 firms in our sample manage about 400 billion in
commitments and invested assets in Europe. (Including the assets outside of Europe
and the funds of funds, our sample reaches 900 billion in total commitments and
investments in private equity.)
THE SCOOP
CHAPTER ONE: What is Private Equity?
CHAPTER TWO: The Market
Who invests?
Most private equity funds are structured as limited partnerships with a life of
between five and ten years, with a General Partner and a Manager. The direct
investors, or limited partners, are mostly institutional investors who want to
diversify into alternative asset classes. This can also include funds of funds that allow
smaller investors access to the asset class. One of the big strengths of private equity
is that it closely aligns the interests of investors with those of the fund managers (the
general partners) and the management of the companies they invest in, as they
generally all have a substantial share of the equity.
Smaller Investors
Investors/GPs
(Institutions, HNWI)
Funds of Funds
Investment Managers
Company Management/Entrepreneur
Source: Candesic
perform better than its peers. In addition, at least in mature markets, they attempt to
multiply their return by leveraging their investment, aided in recent years by low interest
rates. As a more difficult credit environment evolves and debtor protection increases, it is
likely that some poorly performing funds wont be able to survive much longer.
Distressed debt is a high risk form of debt given to a company that is financially distressed
or bankrupt. Distressed firms are typically very volatile and difficult to value, and
therefore present arbitrage opportunities for financial investors such as hedge funds.
Equity
30%
Mezzanine
10%
High yield
10%
Senior debt
50%
Source: Candesic
90
86
80
70
60
50
45
44
40
38
35
35
33
30
32
30
25
20
22
20
21
19
15
10
15 11 11
11
9
11
9
8.4
5.7
KK
Ap R
Pe ax
rm
Te C ira
rr V
BC a Fi C
Pa rma
Bl rtne
ac r
ks s
to
n
EQ e
Ci T
nv
en
Ch C 3i
ar ar
te lyl
r e
B
G ain hou
ol C se
dm a
a p
Br n S ital
idg ac
PA ep hs
Ind I Pa oint
us rtn
tri er
K s
AXapit
D Ba A al
ou rc P
gh lay E
ty s
H PE
a
Al nso
pin n
ve
st
this segment, secondary direct funds buy portfolios of direct investments. Many
large diversified funds include it in their activities. Finally, one can distinguish
between early and mature secondaries.
We also listed some of the major funds of funds in Europe. They simply invest in a
number of direct PE funds to diversify their risk.
Interval funds are somewhere between open and closed-end funds in that they do not
provide daily liquidity, but have specified periods when shareholders are able to
redeem and distribute shares with the fund. During this time there will be an offer
to buy back a stated portion of shares from investors. Interval funds have proven
popular since being introduced in 1992 as they provide retail investors with access
to private equity investments with a degree of liquidity.
Industry statistics
In 2007, global private equity assets under management represented about $1.1
trillion, of which 700 billion were LBO funds (these figures, which seem rather
conservative, come from the McKinsey Global Institutes The New Power Brokers,
which appeared in October 2007) . A year later, following a record fund raising of
more than $500 billion, research provider Private Equity Intelligence announced that,
with the sum of the undrawn money and portfolio company holdings, the private
equity industry had reached assets under management of $2 trillion and had the
firepower to acquire up to $2.4 trillion in enterprise value; despite the current
difficulties in the LBO segment, [They] are predicting a $5 trillion industry over the
next five to seven years.
The industry has experienced an average growth rate of 14 per cent since 2000. From
a demand perspective, the growth is fuelled by the strong and sustainable
performance of the best managers, by the ability of many institutional investors to
allocate a larger portion of their assets to the asset class and by the surge of new
investors like sovereign funds. From a supply perspective, there is more awareness
of the possibilities offered by private equity for companies in need of financing, and
a growing pool of experienced managers with the skills required to execute these
transactions.
Of course, as we publish this guide (late 2008), and after a year of depressed markets,
culminating in a financial crisis, that have halted the most visible transactions, it is
difficult to merely describe the boom of the past seven years. We may be in the midst
of a bust, but we dont think the fundamental attractiveness of the private equity
model has changed, and would argue for a temporary correction of the recent excess.
10
100
100
90
90
80
72 71
70
70
60
50
48
47
45
40
40
Commitments raised
Funds invested
37
35
35
30
28
29 28
30
27
25
25
24
20
20
20
15
15
10
20
19
10
15 11 11
8
7
8.4
19
9
19 6
97
19
9
19 8
9
20 9
00
20
0
20 1
02
20
0
20 3
0
20 4
05
20
06
20
07
0
Source: EVCA; Perep & Preqin (2007); Candesic
Employment statistics
In terms of employment, PE remains a niche; the top 50 PE firms worldwide employed
less than 4,000 investment professionals in 2007. If we add the smaller firms, the venture
capital and the family offices, we may reach 20,000 investment professionals, of which
11
we estimate 7,000 are based in Europe. According to the Candesic database, the top
240 PE firms operating in Europe currently employ about 4,000 investment
professionals. These numbers look particularly low when compared to the millions of
people employed at the companies owned by the private equity funds.
Spain 6%
Eastern Europe 3%
Nordic 7%
Switzerland 4%
Germany 10%
Benelux 4%
France 17%
Italy 5%
UK 42%
12
13
LBOs showed that their headcount grew by 4.1 per cent per annum (with 78 per cent
of it from new jobs and 22 per cent from external growth), whereas the national
average was only 0.6 per cent. This growth was partnered with salaries increasing by
3.3 per cent per annum vs. 2.9 per cent on average and other elements of
remuneration being on average better developed and more attractive for all LBO
employees.
Total
turnover
Employees
AuM
KKR
40
$102bn
560,000
$86bn
Blackstone
45
$72bn
350,000
$32+60bn*
Carlyle
200
$87bn
280,000
$75bn
660,000
$50bn
PE FIRM
Bain Capital
Apax
$35bn
180
$65bn
TPG
300,000
Permira
$30bn
$30bn
GS Capital Partners
1,000,000
$30bn
430,000
$29bn
Cerberus
360,000
$22bn
Providence Equity
86,000
$21bn
390,000
$20bn
CVC
53
$55bn
Apollo
100
300,000
$16bn
Warburg Pincus
50
375,000
$15bn
General Atlantic
* $60bn in other asset classes
$14bn
14
For private equity firms involved in major transactions that they cannot easily finance
anymore, it is tempting to try and renegotiate terms or simply withdraw their offer.
But invoking the material adverse change clause doesnt work well and the break
up fee can be heavy.
One likely consequence will be that private equity funds will have more difficulty
competing against strategic investors as their access to cheap financing will be
limited. This in turn will contribute to lower returns. According to the McKinsey
Global Institute, firms that have relied more on leverage than skill may shut down.
This is more the case for mega buyouts which are more likely to rely on financial
engineering for value creation.
Regional differences
The private equity industry has historically grown first in Anglo-Saxon countries. In
Europe, the UK still represents about a third of the activity. While countries like
France or Spain have had substantial growth in the recent years, the economic,
regulatory and cultural environment remains more favourable in Northern Europe.
This hasnt prevented funds from expanding throughout Europe, but they recognise
the strong cultural differences.
Even in the UK, supposedly the friendliest place in Europe, public perception about
private equity deteriorated in 2007 following widely publicised critics of the attractive
tax status General Partners enjoy. The subsequent reform of the tax system is more
likely to penalise entrepreneurs, for whom the system was originally designed, than
improve public perception.
This hostility has resonated elsewhere in Europe. The industrys negative reputation
is relatively new and differs from country to country. In Germany, the term locusts
was famously used in 2005 by the leader of the Social Democrats and again by the
former CEO of Deutsche Boerse in his vitriolic book Invasion of the Locusts, after an
activist fund led to his departure. This has tainted the industrys reputation ever
15
In spite of a record first half year in 2007, the total value of buyouts between August
and October 2007 was 60 per cent lower than during the same period in 2006. In the
months leading up to the second quarter of 2008, the situation has further
deteriorated and many insiders acknowledge that they dont expect to close many
transactions during the year. One immediate consequence is the general impact on
the investment banking business. Before the credit crisis, investment banks could
earn up to 25 per cent of their fee income from advisory related to private equity
firms; this number has fallen to around 10 per cent with a direct impact on the banks
profitability.
since. It is tempting for politicians to use private equity firms as scapegoats, and it is
all the more easily done when some players carry out transactions with an approach
that is considered too aggressive, in a country where social consensus has dominated
for fifty years. In spite of that, Apax still considers Germany a friendlier environment
for private equity than France, all of Southern Europe and even Norway.
5.0
4.8
4.5
4.0
3.8
3.8
3.8
3.5
3.0
3.1
2.6
2.5
2.6
2.0
1.9
1.5
1.8
1.5
1.1
Greece
Hungary
Belgium
France
Austria
Norway
Germany
NL
Finland
Ireland
CH
Sweden
-0.5
Denmark
UK
Poland
Spain
Portugal
0.5
Italy
Slovakia
Czech Rep.
1.0
1.4
-0.3
-1
-1.0
-1.5
-1.9
-2.0
-2.1
-2.2
-2.5
-2.5
-3.0
Source: Apax
16
-2.7
-3.0
According to a study he conducted in 2005 with Antoinette Schoare from MIT, large
buyouts consistently outperform public stocks. More precisely, they exceed those of
the S&P 500 gross of fees and equal them net of fees. However, this depends on the
sample and the period considered. There are a couple of limitations in the assessment
of the industry performance, starting with the access to sufficient data, the selection
bias between good and poor performers and the general accuracy of the valuation of
the assets still in the portfolio. Some other studies have shown more mixed results
over the last ten years US buyouts could have outperformed the stock market (though
whether this can be proven is something of a grey area)but buyouts seem to be an
attractive asset class for limited partners and individual investors through their pension
plans. They could also have a beneficial impact on the economy with net job creations.
When looking more closely at their results, Kaplan and Schoar find a large degree of
heterogeneity among fund returns. Returns persist strongly across funds raised by individual
private equity partnerships. The returns also improve with partnership experience. They also
find that market entry in the private equity industry is cyclical. Funds [and partnerships]
started in boom times are less likely to raise follow-on funds, suggesting that these funds
subsequently perform worse. Aggregate industry returns are lower following a boom, but
most of this effect is driven by the poor performance of new entrants, while the returns of
established funds are much less affected by these industry cycles. (This is from Kaplan and
Schoars 2004 Private Equity Performance: Returns, Persistence and Capital Flows.)
Nevertheless, a 2008 report by Thomson Financial for the EVCA shows that European
private equity firms achieved a 15.9 per cent five-year rolling IRR, against 14.5 per
cent for US buyout groups, and expects the short-term performance of private equity
funds to remain very strong.
Taxation
General partners in private equity funds have been increasingly criticised for paying
a very low amount of taxes on their revenue. Until 2008, carried interests were taxed
at the level of capital gains at 15 per cent in the US and at a special level of 10 per cent
in the UK. This is an unintended result of the original attempt to support the
financing of risky ventures by private equity, by the so-called venture capitalists.
Today, when 75% of the capital is invested in buyouts where, by definition, cash
flows are relatively stable and predictable, this tax treatment appears generous to
17
"On balance, private equity increases efficiency," says economist Steven Kaplan of
the University of Chicago.
many. In October 2007, the UK government announced their decision to raise the rate
to 18 per cent, a measure that should be limited enough to prevent a massive exodus
of funds. In the US, major players have lobbied hard to kill a Senate bill and a measure
by the House of Representatives that would increase the taxation of carried interests
to 35 per cent or more instead of 15 per cent. They are now trying to at least double
the five year grace period contained in the draft proposal and to ensure that all private
equity firms will be treated equally, including those who went public.
The competition
Cooperation and competition with hedge funds
Hedge funds are similar to private equity funds in many respects.
They have similar organisational and to an extent compensation structures,
they are often highly leveraged; they offer high performance and seemingly
lower correlation to other asset classes; they need to raise funds from
institutional investors, they attract top talent; and they are increasingly
accused of being too lightly regulated.
They differ mostly from each other in their time horizon and the liquidity
of their investments. PE funds invest primarily in very illiquid assets and
lock their investors for the entire term of the fund. This leads to differences
in the asset valuation, in the timing of performance compensation, in the
exit strategies and ultimately in the motivation of the management of the
target companies. But, while most hedge funds pursue absolute returns and
invest in very liquid assets, their search for new alpha leads them to build
their own PE funds where they can hold side-pocket investments. In 2007,
PE represented about 10% of hedge funds investments.
In the competition with PE, hedge funds tend to benefit from having a
variety of people with expertise in different places within the capital
markets chain.
Activist hedge funds make direct bets when they demand board seats after
building a position in a company. Many hedge funds have entered the
LBOmarket, first as mezzanine providers. At the same time, distressed
hedge funds compete with their PE counterparties, and the shorter
investment horizon becomes less obvious a difference.
Finally, in general, hedge funds are pushing into less liquid markets such
as mid-caps to compensate for the lower returns in their traditional fields.
Lately, hedge funds are starting to hire PE managers, and PE funds have to
18
While their core businesses remain quite distinct, hedge funds and private equity are
now experiencing a melt down in most periphery segments.
Other competitors
Government-sponsored principal investors (Dubai, China) and large family
offices represent a further inflow of liquidity that targets the biggest assets,
sometimes competing with the biggest PE funds, sometimes partnering with
them in club deals, and lately buying stakes in the funds directly. Sovereign
funds can disturb the market as they dont have the same performance
requirements or culture. Many of them need to find ways to invest the huge
amounts of money they manage and are less concerned with the risks they
are taking. Insiders mention that, on several occasions, some well-known
sovereign investors have started their due diligence after the acquisition!
19
50
45
TXU (KKR+TPG)
40
35
30
30
Hilton(Blackstone)
25
Alltel (TPG+GS)
Alliance Boots (KKR)
20
15
10
8.4
Q
1
Q
2
Q
3
Q
4
Q
1
Q
2
Q
3
Q
4
Q
1
Q
2
Q
3
Q
4
Q
1
Q
2
Q
3
Q
4
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
Source: Candesic
20
Overhang
In private equity jargon, overhang refers to unused (uncalled) capital commitments.
It is somewhat similar to dry powder, which refers more generally to the cash
reserves kept on hand to cover future obligations. In March 2008, Goldman Sachs
estimated at $400 billion the amount of uninvested capital raised by private equity
firms. With the tightening of the credit markets and the temporary death of mega
LBOs and club deals, it becomes difficult to invest. Putting the money to work is a
condition to charge the management fees on a continuous basis, which may explain
some of the recent appetite for buying stakes in public companies. Another issue is
the impact on the asset allocation plans of the institutional investors, if the capital
remains in cash for too long.
Exits
In their yearly report commissioned by the EVCA, Perep Analytics recognise seven
exit categories for private equity investments: trade sale, repayment of shares or
loans, secondary buyouts, initial public offerings, sale of quoted equity, write-offs
and sales to financial institutions. In 2007, secondary buyouts reached a record 30 per
cent of all exits and, for the first time since at least 1992, overtook trade sales by value
of total divestiments.
According to a fund manager in London, Write-offs are kept artificially low for
reputation reasons; it it often tempting to merge a hopeless dog with a better run
company as long as there is limited risk to damage the better one.
Whats next
So, whats next? Prior to the September 2008 crisis, returns were already mixed, high
leverage ratios seemed out of the question, mega LBOs were delayed if not cancelled,
and still, the market was expected to continue to grow at a significant pace, albeit
slightly slower than previous predictions. In a September 2007 conference, Carlyles
David Rubinstein said that the average holding period is likely to rise from four to
six years. For a while, targets are going to be smaller as big groups are tempted into
21
performance of the Blackstone shares have halted most ambitious plans. Like
Blackstone, listed PE vehicles in Europe have been slammed by the market: shares
of 3i, Altamir (Apax France), Candover Investments, Eurazeo or KKR Amsterdam
have lost 25 to 50 per cent of their value in less than a year.
the middle market. Firms like Blackstone, Cerberus and KKR with its Capstone unit
will leverage their strong restructuring experience and target more distressed assets.
However, ultimately, institutional investors are unlikely to lose their appetite for the
industry and the McKinsey Global Institute forecasts a further increase of global
private equity assets under management to $1.4bn by 2012, a doubling in five years.
Citigroup expects private equity to soon overtake property and hedge funds as the
most popular alternative investment for pension funds. In a keynote address at the
2008 Wharton conference, David Rubinstein, again, reckoned that Private Equity will
now spend a year or so in purgatory before entering the platinum age, an even
greater period of expansion than the golden age it went through in the last five
years. For Rubinstein, returns will remain strong and Private Equity will remain
attractive to investors because the techniques used by sponsors to improve
companies have been proven to work, including giving management a stake in the
companies they run. In the first half of 2008, the mid market showed its resilience.
22
GETTING HIRED
CHAPTER THREE: Is it the Right Job For Me?
CHAPTER FOUR: The Hiring Process
rivate equity is a relatively new industry. While the activity has been around
for centuries, as long as wealthy investors have been able to acquire stakes in
private companies, it is only in the last few decades that it has become an
industry, with a typical organization and business model and the recruiting of
professionals at undergraduate, graduate and experienced levels. From our
interviews, private equity in Europe has clearly become more competitive as teams
compete directly within and across countries for the same assets. Because the
competition is more global, the recruiting tends to be more competitive and
26
250
210
200
204
177
170
168
150
104
100
72
72
69
66
62
61
59
50
57
49
49
44
42
42
38
37
37
bia
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lyt BS
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ich
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on
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27
international candidates with language skills are targeted.The industry has grown very
fast, but its attractiveness has grown even faster. Our database shows that more than
60 per cent of the investment professionals have an MBA, a PhD or another advanced
degree. Those who only have an undergraduate degree tend to be younger analysts,
especially in the UK where it is common to start working after a bachelors degree.
The institutions represented areno surprisethe top universities in Europe (typically
top 5-10 universities in each country) and top 15 global programs for MBA graduates.
Globally, INSEAD, Harvard, Cambridge, HEC and Oxford are the most represented
academic institutions across all the professionals, accounting together for about 20 per
cent of them. Bocconi is the clear challenger to the group of five and sometimes seems
to be the sole local provider of managers in Italy. Other institutions that have
substantial amounts of graduates in the industry tend to be the best business and
economic schools in each big European country: Stockholm School of Economics,
London School of Economics, St. Gallen, ESCP-EAP, London Business School.
However, the vast majority of graduates do not start their career in private equity:
they will first get their training in related areas of advisory or in top management
positions.
Most investment managers have started their career in another area: the Candesic
database shows that less than 20 per cent of private equity fund managers started
their career in private equity (11 per cent at their current employer and the rest at a
previous PE firm). Out of the other 80 per cent, half of them worked in investment
banking or other areas of banking, especially leveraged finance, and 20 per cent
worked outside of the finance industry. More than 10 per cent of all fund managers
had previous experience in strategy consulting, and the same percentage came from
audit and transaction services (note that the numbers dont add up to 100 per cent
because many fund managers had several jobs previously). The most frequent
previous employers are PWC, McKinsey and the top tier US investment banks.
Strategy consulting
120
109
95
90
93
86
77
74
71
70
65
64
60
57
53
51
51
46
46
45
44
41
28
UB
D S
BN eloi
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Er P P e
ns ari
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nk
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Le red 3
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an Suis
Br se
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AB the
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KP
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An an
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30
English is the common language, but in most European countries, fluency in the local
language is necessary to interact with the management team of a local private firm.
There are exceptions at both ends of the private equity spectrum, whether dealing
with high tech start-ups set up by highly educated PhDs or on the mega LBOs of
firms with global operations.
Finally, private equity doesnt appear to be an equal opportunityarea. Unlike in
many other areas of asset management, women represent only 10 per cent of
investment professionals and 11 per cent of all professionals (which includes CFOs,
COOs and those engaged in business development, fundraising and risk
management). In addition they are found proportionally less often in senior
positions. Pessimists will question their chances to get promoted against men.
Optimists will explain it by an improved access at junior level: women represent 15
per cent of the analysts and associates.
29
Most fund managers tell us they like their job, the diversity of activities, the team of
like minded brilliant professionals, the opportunity to work closely with executives,
and the perks. They also tell us that they work harder than they did ten or twenty
years ago; low hanging fruits have disappeared in developed countries. New risks
appear and limited partners become more and more sophisticated. The industry is
also more likely to be hit by global economic downturns. The most recent example
is how the 2007 US subprime mortgage crisis has led to a sudden and complete halt
of all multi-billion dollar LBOs. Many mega funds have quickly dispatched their
fund managers to work on improving the existing portfolio companies. Part of the
stress is also linked to the performance dependant reward model; managers get their
share of the profits only after the PE fund sells the company, typically three to seven
years after the investment. A prolonged recession with limited exit opportunities can
destroy most of the expected remuneration. A recent BVCA report showed that only
50 per cent of the private equity firms in the UK paid out a carry to their managers.
In addition, the access to the carry is long and becoming longer at those firms that can
pay it: it takes an average of seven years to be promoted to partner, and another
seven years to gain full access to the carry. For all these reasons, one should expect
the staff turnoverso far extremely lowto increase in the private equity industry
like in any other maturing industry.
Like management consulting, private equity offers the opportunity to work across
industries and geographies on various management issues, in direct contact with the
top management and other professionals. Numerous insiders coming from
management consulting see their move as a natural career progression, with the
advantage of being closer to the real operations of the companies in their portfolio,
and the opportunity to participate directly to the implementation or monitoring of
implementation of the strategy. Some consultants, especially those who didnt have
prior significant line experience, become frustrated after years of advising top
executives and feel the need to do things by themselves.
The MD of a French mid cap fund states that one of my great joys is to coordinate the
various advisors. It can be a lot of work, but they are generally the ones who keep
working late a long time after I left the office. While this may be an extreme situation, it
is certain that the private equity fund manager doesnt have to report to the limited
partners the way top executives in public companies report to their shareholders.
The skills required in most hedge funds are somewhat different. This is mainly due
to the timeframe of the investment: hedge funds get in and out of an investment
within months, weeks, sometimes days. Quantitative skills are often more developed
and required. One can say that, on average, private equity roles are more well
rounded and come with more variety in the day to day job. There are however many
common features: the small team of bright professionals, often with international
backgrounds, the exceptional remuneration opportunities and the high flexibility
being close to the top of the value chain.
30
Fund raising
Deal sourcing
Acquisition
Postacquisition
Investment
strategy
Investors
hunting
Set up funds
Networking
Identification
of investment
opportunities
Preliminary
investigation
Prioritsation of
opportunities
Due diligence
Set up of
financial
structure
Valuation
GP agreement
Investment
Committee
decision
Contract
preparation
Portfolio
Monitoring
Portfolio and
company
management
- Optimisation
of operations
- Reorganisation
- M&A
- Strategic
review
Exit
Management
Vendor due
dilligence
Valuation
Partial or total
divestment
through
- IPO
- Trade sale
- Secondary sale
- Write-off
Source: Candesic
Deal sourcing. Fund managers will assess the various opportunities brought by
investment bankers, brokers and other contacts in their networks. Typically, no
more than 25 per cent of the deals are proprietarythe rest comes from the bankers
(50 per cent) and from affiliated funds or advisors (25 per cent). Some firms have
a thorough process of monitoring thousands of public and private companies to
identify underperformers or companies with non-core assets and excess costs. Most
big firms will have to analyse hundreds of targets.
Due diligence. During the due diligence, they will select and monitor their various
advisors (investment bankers, lawyers, accountants, management consultants and
other specialised advisors), often leaving the investment bankers with the
responsibility of coordinating the team.
In a fund of funds, the due diligence will be more targeted at the financial
performance and investment process of the fund. Managers will conduct most of the
diligence themselves.
Financial structure. The fund manager will discuss the financial structure and the
use of leverage with the debt and mezzanine finance providers. They may have to
get approval from the General Partners.
31
Investment Committee. Often working within a team, the fund manager will put
together the various elements of the investment case and will submit it to the
investment committee, composed of the senior partners and some of their advisors.
Acquisition. Once the case is agreed upon internally, the team can make a binding
offer to the vendor. If it is accepted, the acquisition proceeds, and may last three to
six months, with the due diligence likely to continue in the background.
Post-acquisition. The performance of the companies in the portfolio is constantly
monitored and actions are taken if the results deviate from the tight plan that was
agreed upon with the management. Some firms will just have a fund manager
sitting on the board of the company; some will delegate one of their employees to
work with the executive team; others will put entire teams of operational
consultants to work.
Exit. After a period of three to seven years, the portfolio company should have
repaid a substantial part of its debt. Hopefully, the new company has a reasonable
leverage ratio and can be sold with a handsome profit to the public through an
IPO, to another PE firm, or to a strategic investor through a trade sale. In recent
years, numerous secondary and tertiary transactions have occurred, when further
growth in the ownership of a bigger private equity firm is considered the best
option, i.e., the option that maximises the current value of the portfolio company.
The firm will hire an investment bank to manage the sale process and prepare an
Information Memorandum (IM). It will generally hire accountants to prepare the
Vendor Financial Due Diligence document, and sometimes consultants for the Vendor
Commercial Due Diligence document.
Lifestyle
Private equity can be demanding. Like other high-paying jobs, it comes with a lot of
stress. One French Managing Director observes that the globalisation of the business
makes life more difficult than it was 20 years ago, when nobody knew what private
equity was. We were a small club of professionals and had plenty of opportunities.
Now we compete against the world for every asset. However, since most of the fund
managers have had a previous experience in consulting, leveraged finance or
investment banking, the transition to private equity is generally very satisfying: You
have fewer hours, less hierarchy, you work more for yourself, and you direct the
work of others, remarks a former M&A banker.
32
33
34
Day in the life: Business school student, junior analyst role as intern
in France for pan-European multibillion mid-cap LBO fund
9.00 am: I get into the office and glance over the finance section of the daily paper and
a dedicated private equity newspaper we get delivered.
9.30 am: Team meeting. We normally talk about any issues and news relating to a
deal in process, a company in our portfolio, or a new investment opportunity.
35
People who work in PE have to be very clear about the fact that the work is very intense and
the cultural pressure is often very strong. We had to get rid of people during the last few years
because they became too ambitious about their shares. It did not serve the company anymore.
36
11.45 am: Review Investment Memorandum (IM) prepared by internal deal team on
the same transaction.
13.00 pm: Interview a candidate for an analyst position in our fund.
14.00 pm: Lunch with the former manager of a large company. At this stage of his
career he would like to lead a management buyout. We discuss a couple of potential
investment opportunities and agree next steps.
16.00 pm: Investment committee meeting. We have a lively discussion around a
potential investment that we are considering, its merits and risks. We are in
exclusivity and getting close to a final commitment.
18.30 pm: Internal meeting to discuss overall status of projects we are working on.
19.30 pm: Meeting with a consulting firm. They have come here to present their
thoughts and views on the healthcare sector at our request. We discuss trends and
opportunities.
20.45 pm: Go home.
37
10.15 am: Review a pack of due diligence reports on a potential investment we are
considering. The pack includes the main findings on the financial, fiscal, commercial
and legal areas, produced by a team of advisors assisting us in this transaction. We
have an investment committee meeting later on and need to be well prepared for the
discussion.
38
Career paths
Maybe because it is such a young industry, there doesnt seem to be a lot of life after
private equity. Not that there wouldnt be opportunities, but as most of our
interviewees observed, Why move if I get everything I want here? While we dont
have the most precise statistics, most people leave private equity to go into private
equity! This can be moving into a larger fund, creating ones own fund or sometimes
moving into an operational or interim management position in the portfolio.
There are a few cases of fund managers who transferred to a top executive position
in the industry, but a more natural development is to spend increasing time in nonexecutive director positions until full retirement. If not in the portfolio, even a CEO
role proves to be difficult as managers typically have five to 10 years of carry that they
risk losing if they leave the fund. Only hedge funds have deep enough pockets to
buy out private equity fund managers.
39
19.00 pm: Conference call with English lawyers to discuss progress on fundraising for
new fund.
ost private equity funds dont have a very formal recruitment process. The
firms are small, the turnover is low, and so are the recruitment needs, unless
one has an aggressive international expansion. There are however a couple
of exceptions, like 3i, Bain Capital, Blackstone, Carlyle or Goldman Sachs PIA. The
key success factors for entering the industry are the academic pedigree and the
networking skills. For experienced candidates, an excellent track record is of course
another requirement.
Many firms dont have a recruiting or HR person but a recruiting committee chaired
by one of the funds managers. Other HR responsibilities can be outsourced. After an
internal or external screening, a couple of candidates will be invited to a set of three or
four rounds of interviews. Even for internships, the average seems to be two rounds.
While this is based on anecdotal evidence, many interviews are one on one. The fit
with the individual fund managers is a key component in a small transaction team.
Campus recruiting
Because most firms don't have a very formal recruitment process, they often don't
recruit on campus. In recent years, the big ones like Alpinvest, Blackstone, Alliaz,
Axa or Goldman Sachs PIA may have appeared on selected MBA campuses like
INSEAD or LBS for graduate recruiting, but this used to be the exception. It is
changing fast: according to Sandra Schwarzer, who heads career services at INSEAD,
at least nine PE firms participated in 2007 in company presentations or Career Fairs.
While in 2006 a record 26 students declared joining a PE/VC firm straight after
INSEAD, this has gone up to 39 in 2007. We expect the number of schools visited to
grow once the current credit crisis softens. It is also encouraging that an increasing
number of the top MBA students have a summer internship in PE firms (20 at
INSEAD in 2007). And there are a couple of opportunities for internships at other
schools: in France, for example, Axa PE and Barclays PE advertise on the Intranet of
top Parisian business schools to recruit interns.
Indeed, a growing number of funds now value the opportunity to recruit a couple of
young analysts for a gap year. They warn however that only a tiny percentage of
interns may receive an offer afterwards as the firms often don't have the need for
more permanent staff.
40
All top business schools now offer a private equity elective. This often gives
students an opportunity to start networking very early, sometimes with a summer
internship or even a gap year working as an analyst. Some of them, like Chicago
GSB in London, also provide a private equity club where students can meet with
alumni in the industry.
Several European business schools are developing dedicated research focusing on
private equity issues. The Nottingham University Business School created the
Centre for Management Buy-out Research (CMBOR) in 1986 in partnership with
Barclays Private Equity and Deloitte to monitor and analyse management buyouts. ESSEC in France launched a private equity chair in 2006, sponsored by
Barclays Private Equity. At London Business School, the Private Equity Institute
has been established to advance the understanding and practice of private equity.
The Munich-based Centre for Private Equity Research (CEPRES) is managed
In Spain
Korn Ferry
Heydrick & Struggles
Source: Candesic interviews
41
Networking
Search firms
Headhunters are mostly involved in looking for specialist skills. The typical mandate
is to replace a senior manager or fill new senior positions following an expansion
plan. While the major executive search firms all claim to be involved, our
interviewees directed us to local specialist firms.
Website
Firm websites are often disappointing for candidates applying to small or mid-size
funds. Most company websites wont even mention the name of a recruiting person
or give specific contact details. It is understood that the right candidate is already
part of the club or will be personally introduced. But strongly motivated candidates
should not hesitate to try their chance through the switchboard.
42
General questions
Why PE?
Why this firm?
What makes a good deal?
How would you find deals, how do you know what to buy?
How would you do it?
Which deal can you describe and what do you think of it?
If you had that amount of money, what would you buy in this country?
Behavioural questions
What do you do in your spare time?
Tell me about yourself.
Finance questions
IRR vs. multiple
How to motivate management
How do you value a company? What is a P/E ratio?
LBO model: candidates are expected to be familiar with LBO models. They are
likely to be asked to comment on a simple valuation model that may contain a
relatively obvious miscalculation. In some cases, the candidate has to build a simple
model on paper. Knowing the definitions and differences between free cash flows
to equity and free cash flows to the firm, how to choose the appropriate discount
rate and calculate it, and how average EBIT or EBITDA multiples have been doing
lately may be a deciding factor. At a major London-based firm, candidates are given
a laptop and asked to build an LBO model.
What are the pros and cons of using mezzanine to finance a transaction? In which
cases will you consider it? What should you be aware of?
43
Industry questions
How many transactions can an analyst work on simultaneously? In a year?
Give an example of an industry with high Capex, with no Capex.
Case studies
For a given EBITDA in a given industry, how much leverage can you afford? How
do you find out?
Full case study including analysis of the growth drivers in an industry, major risks
and competitive positioning of an asset. One Associate candidate in London reports
being sent all the case study material 24 hours prior to the interview with the
request to prepare a presentation to the Investment Committee.
44
Profiles of
37 REPRESENTATIVE
PE firms in Europe
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
UK Regional Headquarters
Advent International plc
111 Buckingham Palace Road
London SW1W 0SR
UK
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800
www.adventinternational.com
THE STATS
Chairman: Peter A. Brooke
Employer Type: Independent Private
Company
Total private equity funds under management: about 11bn (2008)
Employees: 130 investment professionals,
of which 65 are in Europe (2008)
No. of Offices: 15
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Business Services & Financial Services
Retail & Consumer
Technology, Media & Telecoms
Healthcare & Life Sciences
Industrial
Financial stages:
International buyouts, recapitalization and
growth equity investments (up to 500m
equity), some venture capital
Types of financing:
Majority equity
48
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
London (HQ) Amsterdam Bucharest
Frankfurt Kiev Madrid Milan
Paris Prague Warsaw Bratislava
(affiliate) Oslo (affiliate)
KEY COMPETITORS
3i Apax Barclays Private Equity
Cinven Montagu
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
In the US: info@adventinternational.com
For other offices, see "contact us" at
www.adventinternational.com
International investment
London and Boston-based Advent International is truly an international private
equity firm. While most of the big names in private equity have outposts in Europe
and Asia, Advent takes "international" to another level, with 15 offices around the
world, from Argentina to Southeast Asia. In the last two years alone, it has opened
new offices in Amsterdam, Prague and Kiev. Advent is also responsible for a number
of firsts in the global private equity landscape; they put together the first leveraged
buyout in Hungary and Poland; the first private equity-backed public-to-private deal
in Central Europe and Spain; the first global private equity fund, in 1987; and the
largest-ever private equity fund dedicated to Latin America. Founded in 1985 as a
spin-off of TA Associates international operations, the firm has backed more than 500
companies in some 35 countries.
FUND CAPITAL
2008
6.6bn
2007
$1.3bn
2005
2.5bn
2005
330m
2002
2.0bn
FUNDS
49
Advent international
THE SCOOP
In December 2006, the firm won an impressive and unprecedented four industry
awards at the fourth annual European Private Equity Awards organised by EVCA.
The list included the European Private Equity House of the Year as well as the
European Mid-Market Deal of the Year, for Moeller in Germany, and the Emerging
European Deal of the Year, for Terapia in Romania.
Deal-making
Advent has been on a shopping spree as of late with a clear acceleration in the last
three years. In early 2005, the firm brought in the new year with the acquisition of
Proservvi, the leading provider of back-office processing services to financial
institutions in Brazil. Then in April, Advent bought a stake in Fat Face, the active
casual wear market leader in the U.K. One month later, across the Atlantic, the
private equity group picked up Making Memories, the Utah-based provider of
scrapbook and card-making products. In June, Advent invested in the drilling
services and equipment company Boart Longyear and Italian vending machine
operator Gruppo Argenta. In August, the global private equity group acquired five
different companies, ranging from a Romanian paints business to a technology
company in the U.K. In September 2005, Advent bought a majority stake in Casa
Reha, a German private nursing home group. It pursued a buildup strategy and, in
2007, doubled the size of the company with the acquisition of competitor
SozialKonzept, catapulting Casa Reha into the top five of German private nursing
home groups. In December of the same year, Advent announced the sale of the group
to HgCapital.
Advent had already shown its skills in Germany with the 2006 turnaround and sale
for 1.1bn, in an auction to Doughty Hanson, of global electronics manufacturer
Moeller Group, which was on the verge of bankruptcy when acquired in December
2003. This highly successful restructuring attracted the praise of the judges who saw
the deal as an outstanding example of a traditional private equity house taking on
a difficult asset and turning it around.
In 2007, Advent headed again to Germany, this time to buy a 770m majority stake
in German fashion discount chain Takko from Permira. The same year in the UK,
Advent International acquired Worthing, a share registration business they renamed
Equiniti, for 550m from Lloyds TSB Registrars. In December, Advent announced
the first fully-financed public-to-private transaction since the summers turbulence in
the credit markets with the 524m acquisition of Domestic & General Group plc
(D&G), the UKs leading specialist provider of extended warranty plans for domestic
electrical goods. In France, it took a majority stake in Stokomani, the French discount
retailer, from Alpha Group.
50
GETTING HIRED
Advent International has around 130 investment professionals working out of 15
offices around the world. About half of them are based in Europe.
As a firm half headquartered in the US, the firm has its share of American MBAs.
But the European team is not different, with almost half of the professionals holding
an MBA, and Harvard by far the most represented school in the team.
Higher Diploma
Masters (23%)
Bachelors only (30%)
Unknown (1%)
PhD/JD/MD (5%)
MBA (41%)
Source: Candesic
Source: Candesic
51
Advent international
The firm is also active all over Eastern Europe. In April 2007, it opened an office in
Prague and, in September, it announced the first members of its Kiev team in
Ukraine. In December 2007, within two days, it acquired a 70 per cent stake in KAI
Group, Bulgarias largest manufacturer of interior and exterior floor, wall and
decorative ceramic tiles, and a 70 per cent stake in Bucharest-listed Ceramica Iasi,
one of Romanias leading ceramic bricks and clay roof tiles producers.
20
15
Wharton (4)
10
Oxford (5)
Cambridge (6)
INSEAD (10)
Harvard (18)
Source: Candesic
8
7
6
5
ING (3)
UBS (5)
Dresdner (6)
1
0
McKinsey (8)
Source: Candesic
While the most represented former employer, McKinsey, accounts for 12 per cent of the
European professional staff, employees have relatively diverse backgrounds. Former
bankers represent 35 per cent of the team, slightly below the industry average.
Although the firm does not offer employment information on its web site, it does
provide contact details for each of its outposts. Candidates interested in working for
Advent International should get in touch with the appropriate office (see "contact
us" at www.adventinternational.com).
52
ADVENT
INTERNATIONAL
BAIN CAPITAL
111 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02199
USA
Tel: (617) 516-2000
Financial stages:
Venture, expansion and growth capital
for private & public companies; Management buyouts; Industry consolidations
London Office:
Bain Capital LTD
Devonshire House 6th flr, Mayfair Place
London, W1J 8AJ
UK
Tel: +44 20 7514 5252
Types of financing:
Majority equity, participation, mezzanine,
high yield debt
www.baincapital.com;
www.baincapital.co.uk
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
London (HQ) Munich
KEY COMPETITORS
Blackstone KKR TPG
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
www.baincapital.com/careers
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Information Technology
Communications
Healthcare
Industrial & Manufacturing
Retail & Consumer Products
Financial Services Investments
53
THE SCOOP
Dealmakers
Bain Capital traces its roots back to 1984, when Bain & Company partners Mitt
Romney (a former Governor of Massachusetts and presidential candidate), T.
Coleman Andrews and Eric Kriss decided to leverage their private equity know-how
by forming their own leveraged buyout and venture capital firm. According to
Fortune magazine, Bain Capital charges a 30 per cent fee to its limited partners,
instead of the standard 20 per cent. It also differs from its peers in that it raises funds
mostly from university endowments, instead of pension funds. That doesnt seem to
have been much of an issue so far; today the Boston-based private equity firm has
invested in more than 240 companies with an aggregate transaction value in excess
of $100 billion. The firm raised $13bn in 2006, at least $4bn more than was originally
anticipated, adding to a total of over $40bn currently under management. Notable
deals include Burger King, Toys R Us, Burlington Coat Factory, Brookstone,
Domino's Pizza and Duane Reade. Bain was also part of a consortium of private
equity firms led by Silver Lake Partners to acquire SunGard Data Systems. The deal,
completed in August 2005, was valued at $11.4 billion, making it the largest
technology privatization and the second largest leveraged buyout ever completed
a record that lasted for only a few months. Bain Capital would go on to more than
double its transaction size the next year, thanks in part to a longstanding habit of
joining club deals.
FUND CAPITAL
2008
$20bn (target)
2008
3.5bn
2006
$10bn
2005
$6bn
2004
$5bn
FUNDS
54
Between 2000 and 2002 Bain Capital went over a year without completing a deal.
This simmering of transactions was not a case of taking it easy, but merely running
their companies in tough market conditions instead of buying new ones. In the
following years, Bain Capital made four times its 2002 initial investment in Burger
King over five years, according to The Deal, and the 2003 acquisition of Warner Music
Group made $3.2bn on a $1.25bn investment in just a little over a year, as reported
in Forbes. The floodgates truly opened in 2006, when Bain completed an historic
twelve transactions with a total value of $85bn (when including the $26.7bn Clear
Channel transaction with Thomas Lee, which took another ten months to get
shareholder approval). The major transaction of 2006 was the acquisition of HCA
hospitals with KKR and Merrill Lynch for $33bn. In 2007, while not matching the
2006 success, Bain Capital has nonetheless been busy, paying $1.9bn for Guitar
Center, $1.76bn for American Standard's bath and kitchen unit and $2.2bn for 3Com.
In Europe the firm doesnt make the headlines as often as it does in the US. It is
however an active investor, in particular in Germany, with current or past
investments in companies including ProSiebenSat.1 Media, Jack Wolfskin and
Sddekor. In 2004 Bain Capital, whose European deals have been a mix of midmarket and large, was able to buy Brenntag, a global distributor of industrial and
specialty chemicals, from Deutsche Bahn for around 1.5bn. It sold the company to
BC Partners only two years later for around 3.1bn including debts. In October 2007
Bain Capital accepted an offer by paint and stain maker PPG Industries for coatings
producer SigmaKalon at a price of around 2.2bn. Overall, about a third of its last
fund, Bain Capital Fund X, was invested in Europe.
55
Bain Capital
Another clubber
Value-added
With its close ties to Bain & Company, it should come as no surprise that Bain
Capital's investment approach draws on its partners' consulting expertise. According
to the firm, its investment professionals evaluate companies on a "people-intensive,
consulting-based due diligence process" that looks at "financial performance, market
potential, industry attractiveness and competitive position." Once Bain invests in a
company, it takes an active role in improving the business.
GETTING HIRED
According to Dwight Poler, a managing director at Bain Capital in London, Some
firms franchised by hiring a local team, which may have lacked the credibility on the
investment committee at home. Others only sent people from the US to make sure
they had the experience and the trust back home, but found they lacked the reach and
experience locally. Bain Capital seeks professionals with a combination of deep local
expertise and international credibility. That may explain why half of the London
senior team graduated from Harvard Business School, with their first degree often
obtained at top French engineering schools.
Bain Capital doesnt disclose the profiles of the rest of the team, maybe to protect
themselves against competitors, maybe because the names change slightly faster than
usual in the industry, but some research shows the same top pedigrees as with the
senior team. To complement its investment team, the firm has been using operating
partners for more than fifteen years and currently has more than thirty of them
helping to improve the operations in the portfolio.
Unlike many private equity groups, Bain Capital has both a web site and a career
page ("careers" at www.baincapital.com). Candidates interested in working for the
buyout firm can learn more about current job openingsand applyonline. For
example, the company offers a two-year associate program in any of its offices, which
starts off with a multi-week training program designed to introduce newcomers to
Bain's "value-added" investment approach.
56
ADVENT
INTERNATIONAL
THE
BLACKSTONE
GROUP
345 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10154
Phone: +1 (212) 583-5000
London office:
The Blackstone Group International Limited
40 Berkeley Square
London, W1J 5AL
U.K.
Phone: +44 (0)20 7451 4000
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
www.blackstone.com
THE STATS
KEY COMPETITORS
Bain Capital Goldman Sachs KKR
Permira TPG
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
COMPANY FOCUS
www.blackstone.com/careers
Sectors:
All, with a preference for out-of-favour,
under-appreciated industries
Financial stages:
Leveraged buyout acquisitions of seasoned companies but also transactions
involving start-up businesses in established industries, turnarounds, minority
57
THE SCOOP
B is for Big
The Blackstone Group got started in 1985 as an M&A advisory boutique with a staff
of four and a balance sheet of $400,000. Today, Blackstone controls or has a stake in
45 companies totaling $72 billion in revenue with 350,000 employees, making it one
of the four or five biggest private equity funds in the world. While the firm managed
a record $92 billion in 2007, a healthy $32 billion came from corporate private equity.
The group boasts expertise in a number of areasincluding corporate debt, real
estate, hedge funds, other asset management and advisory servicesbut its private
equity business has become its bread and butter. Blackstone's first buyout fund
closed in 1987 at $950 million, making it the largest first-time fund ever. Twenty
years later, in August 2007, Blackstone set another record when it established its $21.7
billion Blackstone Capital Partners V fund.
FUND CAPITAL
2008
$20bn (target)
2007
$2.1bn
2007
$21.7bn
2006
$5.25bn
2002
$6.45bn
FUNDS
In total, the firm has raised more than $36 billion across six private equity funds, and
as Blackstone's funds get larger, so do the deals. The $38.7 billion buyout of US real
estate firm Equity Office Properties Trust, completed in February 2007, was the
largest private equity transaction until the $45 billion acquisition in October 2007 of
TXU by KKR and TPG, itself followed by the announcement of a $51.7 billion
acquisition of BCE by Teachers a few months later.
In total, Blackstone has invested in over 114 companies worth more than $200 billion.
Its sheer size exposes it to the scrutiny of the public and the media. In July 2007,
Blackstone publicly denounced a front page article in The New York Times filled
58
Building blocks
In 2005, Blackstone completed the acquisition of Merlin Entertainment, an operator
of branded visitor attractions, for 102.5 million. The transaction indicated the firm's
seriousness about the leisure sector and, more specifically, European attractions and
theme parks. Two years later, the firm announced the deal with the Tussauds Group
to create the worlds second biggest visitor attractions operator after Disney. Merlin
now employs 13,000 people in 12 countries and across three continents and manages
a balanced portfolio of 51 attractions that includes iconic brands LEGOLAND,
59
Madame Tussauds, British Airways London Eye, Sea Life, Dungeons, Gardaland and
Alton Towers.
In December 2006, Blackstone acquired Tragus Holdings, one of the largest midmarket restaurant chain operators in the UK, from Legal & General Ventures for
267m. In 2007, Tragus grew by acquisitions, first with the MA Potters sites followed
by the Strada pizza chain in a 140m deal. Despite missing the La Tasca tapas bar
auction, the enlarged Tragus now has over 230 outlets and is the leading player in the
French and Italian restaurant sectors.
In July 2007, six months after selling the Extended Stay Hotels to the Lightstone
Group for $8bn, Blackstone re-entered the hotel sector and took Hilton Hotels private
for $26bn in an all-cash transaction. Hilton Hotels Corporation is the leading global
hospitality company, with 2,896 properties totaling approximately 490,000 rooms in
76 countries and territories.
In Europe, the firm is also active in manufacturing. In December 2006, it paired with
PAI to acquire United Biscuits for 2.3bn. In May 2007, it bought Kloeckner
Pentaplast, the worlds leading manufacturer of rigid plastic films from Cinven for
1.3bn. It also partnered with the other buyout giants KKR, Goldman Sachs and TPG
to acquire Biomet in Poland in September 2007.
Another sector of interest to Blackstone is energy. In 2005, the private equity group
acquired an 80 percent stake in Sithe Global Power. Previous energy investments
include Premcor, Inc., a U.S. refiner of petroleum products (acquired by Valero in
2005); Texas Genco, a Houston-based wholesale electric power generating company;
Foundation Coal, a U.S. coal mining company; and Kosmos Energy, an oil
exploration company.
Going global
While Blackstone's primary market is North America, the New York-based firm has
increased its focus on Europe and Asia in recent years. The group opened an office
in London in August 2000, an outpost in Hamburg in September 2003, an office in
Mumbai in May 2005 and an outpost in Hong Kong in January 2007. To cover
Europe, the group also entered into a strategic alliance with Roland Berger Strategy
Consultants in February 2001. The partnership gave Blackstone access to intellectual
capital and local knowledge of key European markets. The firm is also expanding
into Eastern Europe and in 2007 invested a reported $178 million, as part of a $575
million MBO, for a 51 per cent stake in Lattelecom, the Latvian telecommunications
company majority-owned by the Latvian government.
60
Although Blackstone's private equity group has earned the firm an elite status, its
other divisions should not be discounted. The firm's M&A group, for example, has
had its hands in several high-profile transactions over the years, including two big
financial services deals. In 2000, Blackstone advised PaineWebber on its $10.8 billion
sale to UBS, and Alliance Capital Management on its $3.5 billion purchase of Sanford
C. Bernstein. In 2005, the firm advised Comcast on its $18 billion acquisition of
Adelphia Communications. In 2006, they opened an office in London to expand their
advisory service offerings beyond their U.S. base. And, in July 2007, Blackstone
advised China Development Bank on its plan to invest $14 billion for a stake in
Barclays PLC.
Mostly active in the U.S., Blackstone's restructuring department has advised
companies and creditors in more than 150 situations, involving $350 billion of total
liabilities. In an attempt to cut costs to avoid bankruptcy, Delta Air Lines hired
Blackstone to assist with its restructuring efforts. RCN Corporation switched from
Merrill Lynch to Blackstone for its financial restructuring negotiations with its senior
secured lenders. Blackstone also acted as lead advisor in the restructurings of both
Enron and Global Crossing.
A few years ago, the real estate group, operating out of the New York, London and
Paris offices, boasted that it owned more than 13 million square feet of real estate in
Boston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. With the recent inclusion of
Hilton, Equity Office and Trizec Properties, this number is now significantly
bolstered and the unit may have the largest real estate portfolio on the Street. The
total enterprise value of the 223 transactions effected by the real estate operations
from 1992 through September 30, 2007, was over $103 billion.
The marketable alternative asset management segment manages more than $40 billion
as of September 30, 2007. It includes funds of hedge funds, mezzanine funds, senior
debt vehicles, proprietary hedge funds and publicly-traded closed-end mutual funds.
Blackstone's corporate debt group is actually two businesses: Blackstone Mezzanine
Advisors and Blackstone Debt Advisors (BDA). These various vehicles have
aggregate capital commitments of over $11 billion. Blackstone's mezzanine funds of
$2.1 billion are among the largest of their kind and have investments in firms such
as Colt Defense LLC. BDA is a relatively new group (created in 2002) and manages
several CDO (Collateralised Debt Obligation) funds for investment predominantly in
senior secured loans. They include seven US CDOs ($4.7 billion) and four European
CDOs ($2.9 billion). And, to capitalise on the recent dislocations in the credit markets,
in December 2007 Blackstone closed a new Credit Liquidity Fund on $1.3 billion to
61
GETTING HIRED
Most senior investment professionals had a career before joining Blackstone. While
a third of them went to investment banking, the recruiting is much more diversified,
with a significant proportion coming from industrial sectors. The main difference
with other players is the absence of accountants.
Half of the senior private equity team holds an MBA, predominantly from Harvard
and the other top US universities, as most of the team is still located in the US.
62
Higher Diploma
Masters (5%)
Bachelors only (40%)
PhD/JD/MD (2%)
MBA (53%)
Source: Candesic
Source: Candesic
Georgetown (3)
Columbia (3)
6
3
0
Stanford (4)
U-Penn (8)
Harvard (13)
Source: Candesic
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
Citigroup (2)
0.5
0.0
63
To learn more about job opportunities with Blackstone, check out the careers section
of the company web site. There, the firm provides information on summer
internships and campus recruiting, as well as experienced and international hiring.
The group hires recent undergraduates as analysts and recent MBAs as associates.
Recruiting typically takes place in the fall for full-time programs and in January for
internships.
US schools on Blackstone's campus schedule include Harvard, University of
Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas at Austin and University
of Virginia. Students whose schools Blackstone does not visit can apply for these
programs online. The recruiting process typically involves an on-campus interview
followed by one or two rounds at the firm's New York office. Experienced hires can
contact the firm via an online application.
In Europe, recruitment is handled on a case-by-case basis. However, for those who
have relevant experience and local language skills where appropriate, or have
significant experience working in the relevant geographic region, they should contact
the London Human Resources department at recruitingeurope@blackstone.com or
visit the How To Apply section for more information on submitting an application
online. While Blackstone currently has nine offices in six countries, its private equity
group operates in London, New York, Hong Kong and Mumbai.
64
ADVENT
INTERNATIONAL
THE
CARLYLE
GROUP
1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20004-2505
Tel +1 (202) 729-5626
London office:
Lansdowne House
57 Berkeley Square
London W1J 6ER
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7894 1200
Financial stages:
Buyouts, venture capital, real estate, infrastructure
Types of financing:
Majority equity, participation, mezzanine,
leveraged finance
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
www.thecarlylegroup.com
THE STATS
Chairman: Louis V. Gerstner Jr.
Managing partners: William E. Conway
Jr., David M. Rubenstein, Daniel A.
D'Aniello
Employer Type: Private Company
Total private equity funds under management: $58bn in 2007 (9bn in Europe)
No. of Employees: 995 (560 investment
professionals)
No. of Offices: 29 in 21 countries
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Aerospace & Defense
Automotive & Transportation
Consumer & Retail
Energy & Power
Healthcare
Industrial
Real Estate
Technology & Business Services
Telecommunications & Media
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Europe: hreurope@carlyle.com
United States: hrusa@carlyle.com
Asia: hrasia@carlyle.com
Japan: hrjapan@carlyle.com
65
THE SCOOP
Carlyle talks baseball
With nearly $58 billion under management before the demise of Carlyle Capital Corp,
the Carlyle Group is one of the world's largest private equity firms. It was founded
in 1987 by David Rubenstein, William Conway, Jr., Daniel D'Aniello, Stephen Norris
and Greg Rosenbaum and named after the New York City hotel. Since then, the
group has invested around $20 billion of equity in more than 600 transactions. But
the Washington D.C. based company is quick to tell you that it doesn't "swing for
the fences"that is, go for home-runs. Instead, the group pursues a conservative
investment approach, preferring to hit more singles (and doubles and triples) with
fewer strikeouts. Indeed, Carlyle points to its caution as a trait that sets it apart from
competitorsthat, and its team of 560 investment professionals, with about 50 per
cent holding an MBA, and 15 per cent a JD, MD or PhD.
Most important funds
VINTAGE YEAR
FUND CAPITAL
Carlyle Partners V
2008
$15bn (target)
2007
$1.15bn
2007
5.35bn
2007
$3.00bn
Carlyle Partners IV
2005
$7.85bn
2005
1.80bn
2005
$1.80bn
2005
$3.80bn
2005
$0.68bn
2004
$0.44bn
FUNDS
Well connected
Carlyle has historically been famous for its political connections. Senior advisors have
included former US President George Bush Sr. and former UK Prime Minister John
Major. The controversy around its access to funds and government contracts led
66
67
Carlyle to review its portfolio and reduce its exposure to companies too dependent
on government contracts. It still boasts renowned advisors like Lou Gerstner, the
former CEO of IBM, and Arthur Levitt, the former Chairman of the SEC. Among its
investors, Carlyle counts CalPERS, which owns about 5.5 per cent since 2001, and,
since 2007, the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund, which took a 7.5 per cent stake that valued
the group at $20 billion.
Strategy Master Fund, its first hedge fund, with an opening value of $700 million.
The timing wasnt ideal and the performance in the second half of 2007 wasnt
impressive. In 2008, Carlyle was more deeply hit by the bankruptcy of Carlyle Capital
Corporation, its $22bn Euronext-listed credit (i.e., mortgage-backed securities) fund.
Carlyles CEO had been one of the first public figures to raise the alarm bell on the
exess levels of leverage, and the news came as a shock.
Eastern outlook
In 2005, the Carlyle Group announced a significant expansion of its pan-Asian
investment activities, with the opening of new offices in Beijing, Mumbai and Sydney.
In total, the Carlyle Asia buyout group has eight offices. In addition, it set up in 2006
the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) group with four offices.
The private equity group first got involved in Asia in 1998 when the firm acquired a
controlling stake in Korea's KorAm Bank for $450 million. In April 2004, KorAm was
sold to Citigroup for $2.7 billion, representing a $650 million profit for Carlyle and a
250 percent return on investment for the group's investors. So what is the group's
recipe for success? Combine a new CEO and management team with streamlined
operations, wait three to five years, then sell.
Old Europe
Carlyle is able to leverage its expertise in the defense & aerospace sector
internationally. In February 2003, it acquired a 30 per cent stake in British defence
research company QinetiQ for 150m, becoming a strategic partner with the U.K.
Ministry of Defence, the main shareholder. In 2006, QinetiQ was successfully floated
on the London Stock Exchange. In 2007 Carlyle sold its remaining 10 per cent stake
for 140m, contributing to a total profit of at least 240m from its four-year
investment in the company.
With 125 investment professionals, fifty of them dedicated to buyouts, the European
team is one of the largest among all private equity firms. While Carlyles European
transactions tend to be smaller than in the US, the group has been involved in several
landmark deals in Europe. In particular, in 2006, Carlyle partnered with Blackstone,
KKR, Thomas H. Lee Partners, Hellman & Friedman and AlpInvest Partners to
acquire Dutch publisher and market research giant VNU Group (Nielsen) for $10bn.
That same year Bayer sold H.C. Starck to Advent International and The Carlyle
Group for 1.2bn.
68
In 2007, Carlyles global portfolio included 200 companies across all activities, which
in turn employ more than 280,000 workers and have $87 billion in sales.
GETTING HIRED
The Carlyle Group offers opportunities for investment professionals, support
professionals, associates and senior associates. Investment professionals are involved
in the analysis, execution, monitoring and exit of private equity investments. Support
professionals are part of the investor services team, which encompasses accounting,
administration, corporate communications, human resources, information
technology, investor relations and legal.
Associates are typically recent
undergraduates with a strong GPA and two years of investment banking or
consulting experience. Associates at the Carlyle Group go through a formal twoyear program. Senior associates generally hold an MBA and have three to four years
of private equity, investment banking or consulting experience. Typical former
employers are McKinsey and BCG in consulting, and JP Morgan and Lazard in
investment banking. Candidates interested in applying for a position at the Carlyle
Group should send a resume and cover letter to the appropriate region (U.S., Europe,
Asia or Japan).
69
Higher Diploma
Source: Candesic
Source: Candesic
ESCP-EAP (4)
HEC (5)
Cambridge (5)
INSEAD (6)
Harvard (7)
Source: Candesic
8
7
6
5
BCG (4)
Lazard (5)
JPMorgan (5)
McKinsey (5)
1
0
70
GENERAL ATLANTIC
Head office:
3 Pickwick Plaza
Greenwich, CT 06830
Tel: +1 (203) 629-8600
Types of financing:
Minority to majority equity in private and
public firms
UK office:
83 Pall Mall, Fourth Floor
London SW1Y 5ES, UK
Tel: +44 20 7484-3200
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
www.generalatlantic.com
OTHER LOCATIONS
THE STATS
London Dsseldorf
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Financial Services
Media & Consumer
Healthcare
Enterprise Solutions
Communications & Electronics
Energy & Resources
Financial stages:
Investments range from $50m to $500m
in equity for growth, expansions, buyouts, consolidations and build-ups
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Phone: +1 (203) 629-8600
For additional contact information, check
the company website at www.generalatlantic.com
71
THE SCOOP
The Atlantic and beyond
Connecticut-based General Atlantic is a global private equity group with an exclusive
focus on information technology, process outsourcing and communications
investments. They invest not only in providers of information technology but also in
those companies for which technology is a key competitive differentiator. Founded
in 1980, the firm first began to seek investments outside the U.S. in the 1990s. Since
then, it has established offices in London, Dusseldorf, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Sao
Paulo and Singapore and has invested in more than 160 companies. Today, nearly
half of the firm's portfolio investments are foreign companies. General Atlantic
generally invests in eight to 12 companies per year, for an annual investment target
of $1 billion, and currently boasts over 50 companies in its portfolio. Its portfolio
includes holdings in Hewitt Associates, NYSE Euronext and Lenovo. All in, the tech
private equity group has around $15 billion in capital under management. The firm
distinguishes itself with its evergreen funding structure and its long-term investment
horizon. They only make investments where they believe that they can help the
management team build a market leader over five to 10 years.
Succession plans
In February 2005, co-founder and chairman of the firm's executive committee Steven
A. Denning was named chairman, and William E. Ford, a managing director and
chairman of the firm's investment committee, was named president. The two newlycreated positions reflect the company's succession plansDenning continues to
oversee strategy and capital raising, while Ford assumes responsibility for the group's
operations, continuing to manage its investment activities. Before joining General
Atlantic in 1991, Denning was a consultant with McKinsey & Co and Ford was an
investment banker with Morgan Stanley. They both received their MBAs from
Stanford.In the same month, General Atlantic announced a name change. The
company, previously known as General Atlantic Partners, dropped the "partners" to
reflect the fact that it is a limited liability company, not a partnership.
72
In February 2007, General Atlantic invested a rumored $800 million for Network
Solutions, the original domain name registrar that was part of Verisign before being
spun off in 2003. Since that time, theyve lost significant market share to discount
operations like eNom or GoDaddy. They now have about 6.6 million domain names
under management.
In May 2007, General Atlantic took a minority equity share in GETCO, a leading
electronic liquidity provider and trading firm. Two months later, it acquired Dutch
company GlobalCollect, the worlds premier full-service international e-payment service
provider, from Waterland Private Equity Investments and Prime Technology Ventures.
In Germany, in December 2005, the firm took a minority stake in Navigon, one of
Europe's leading suppliers of mobile navigation systems. It had also invested in
CompuGroup AG, LHS AG and TDS AG. General Atlantic, which had been a strategic
TDS partner since its 1998 IPO, increased its equity holding from 27 per cent to 71 per
cent in 2003 at 2.35 per share. In December 2006, it sold its stake to Fujitsu Services,
the European IT services arm of the Fujitsu Group, for a price of 2.80 per share.
The firm has also been active in the UK; they acquired a third of Torex Retail
Holdings Limited, the worlds leading provider of retail systems solutions with 2,100
staff across 19 countries, from Cerberus in August 2007. Torex provides software,
hardware and services to major UK retailers like Tesco, Selfridges and Argos. While
the terms of the transaction were not disclosed, Cerberus had bought it out of
administration in June for 204.4 million.
In 2006, the media reported that UK-based Northgate Information Solutions had
received several acquisition offers, one of which was believed to be a 600m offer
from General Atlantic, a minority shareholder. Shortly after, Northgate formally
terminated any discussions with a third party that may have led to its acquisition.
In December 2007, GA agreed to sell its stake to KKR, who paid 593m for the whole
of Northgate, a 40 per cent premium to the companys share price even after it
announced it was in bid talks again.
Altogether, in 2007 General Atlantic acquired twelve new companies for total capital
of $2.1 billion.
73
General Atlantic
In the pits
GETTING HIRED
While General Atlantic offers a few internships in the US, the European operations
with only thirteen investment professionals are too small to justify it.
The global team is heavily weighted with former investment bankers, mainly from
Morgan Stanley, and consultants, mainly from McKinsey, these two happening to
be the former employers of the Chairman and of the President.
General Atlantic does not provide information about job opportunities on its web
site. Interested individuals should contact the firm's offices directly.
Higher Diploma
PhD/JD/MD (1%)
Bachelors only (34%)
Unknown (7%)
MBA (46%)
Masters (12%)
Source: Candesic
Source: Candesic
74
General Atlantic
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
Stanford (2)
1.5
ESCP-EAP (3)
1.0
Oxford (3)
0.5
0.0
Harvard (4)
Source: Candesic
15
12
9
Deloitte (5)
Citigroup (5)
6
3
0
Source: Candesic
75
GOLDMAN
SACHS
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT
European Locations
AREA
UK Regional Headquarters
Advent International plc
111 Buckingham Palace Road
London SW1W 0SR
10-15
UK Newgate Street, Christchurch
Court
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800
London
EC1A
7HD
www.adventinternational.com
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7774 1000
www.goldman-sachs.ro/services/investThe Stats
ing/private-equity
Chairman: Peter A. Brooke
Employer Type: Independent Private
Company
THE
STATS
Total private equity funds under
Co-heads
of PIA
Europe:
Sanjay
Patel
management:
about
11bn
(2008)
and
Hughes
Lepic
Employees: 130 investment professionals,
Head
of European
Private
Equity Group
of which
65 in Europe
(2008)
Europe:
Mark
Boheim
No. of Offices: 15
Employer Type: Division of publicly listed
Goldman Sachs (NYSE)
Ticker Symbol: GS
Total private equity funds under manageCompany Focus
ment: About $50bn (globally)
Employees:
85 (PIA in 2007)
Sectors:
No.
of Offices:
5 & Financial Services
Business
Services
Retail & Consumer
Technology, Media & Telecoms
Healthcare & Life
Sciences
COMPANY
FOCUS
Industrial
Sectors:
All
sectorsstages:
Financial
International buyouts, recapitalization and
Financial
stages:investments (up to 500m
growth equity
Bridge,
- development,
Large
equity),Expansion
some venture
capital
buyout ($150m-$300m equity), Mega
buyout
Types of(>$300m
financing:equity), Mid market
buyout
equity), Other
Majority($15m-$150m
equity
early stage, Privatisation, Public to pri-
76
London (HQ)
Amsterdam Bucharest Frankfurt
Kiev Replacement,
Madrid Milan
Paris
Prague
vate,
Seed,
Small buyout
Warsaw equity),
Bratislava
(affiliate)
Oslo
(<$15m
Start-up,
Turnaround
(affiliate)
restructuring,
Infrastructure, Funds of
funds
Types of financing:
Main:
Equity, Minority Equity,
Rest Majority
of the World
Mezzanine
Boston (HQ)
Tokyo Singapore (affiliate) Buenos
Aires Sao Paulo Mexico Further
EUROPEAN
LOCATIONS
affiliates in five other countries
London
Key Competitors
REST
OF THE WORLD
3i Apax
Barclays
Private
Equity Hong
New
York (HQ)
San
Francisco
Cinven
Montagu
Kong
Tokyo
Employment
Contact IN EUROPE
KEY
COMPETITORS
In theCapital
US: info@adventinternational.com
Bain
Blackstone Carlyle
For other
offices,
see "contact us" at
KKR
Permira
TPG
www.adventinternational.com
Goldman Sachs, the pre-eminent investment bank, has been an active private equity
investor for more than twenty years. Since 1986, Goldman Sachs' Principal
Investment Area has formed 13 investment vehicles aggregating $56 billion of capital
and investing in over 600 companies. The firms Principal Investment Area has over
125 professionals split across offices in New York, San Francisco, London, Hong Kong
and Tokyo, with separate divisions handling different classes of investments, namely:
Most important funds
VINTAGE YEAR
FUND CAPITAL
GS Capital Partners VI
2007
$20.3bn
2006
$9bn
GS Infrastructure Partners I
2006
$6.5bn
GS Capital Partners V
2005
$8.5bn
2003
$3.5bn
FUNDS
Real Estate Principal Investment Area, through the Whitehall Funds, has
raised around $24 billion to invest alongside partners in real estate assets
Real Estate Alternatives currently manages a single fund with $650 million
allocated to identifying interesting real estate investments
77
THE SCOOP
Members only
Invariably, Goldman's success raises questions about conflicts of interest. Will the
firm be tempted to keep the sexiest deals for itself? The management argues that they
78
Goldman doesnt always hunt in herds. In 2005 for example it snapped up the cable
company Pirelli, now renamed Prysmian Cables & Systems, for 1.3 billion,
outbidding Bain Capital and Texas Pacific. But most of the significant transactions are
club deals. Back in 2002, a consortium made up of Texas Pacific, Bain Capital and
Goldman Sachs bought Burger King from Diageo, the British drinks company, for
$1.5 billion. After bringing in new management and streamlining the operations, the
three firms raised $393 million through an IPO in 2006, retaining a majority stake in
the company.
Other recent club deals include: the 2005 privatisation, along with EQT, of ISS, a
Denmark-based integrated service company, for DKK 22.1 billion (2.97 billion); the
2006 take private of Kinder Morgan, a pipeline company, with the Carlyle Group
and Riverstone Holdings for $22 billion; and that same year, the acquisition of Lindes
forklift division KION Group together with KKR for 4 billion. In 2007, GS Capital
Partners teamed up with TPG Capital in an offer to buy telecommunications giant
ALLTEL for nearly $25 billion in the largest ever leveraged buyout at that time.
Also in 2007, Goldman and KKR agreed to the $8 billion buyout of upscale audio
equipment maker Harman International Industries. In a sign of the changing times
and amid tightening global credit conditions, the two bidders decided later that year
to pull out, invoking a clause regarding "a material adverse change in Harman's
business. In October they agreed with Harman to end their buyout and instead buy
$400 million of the companys bonds.
In 2007, GS Capital Partners closed its sixth fund, GS Capital Partners VI, at a cool $20
billion, $9 billion of which came from within Goldman itself. GS Capital Partners
does not focus on specific sectors, but has traditionally targeted the $1 billion plus
mega-deals. In September of 2007, Goldman announced that the new VI fund would
see a shift in strategy, moving away from the blockbuster deals that the credit crunch
has all but halted and towards smaller investments, ideally Private Investments in
Public Entities (PIPEs). The change in deal size will not slow the pace of investment
though, with the $20 billion pool of money expected to last only two to three years.
Universal soldier
The firm is also a leading player in the mezzanine area. In 2006, GS Mezzanine
Partners closed their fourth fund, GSMP 2006, with a staggering $9 billion of
79
rarely pursue deals on their own but rather in club deals. Moreover, they demonstrate
their commitment to the clients in investing alongside them while helping them raise
the funding for their acquisitions.
committed capital, making it the largest mezzanine fund in the world. The fund will
target the Americas and Europe, making large mezzanine investments from $40
million to $500 million. The firm invests in leading companies with enterprise values
ranging from $500 million to $10 billion, aimed at partnering with sizeable equity
investors to structure complex transactions.
Goldman Sachs Private Equity Group (PEG) is a leading investor in private equity
funds, while also retaining the capacity to act as a co-investor for particular direct
investments. The PEG manages over 16 billion, with over 85 professionals, and
primarily invests in PE funds from the US, Europe, Latin America and Asia, with a
variety of strategies and sector focuses. The PEG is subdivided into three separate
programmes: GS Private Equity Partners is the global primary fund of funds; GS
Vintage funds participate in secondary market transactions and portfolios of direct
investments; GS Distressed Opportunities focuses on distressed debt and equity
investments in private equity partnerships.
GETTING HIRED
The Merchant Bank division offers 10-week summer analyst and associate internships
in its locations worldwide. This represents a couple of positions in the London PIA.
Interns get an opportunity to learn about principal investing activities and increase
their chances to get invited to interview upon graduation.
The division recruits undergraduates as analysts, graduates as associates and some
experienced hires. Their background and previous academic and professional
achievements tend to be stellar. Analysts go through a two- to three-year program
while associates start with a five-week trainee program to refresh the theory and
familiarise them with the tools and the working environment. Analysts and
associates are assigned a mentor to assist in their professional development.
Goldman Sachs is universally famous for the quality of its recruiting services. Its no
different in merchant banking. They hire the best of the best, after a long process
where candidates meet a number of employees proportional to their prior experience.
Strong achievers from any background have their chance but somehow, they tend to
be Oxbridge or Harvard graduates with a stint at Bain or McKinsey. Candidates
interested in joining the private equity area will find all information at
www.goldman-sachs.ro/careers/our-firm/divisions/mbd/index.html
80
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
KOHLBERG
KRAVIS ROBERTS
& CO. (KKR)
Head office:
9 West 57th Street
Suite 4200
New York, NY 10019
Phone: +1 (212) 750-8300
Fax: +1 (212) 750-0003
London office:
Stirling Square
7 Carlton Gardens
London SW1Y 5AD
+44 (0)20 7839 9800
Paris office:
24 rue Jean Goujon
75008 Paris
+33 (0)1 53 53 96 00
www.kkr.com
Consumer Products
Energy & Natural Resources
Financial Services
Health Care
Industrial
Media & Communications
Retail
Technology.
Financial stages:
Leveraged buyouts
Types of financing:
Majority equity, co-investment in majority equity, debt
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
London Paris
THE STATS
Founding Partners: Henry Kravis &
George Roberts (Jerome Kohlberg left in
1987 and founded Kohlberg & Co.)
Chief executive: Johannes Huth
Employer Type: Private Company
Total equity assets: 86bn (As of October 2007)
No. of Employees: 400
No. of Offices: 6
COMPANY FOCUS
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Sectors:
(Organised into nine primary industry
groups globally)
Chemicals
81
THE SCOOP
Head honcho
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., commonly known as KKR, is a recognised leader in
the private equity world. Founded in 1976, the firm quickly built a reputation for
itself as both innovator and head honcho. Its achievements include the first billiondollar buyout transaction, the largest buyout transaction over two decades and still
the largest ever in real dollars (RJR Nabisco for $31.4 billion in 1987), the largest
buyout in Europe and two of the largest Canadian buyouts. All in, KKR has
completed more than 160 transactions worth $410bn. The private equity guru
employs 100 professionals based in New York, Menlo Park, London, Paris, Hong
Kong and Tokyo. Of these, 26 are what the firm calls "members," who have an
average of 16 years with the firm. In 2007, the firm owned 40 companies that
generated more then $100 billion revenue with 560,000 employees. The firm is very
strong in Europe where it controls or owns stakes in 18 companies with about $50
billion in total revenue.
Most important funds
VINTAGE YEAR
FUND CAPITAL
2008
8 (target)bn
KKR Millennium II
2007
$16.6bn
2006
$5.3 (NAV)bn
2005
4.5bn
2004
$18 (NAV)bn
FUNDS
82
83
and retail. KKR dealmakers are divided into these 11 industry groups, which focus
on 100-day plans. Yet another reason for KKR's success is its long-term view: the
firm's average investment period is seven years, although the firm has held a handful
of companies for more than 10 years. Finally, KKR brings a certain level of expertise
to the table in terms of managing its portfolio companies. This know-how includes
the ability to attract strong management, "incentivise" management and employees,
pursue acquisitions and divestitures, arrange financings, provide effective oversight
and maximise value when exiting investments. Most importantly, the firm boasts an
annual rate of return of roughly 27 per cent according to Fortune. In 2000, KKR
launched Capstone, a consulting firm that works exclusively for them and helps with
improving operations and measuring company performance.
Toy story
KKR may not have competitors. Lately, it has been partnering with the other buyout
giants, for example the joint acquisition with Blackstone, Goldman Sachs and TPG of
Biomet in Poland in September 2007, or with Permira in December 2006 to acquire
ProSiebenSat1 in Germany. KKR is not new to partnering: in 2005 for example, the
private equity group teamed up with Silver Lake Partners to acquire Agilent's
semiconductor business for $2.65 billion and with Permira to buy SBS Broadcasting
S.A. for approximately $2.55 billion. That year also marked the completion of the $6.6
billion acquisition of Toys R Us. Originally, KKR had planned to go it alone,
targeting the retailers toy business by itself, but later joined forces with Bain Capital
Partners and Vornado Realty Trust to buy the whole company (including its babyproducts stores). Experts say part of the retailer's appeal was its real estate, which
includes 1,500 stores around the world, with 681 in the U.S.
While stockholders clearly had faith that the takeover was a good thing for the
company (the stock increased dramatically prior to the completion of the deal), others
remain skeptical about the investors' ability to turn things around. For one, Toys R
Us faces increasing competition from the likes of Wal-Mart and Target. Furthermore,
the bricks and mortar retailer has yet to find an online strategy that works. A new
issue came in 2007 as the company, as well as the rest of the U.S. toy industry, faced
84
Gate closed
After the credit crunch of 2007, business had to slow down. The difficulty to finance
or refinance the debt led to the sudden death of multi-billion dollar LBOs. No one
knows how long it may last, but firms like KKR are forced to pursue smaller targets
or focus on their existing portfolio. The day before Christmas, KKR announced the
acquisition of Northgate Information Solutions, a provider of specialist software,
outsourcing and information technology services, and a market leader in human
resource and payroll processing, for approximately 593 million. This ends a long
saga that commenced a year earlier with the termination of takeover discussions with
its largest shareholder, General Atlantic, for a rumoured 600 million. Northgate
works on one in three UK workers' salaries and fields most 999 calls made to the
police; its long-term contracts, recurring revenue and high levels of cash flow were
particularly attractive to private equity companies.
85
intense scrutiny after global recalls of millions of toys made in China over excessive
lead paint levels that sparked safety concerns.
Insiders suspect that the move may have been triggered by the founding generation's
reluctance to give up the reins. KKR is run by Henry Kravis and George Roberts,
both 63 with no plans to retire, and is considered one of the most closely controlled
private equity firms in the business. Stuart and Gilhuly, roommates at Stanford
Business School, told The Wall Street Journal that their departure had nothing to do
with the founding partners, describing Kravis and Roberts as "fully engaged and the
right guys to run KKR". Two years later, some people still wonder if KKR has spent
sufficient time dealing directly with succession.
What next? Over the years, KKR has expanded beyond equity financing for buyouts
and has launched several credit vehicles, including KKR Financial, listed on the
NYSE. In 2006, it successfully raised more than 4 billion with the public listing of a
fund on Euronext Amsterdam. In June 2007, KKR filed a registration statement with
the SEC for a proposed $1.25bn IPO of its common units representing limited
partner interests in its partnership. The firm intended to apply to list its common
units on the NYSE under the symbol KKR. While the firm filed an amended
prospectus six months later in November, following the bad performance of
Blackstones IPO, the credit crunch and the losses in the mortgage holdings of KKR
Financial, KKR's publicly traded affiliate, it is still yet to happen.
GETTING HIRED
KKR does not provide employment information on its web site. Its staff in Europe are
typically former employees from the likes of Goldman Sachs and McKinsey (the latter
at Capstone in particular), most with an INSEAD or Harvard MBA. Candidates
interested in working for the private equity firm in Europe should contact the firm
directly at its offices in London and Paris.
86
TPG
301 Commerce Street, Suite 3300
Fort Worth, TX 76102
United States
Tel +1 (817) 871-4000
London office:
2nd Floor, Stirling Square
5-7 Carlton Gardens
London, SW1Y 5AD
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 20 7544 6500
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
www.tpg.com
THE STATS
Fort Worth (HQ) Menlo Park Minneapolis New York San Francisco
Washington, D.C. Beijing Hong
Kong Mumbai Shanghai Singapore
Tokyo Melbourne
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Industries undergoing change created by
industry trends, economic cycles or specific company circumstances
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Phone: +44 (0) 20 7544 6500
Financial stages:
Through TPG Capital, global public and
private investments executed through
leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, spinouts, joint ventures and restructurings.
The firms growth platforms, TPG
87
THE SCOOP
On a roll
Founded in 1993, TPG is a leading private equity firm with some $50 billion in assets
under management and more than 120 transactions under its belt. The companies in
its portfolio represent a total of about 500,000 employees. These days, say insiders, the
firm is bigger and busier than ever. Of late, TPG has partnered with other firms to
buy luxury retailer Neiman Marcus; a stake in Lenovo Group, Chinas largest
computer maker; SunGard Data Systems and, together with KKR, TXU, which was
shortly the largest LBO since the RJR Nabisco buyout in 1989. The firm also invested
in Washington Mutual, purchased Midwest Airlines and Canadian pharmaceutical
company Axcan. In 2006, the company closed its fifth fund at $15 billion of capital
commitments, a significant landmark for TPG considering it launched its first fund
in 1993 with $720 million. It was also the most active private equity player in 2006
as it struck deals worth about $101 billion.
Buyout funds
VINTAGE YEAR
FUND CAPITAL
TPG Partners V
2006
$15bn
TPG Partners IV
2003
$5.8bn
FUNDS
In the past, TPG has pursued distressed companies, the ones other investors wouldn't
get anywhere nearthink Burger King. These days TPG is also focusing on
distressed investing now that take private transactions are very difficult in the current
credit environment. Up until recently, more than half of the group's capital had gone
toward high-quality, low-risk investments such as SunGard, Neiman Marcus and
Petco Animal Supplies. Investments have included technology (Seagate Technology),
consumer products (Ducati), retail (J. Crew), airlines (Continental), media
(Univision), entertainment (Harrahs) and energy (Energy Future Holdings
formerly TXU, Texas Genco Holdings). Its previous experience in the utility sector
was less fortunate as it failed to buy Portland General Electric in 2005 because of a
pushback from the Oregon Public Utility Commission.
88
From the very beginning, TPG showed a distinctive ability to identify lucrative
investment opportunities, which started with Continental Airlines in 1993. With a
new management team focusing on lucrative business and a better aircraft utilization,
TPG generated an 81 per cent gross IRR. TPG's total return on its $64 million
investment was nearly $700 million. TPGs interest in airlines has been a constant
feature over the last 15 years. The firm also invested in America West Airlines and
Singapore airline Tiger Airways Pte and, in 2007, TPG acquired Midwest Air Group
in a $451 million transaction backed financially by Northwest Airlines.
Outside of the US, airlines have been more difficult to acquire. In 2007, TPG was
unable to get the necessary shareholder approval and failed to acquire Australian
airline Qantas. In May 2007, it was said to be bidding for at least 39.9 per cent of
Italys state-controlled airline Alitalia along with MatlinPatterson and Mediobanca
for a reported 5bn. It has finally thrown in the towel in November, after failing to
put together a consortium with a majority of Italian investors. In 2007, TPG led
another consortium including British Airways to acquire Spanish airline Iberia for a
reported 3.4bn, but officially withdrew in December.
Go Europe
TPG is based in the Lone Star State, although the private equity group is no ingnue
when it comes to the rest of the world. Out of its 17 offices, four are in Europe and
seven in Australasia, most of them opened in the last three years. In fact, TPG was
one of the first major U.S. private equity firms to establish a European business; past
transactions include Ducati Motor, Punch Taverns, Scottish & Newcastle Retail and
Findexa. In 2003 and 2005, TPG won Thomson's European buyout deal of the year
for its acquisitions of UK retailer Debenhams for 1.7 billion, and the first buyout in
Greece with the acquisition of 81 per cent of TIM Hellas for 1.1 billion. Debenhams
was floated on the London Stock Exchange in June 2006 and TPG remains the
companys largest shareholder. TPG realised strong gains on its investment in TIM
Hellas when the company was sold to Weather Investments in February 2007. Finally,
in October 2006, TPG took a 42 per cent stake in French television firm TDF.
And that was it. According to FinancialNews, TPG has failed to win the 40bn worth
of European deals it bid for in 2007. Still, 2007 was a good year for TPG. In spite of
all the turmoil in the market, the company managed to close the largest buyout ever
at the timeTXU (now called Energy Future Holdings). It also finalised several
billion plus in other deals: the acquisition of Sabre Holdings with Silver Lake for $5.4
billion; the acquisition of Harrah's Entertainment with Apollo for $31 billion; the
89
TPG
Evolution
acquisition of business communications specialist Avaya, again with Silver Lake, for
about $8.3 billion; and finally, the privatization of Alltel for $27 billion, together with
GS Capital Partners.
GETTING HIRED
TPG doesnt disclose the profiles of its team. Insiders tell us that the London team is
diverse, with a majority of investment managers hired from other private equity
firms or from investment banks.
Candidates interested in learning more about job opportunities with TPG should
contact the office of their choice at www.tpg.com/contact.
90
3I
ADVENT
GROUPINTERNATIONAL
16 Palace Street
London SW1E 5JD
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 79 28 3131
Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Minority Equity, Debt, Investment
in third party fund, Mezzanine, Shareholders loans
www.3i.com
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
THE STATS
CEO: Philip Yea
Employer Type: Public listed company
(LSE)
Ticker Symbol: III
Total private equity funds under management: 10.7bn (As of March 2007)
2006 Revenue: 4.15bn
2005 Revenue: 4.18bn
Employees: 750 investment professionals
in 2008
No. of Offices: 24 in 14 countries
KEY COMPETITORS
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
All sectors, with specialist global teams in
Oil
Gas & Power
Technology
Media
Business Services
Financial Services
Healthcare and Consumer.
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
www.3i.com/careers/current-opportunities.html
Financial stages:
Mid-market buyout up to 1 bn equity),
Growth Capital, Infrastructure and
Quoted Private Equity.
91
THE SCOOP
With 750 professionals, 3i is one of the largest European private equity companies by
assets under management and the largest by number of transactions. In 2006, the
company had 10.7 billion under management and in the last five years has
completed 400 trade sales and 46 public offerings. The firm is a true generalist and
along with being one of the oldest British firms, it is probably the most diversified.
FUND CAPITAL
3i eurofund V
2006
5bn
3i eurofund IV
2004
3.3bn
3i eurofund II
1999
2bn
FUNDS
92
The venture capital unit operates in Europe and the United States, investing between
1 million and 75 million per transaction. Its main focus is on start-up and earlystage operations.
Today, the rest of the private equity business is divided into Growth Capital and
Buyouts, with the newly formed Infrastructure and QPE groups completing the picture.
The newly formed QPE team or quoted private equity unit will invest in
majority holdings of mid sized companies with enterprise value of 100
million to 2 billion. The infrastructure unit is truly global whereas the QPE
team operates in Europe only.
93
3i Group
While growing in size and reach, the company remains committed to the mid-markets
and won the Private Equity News mid-market firm of the year award in 2006.
There is also an SMI team of 17 professionals that manages minority holdings, with
a combined market value of 600m, in more than 250 British and German small
companies.
Thanks to its long existence and to the diversity of its geographic, sector and
financing experience, 3i offers a rare access to the widest range of local business
communities, entrepreneurs, experts and multinationals.
Expansion plans
3i expanded early throughout Europe, and for the last 10 years, the focus has been on
developing their presence in Asian and Nordic markets. The company expanded its
target acquisition regions to Finland, Sweden and Denmark as well as Greater China.
In addition, 3i opened a new office for its Growth Capital unit in New York.
In 2007, 3i sold its shares in Nordic Modular to Kungsleden AB, a Stockholm-listed
real estate company, for about 100 million, making ten times its initial investment
of 2005. Eastern Europe is another area that private equity firms, 3i in particular, are
trying to break into. In 2007, 3i formed a CEE team and acquired EDS, the leading
web-offset printer in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. A few months later,
the team was reinforced with a first appointment in Warsaw.
In 2007, 3i has conducted business in 20 regions and various growth sectors. Since
its creation in the United Kingdom in 1945, it has expanded to 14 countries across
the world. 3i understands the potential of growing markets around the world but
still remains strong in its traditional European regions.
94
In 2007, 3i established an infrastructure fund which made its first public investment
of 305 million, when it bought three oil tanking businesses, one being Oil Tanking,
a German business in which 3i acquired a 45 per cent stake. The 3i Infrastructure
fund has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since March 2007, and has so far
raised 1 billion.
GETTING HIRED
3i wants to attract people with an international mindset, people who thrive in a
multidisciplinary and challenging environment and people with a highly focused
and ambitious mindset. Candidates are expected to demonstrate an ability to work
together across business lines and national boundaries. 3i has a varied European
culture which makes flexibility and cultural openness particularly important.
Compared to other global players, its employees tended to study predominantly in
Europe rather than in the US.
Due to the strong UK presence, over 10 per cent of all employees studied at
Cambridge or Oxford. In France most employees studied business at HEC, and in the
Nordic region, at the Helsinki University and the Stockholm School of Economics.
3is percentage of graduate degrees is relatively high compared to other private
equity companies. INSEAD and London Business School account for more than 25
per cent of all MBAs at the firm.
95
3i Group
Infrastructure fund
Higher Diploma
20
15
HEC (9)
10
LBS (10)
Cambridge (16)
Oxford (17)
INSEAD (18)
Source: Candesic
20
15
JPMorgan (6)
10
Deloitte (9)
McKinsey (11)
Anderson (16)
PWC (17)
Source: Candesic
96
3i Group
3i is composed of a diverse group of 250 professionals. Only half of them had their
previous jobs in professional services (mostly consulting and transactions services)
or investment banking. Almost a quarter come from the industry. The main previous
employers are the Big Five and McKinsey.
The largest team is based in London, where it recently moved to new premises next
to Buckingham Palace, closer to the traditional private equity establishment in St
James. The new office is designed to favour the interaction between managers and
entrepreneurs and has achieved the desired mix of startup and professional
environment.
Candidates will find that 3i provides plenty of information on recruitment and
careers on their website.
97
ALLIANZ
CAPITAL
PARTNERS/
ADVENT
INTERNATIONAL
ALLIANZ PRIVATE EQUITY PARTNERS/
ALLIANZ AGF PRIVATE EQUITY
Kniginstrae 19
80539 Munich
Germany
Tel: +49 (0)89 38 00 19900
Types of financing:
Majority equity, co-investment, mezzanine
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
www.acp.allianz.com
www.apep.allianz.com
www.agfpe.com
THE STATS
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Automotive
Specialty Chemicals
Renewable Energy
Healthcare
Financial stages:
ACP: Private Equity direct investments
(MBO, expansion, financial restructuring)
APEP: Funds of funds
AGF PE: Funds of funds and VC
98
KEY COMPETITORS
3i Apax AXA Private Equity
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Tel: +49 (0)89 38 00 70 10
In 2002, Allianz Private Equity Holding was formed to integrate the various private
equity activities of the Allianz Group and of its banking arm Dresdner. It included
Allianz Capital Partners (ACP) for direct investments, Allianz Private Equity Partners
(APEP), the funds of funds and some venture capital activities.
Thomas Pueter
As Germanys most senior private equity investor, Thomas Pueter is seen as a
charming and eloquent spokesman of the industry. Along with running ACP he is
also head of Allianz Alernative Asset Holding, a business unit created in 2005 to tie
together the groups alternative assets ranging from private equity to real estate to
alternative energy. In the debate that is currenlty shaping the German economic
outlook, he is seen as a calm voice that carries a measure of influence.
99
Allianz Capital Partners/ Allianz Private Equity Partners/ Allianz AGF Private Equity
THE SCOOP
Team power
ACP conducts only a few key transactions every year. In 2004, together with Lufthansa
and Apax, ACP sold Tank and Rast, the German motorway service operator that had
been privatised in 1998, to Terra Firma. In 2006, it sold Four Seasons Healthcare, a
leading UK nursing homes operator, for 1.4bn to Three Delta, representing 14 times
EBITDA, having bought it for 1.15bn from Alchemy in 2004. In May 2007, ACP bought
Selecta, the European vending business of Compass Group, for a consideration of
772.5m. Selecta operates as many as 150,000 vending machines.
Like most other major buyout players, ACP is increasingly teaming up to win
transactions; in 2007, it partnered with ABN AMRO Capital to acquire Sdu, a leading
publishing and security identification group, from the Dutch State for 415m, and with
3i and a strategic investor, Deutsche Seereederei, to purchase ferryshipping company
Scandlines Group. To convince the previous state owners, the consortium has agreed
not to lay-off any employees for operational reasons until December 31, 2010.
100
The current assets under management are in the region of c. 7 billion with an annual
commitment rate around c. 1.3 billion, which is spread across 10-20 investments per
year. In February 2007 APEP announced it was closing its first fund of funds to
investors at 823 million, making it the most successful German fund of funds to
date. Allianz Group companies invested about 200 million, with the remainder
coming from institutional and private investors.
GETTING IN
Allianz Capital Partners investment team consists of specialists from seven countries
who provide extensive knowledge of local markets. The firm doesnt disclose the
profiles of the team. However, out of 40 ACP employees in Munich, there are five
INSEAD graduates (with another five in the other PE divisions of the group).
APEP is divided into four teams: Management Team, Investment Team, Clients and
Products team, and Business Operations team. They are located in Munich, New York
and Singapore, with a diversified sector experience in private equity, industrial
corporations, investment banking, and professional services. There is a large
proportion of employees who joined with prior private equity experience. The same
applies to the smaller French team of eight in the funds of funds and secondary
investments of AGF Private Equity.
Allianzs top graduate university is Munich University, which is to be expected since
their only true office in Europe so far is in Munich. The team is becoming more
international as both ACP and APEP pursue more European investments. With the
opening of the London office and the integration of AGF Private Equity, Allianz could
soon become a true pan-European player and catch up with its dynamic archrival Axa
Private Equity.
101
Allianz Capital Partners/ Allianz Private Equity Partners/ Allianz AGF Private Equity
ADVENT
APAX
PARTNERS
INTERNATIONAL
33 Jermyn
UK
Regional
Street
Headquarters
Advent International
London
SW1Y 6DN plc
111 Buckingham
United
Kingdom Palace Road
London
Tel:
+44SW1W
(0)20 780SR
72 6300
UK
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800
www.apax.com
European Locations
EUROPEAN
LOCATIONS
www.adventinternational.com
THE STATS
TokyoCOMPETITORS
Singapore (affiliate) Buenos
KEY
Aires Sao Paulo Mexico Further
Warburg
Carlyle
TPG Provaffiliates inPincus
five other
countries
idence KKR Blackstone Advent International BC Partners Cinven
CVC Permira
Key Competitors
3i Apax Barclays
Private Equity
EMPLOYMENT
CONTACT
Cinven Montagu
Email: careers@apax.com
Employment Contact
In the US: info@adventinternational.com
For other offices, see "contact us" at
www.adventinternational.com
103
THE SCOOP
Apax Partners is one of the few European private equity firms that has global
ambitions. Based in the UK with European offices in Munich, Milan, Stockholm and
Madrid, the firm also has a large presence in the U.S. as well as offices in Hong Kong
and Mumbai. The firm was co-founded in 1972 by Sir Ronald Cohen, the father of
British venture capital and high profile Labour supporter, Maurice Tchenio,
currently the French office Chairman and CEO, and Alan Patricof, an early investor
in Apple and AOL.
FUND CAPITAL
2007
11.2bn
Apax US VII
2007
$0.8bn
Apax Europe VI
2005
4.3bn
Apax Europe V
2002
4.4bn
FUNDS
Over the last three decades the firm has raised in excess of $35bn and has invested
in almost 400 companies, 275 of which are currently in their portfolio, including well
known names like Tommy Hilfiger, Somerfield and Travelex. After closing the most
recent Europe VII fund at 11.2bn Apax overtook Permira as the largest European PE
firm, leaving CVC in third. Until the acquisition of Alliance Boots by KKR in 2007,
Apax also had the distinction of leading the consortium that pulled off the largest
LBO in Europe: a $15.3 billion deal in 2006 for Denmarks incumbent telecom
operator TDC. In the last twelve years Apax has listed over 65 companies on global
stock markets, with a total value of $35bn at initial offering.
Still kicking
Apax Partners is a veteran in the private equity biz, tracing its roots back to 1969
when the investment firm was known as Alan Patricof Associates. In 1977 the
French/British venture known as Multinational Management Group merged with
Alan Patricofs American Investment Company, forming the basis of Apax Partners
104
French exception
Under the leadership of Maurice Tchenio the French office has always had a large
degree of independence, and, in its current form of Apax Partners SA, is fully owned
by its 10 French partners and 28 investment professionals. The decision making is
completely centralised in Paris, and their focus is shifted towards growth companies
and mid-market buyouts. Funds managed by the French office exceed 2bn, with
over 40 companies currently under management. The firm has always been one of
Frances pioneering private equity firms, creating the first Fonds Commun de
Placement a Risque (FCPR) and co-founding the French Private Equity Association
(AFIC). In 2007 it merged two of its investment vehicles, Altamir & Cie and Amboise
Investissement, to create a Euronext-listed vehicle with a market capitalisation of
about 250m. The French office can invest alongside the other funds of the firm, but
insiders claim that the lack of integration can be an issue when competing on panEuropean transactions against more thoroughly integrated competitors.
Global powerhouse
If you ask John Megrue, co-CEO of Apax Partners' U.S. operations, the private equity
industry is undergoing a polarization of sorts. On the one hand, there are firms that
want to become global leaders; on the other, there are those that want to become
niche specialists. Apax Partners, says Megrue, wants to be in the first group. With
10 offices spread across the U.S., Europe and Asia and a strong history to build on,
the private equity group is well-positioned. Funds advised by Apax Partners invest
globally in large businesses with an enterprise value of between $1 billion and $5
billion. As a whole, Apax targets deals in five sectors: tech and telecom, consumer
and retail, media, healthcare and financial services.
105
Apax Partners
as we know it. As with many international mergers the offices initially operated as
relatively separate entities until the late 1990s. In 2002 the global assimilation was
made official when the firm changed its name to Apax Partners Worldwide LLP. In
2005 the company looked to enhance its expertise in fast buyouts, and acquired the
specialist firm Saunders, Karp & Megrue.
birthday, co-founder Sir Ronald Cohen stepped down as chief executive, naming
Martin Halusa as his successor. Sir Ronald stayed on as chairman, maintaining a
leadership position but giving Halusa significant breathing room, and retired from
that office in August 2005. While some wondered how the firm would fare with Sir
Ronald gone, Halusa wasn't exactly a newbie; he had been with Apax Partners for 15
years and described the management changes at Apax as "organic, rather than
revolutionary.
The private equity group's merger with SKM in the US is another sign of changing
times. In the past, the firm's US division has been focused on smaller venture-capital
style investingthink first/second-stage and mezzanine financing to high-tech, retail
and communications companies such as America Online, Apple Computers and
Office Depot. The combination with Connecticut-based SKM allows Apax to handle
bigger buyout deals in the U.S. In June 2005, Halusa told Real Deals, "You have to
be at the venture capital stages to be able to do a large deal because that is where a
lot of the industry knowledge comes from. In 2007 however, after raising its new
fund, Halusa shut Apax's Silicon Valley office in California, resigned from the
National Venture Capital Association and announced, as reported by Bloomberg,
Our next fund will be 100 per cent buyouts. Our venture results have been very
volatile, and our focus is on the more stable end of the business''. Now the company
employs the same investment strategy across its global platform: investing in large
stable businesses with the capacity to expand.
Apax keeps an interest in VC though. In 2005, it set up the Apax Foundation to
support entrepreneurial, social investment and educational initiatives that work
towards the alleviation of poverty in deprived communities worldwide. One of the
foundations key investments is in Bridges Community Ventures, a venture capital
company with a social mission co-founded by Apax Partners in 2002 and chaired by
Sir Ronald Cohen.
Killer deals
Apax history has its count of killer deals. Alan Patricof was involved in the very early
financing of Apple Computers and extracted significant value when the company
expanded. In 1998, Apax turned a $3 million investment in Autonomy Corporation
into a $900 million payout, one of the largest returns in European Venture Capital
history.
In 2007, the firm made 40 times its investment on the sale of UK Healthcare at Home
to mezzanine provider Hutton Collins. In the same year it also realised a profit on
Swedish medical product company Mlnlycke Health Care Group, when it was sold
106
Compulsive shopper
Apax is organised along five sector areas and closes 12-15 acquisitions a year, many
of them being take-privates. Its main sector of activity is technology and telecom with
more than 70 companies in the portfolio. Lately it has been particularly busy in the
media and healthcare sectors.
In August 2006 Apax joined the private equity consortium headed by KKR to acquire
an 80.1 per cent stake in the Semiconductor Division of Royal Philips Electronics,
now known as NXP Semiconductors. It was also a co-investor in Greek mobile
telecom group TIM Hellas, which sold to Weather Investments for 3.4bn.
Apax has recently increased its focus on media assets in Europe. It took UK toy and
media firm HIT Entertainment private in June 2006. In December 2006 it completed
the de-listing of British specialist business information provider Incisive Media
alongside management. In March 2007 it acquired a 49.9 per cent stake in Trader
Media Group from Guardian Media Group and, in December, partnered with
Guardian Media Group to acquire publisher Emap for 2bn.
After acquiring Swedish healthcare operator Capio in 2006 and delisting it from the
Stockholm Stock Exchange, it took control of Unilabs of Switzerland and intends to
delist it from the SWX Swiss Exchange. The combined group is a European leader in
medical diagnostic and several other areas of healthcare services. Because it already
owned GHG, the largest private hospitals operator in the UK, Apax had to divest the
Capio hospitals in the UK. In November 2007 it completed the acquisition of Qualitest
and Vintage Pharmaceuticals, a leading distributor and manufacturer of generic
pharmaceuticals in the US.
Looking East
Surprisingly for a firm this size, Apax doesnt have a strong track record in Eastern
Europe. Part of the explanation may be in the Private Equity in the Public Eye
report it published with the Economist Intelligence Unit in July 2007. The report
reviews the private equity operating environment for 33 countries and underlines
the difficulty of operating in the region.
In 2006, though, Apax invested $190m to acquire an interest in CME, a TV
broadcasting company traded on the NASDAQ and the Prague Stock Exchange with
107
Apax Partners
to Investor AB and Morgan Stanley Principal Investments for 2.85bn, raising about
ten times the initial investment.
GETTING HIRED
Apax staff is organised in in-house knowledge centres and fund managers organised
in sector teams. Unlike many competitors, managers dont get to work across
industries. This organisation shows Apaxs focus on knowledge-based business, and
allows the private equity firm access to exclusive information.
Apax investment professionals were educated at the very best universities, mostly in
the US, the UK and France. MBAs from Harvard Business School alone represent a
striking 22 per cent of this workforce. In Paris, HEC is the most frequent graduate
diploma, often complemented with an MBA. However they tend to join Apax after
several years of experience, mostly in investment banking, strategy consulting or
both. Strategy consulting has an unusually high presence, with McKinsey the largest
previous employer (15 per cent of the professionals) and pretty much every top 10
strategy consultancy represented.
108
Apax Partners
Higher Diploma
Source: Candesic
Source: Candesic
30
25
20
Oxford (9)
15
Wharton (13)
10
Cambridge (13)
5
0
INSEAD (14)
Harvard (29)
Source: Candesic
20
15
BCG (8)
McKinsey (29)
Source: Candesic
109
Candidates can contact the Apax human resource department to read their HR inside
report on the private equity industry. Apax warns however that due to volumes of
emails [they] are only able to respond to those invited for interview.
110
ADVENT
AXA
PRIVATE
INTERNATIONAL
EQUITY
20 Place
UK
Regional
Vendome
Headquarters
AdventParis
75001
International plc
111 Buckingham Palace Road
France
London
Tel:
+33SW1W
1 44 450SR
9200
UK
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800
www.AXAprivateequity.fr
European Locations
EUROPEAN
LOCATIONS
www.adventinternational.com
THE STATS
Chairman & CEO: Dominique Senequier
Employer Type: Subsidiary of AXA
The
Stats
Total private equity funds under manageChairman:
Peter(2008)
A. Brooke
ment:
15.7bn
of which 5bn is
Employer
Type: Independent Private
in
direct funds
Company almost 200
Employees:
Totalofprivate
No.
Offices:equity
6 funds under
management: about 11bn (2008)
Employees: 130 investment professionals,
of which 65 in FOCUS
Europe (2008)
COMPANY
No. of Offices: 15
Sectors:
All
Financial stages:
Company
Focus
Paris (HQ)
London
(HQ)
Frankfurt Milan London
Amsterdam Bucharest
(infrastructure,
fund of funds)
Frankfurt
Kiev Madrid Milan Paris Prague
Warsaw Bratislava (affiliate) Oslo
(affiliate)
REST
OF THE WORLD
PAI
Sagard
Aires Sao Paulo Mexico Further
affiliates in five other countries
Employment Contact
In the US: info@adventinternational.com
For other offices, see "contact us" at
www.adventinternational.com
Types of financing:
Majority equity
111
THE SCOOP
AXA Private Equity is a subsidiary of AXA, one of the major global insurance
companies. It was founded in 1996 after Claude Bebear, then powerful CEO of AXA,
handpicked Dominique Senequier to build a private equity arm. She had started her
career in the civil service and quickly rose to become one of the most powerful
women in the industry. She grew the business into one of the major buyout firms in
continental Europe. In 2007, the firm raised $7 billion in all its business activities, up
45 per cent since December 2006. The bulk of it is for direct investments and the firm
now manages $22 billion out of its main office, a magnificent hotel particulier on
the Place Vendome in the centre of Paris.
FUND CAPITAL
2007
~1.60 (estimate)bn
2007
~1.50 (estimate)bn
2007
0.35bn
2007
2.10 ($2.9)bn
2006
0.72bn
2007
2.10 ($2.9)bn
2006
0.72bn
2006
0.55bn
2005
0.50bn
FUNDS
112
113
opportunities on the basis that private equity has an important role to play in making
European business more competitive.
She has also championed the four company values: performance, expertise,
international experience and transparency. These values are part of the internal
structures, but are also reflected in the way the firm relates to investors, portfolio
companies and funds. The firm benefits from its diversified activities; the small caps
team may have historical knowledge of a target analysed by the mid cap team, the
large cap team can leverage the infrastructure one, fund of funds and co-investments
may pass leads to each other.
114
GETTING HIRED
AXA PE has about 200 employees with a diverse range of backgrounds and regional
expertise. Support functions account for half of the headcount of the company.
The recruitment seems to be more diverse than at most competitors. Among the
employees, one can find a medical doctor and a jetfighter pilot and there is no strong
majority of investment bankers, strategy consultants or transaction services advisors.
Insiders confirm that all profiles are likely to be considered as long as they can
demonstrate strong achievements. Women represent almost half of the workforce, a
much higher proportion than the industry average.
115
AXA PE has owned Eliokem, a specialty chemical company it bought for 130m.
Eliokem followed through the next year with the acquisition of the Polymer Division
of Indian-based Apar Industries. The same year, AXA PE completed the acquisitions
of Diana Ingredients, a major natural ingredients producer for 710m, and Synerlab,
one of the leading French pharmaceutical sub-contractors.
Higher Diploma
Source: Candesic
Insurance (8%)
Audit & transaction services (5%)
Banks (33%)
Other (54%)
Source: Candesic
8
7
6
5
Bocconi (4)
ESCP-EAP (4)
Dauphine (6)
HEC (6)
ESSEC (8)
Source: Candesic
6
5
4
HSBC (2)
1
0
116
The international factor is rated highly within AXA PEs application measurements.
Because of their various foreign offices and the international strategy, the company
focuses on employees that are able to build on specific geographical market
knowledge from the very beginning.
Because AXA PE has many separate activities, it is possible for a candidate to end up
being interviewed by a completely different product team depending on the current
recruiting needs.
117
AXA PE regularly employs interns for periods of up to one year. They tend to be
masters students from the top business schools in Paris, with a preference for
international backgrounds, and are often recruited after their internship. In 2007,
interns represented over 13 per cent of the total workforce.
BARCLAYS
PRIVATE EQUITY
ADVENT
INTERNATIONAL
5 North
Colonnade,
8th Floor
UK
Regional
Headquarters
London International
E14 4BB
Advent
plc
United
Kingdom Palace Road
111
Buckingham
Tel: +44SW1W
(0)20 750SR
12 9900
London
UK
www.barclays-private-equity.com
Tel:
+44 20 7333 0800
EUROPEAN
LOCATIONS
European
Locations
www.adventinternational.com
KEY COMPETITORS
THE STATS
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
All sectors
Key Competitors
3i Apax Barclays Private Equity
Cinven Montagu
Company Focus
Employment Contact
Financial stages:
Sectors:
Mid market
buyout
eqBusiness
Services
& (15m-150m
Financial Services
uity), expansion
capital, privatisation, reRetail
& Consumer
placement, infrastructure
Technology,
Media & Telecoms
Healthcare & Life Sciences
Types of financing:
Industrial
Majority equity, equity co-investment
Financial stages:
International buyouts, recapitalization and
growth equity investments (up to 500m
equity), some venture capital
Types of financing:
Majority equity
118
FUND CAPITAL
2007
2.4bn
2006
$0.417bn
2005
1.65bn
2002
1.25bn
FUNDS
The investment strategy is mid-market (under 500 million). Since their first
investment in 1982 the firms 45 professionals have invested in over 350 transactions,
with an average of 10-15 per year. The firm also has an Infrastructure team of 12
investment professionals based in London and, in addition to its own UK and
European infrastructure funds, has established a 450 million Infrastructure Investors
(I2) Fund in partnership with Societe Generale and 3i.
119
THE SCOOP
120
Awards
One of Barclays Private Equity's most publicised exits is that of Admiralthe direct
motor insurer. The company went public on the LSE in a 1 billion flotation in
September 2004. Barclays Private Equity achieved a total return of 15 times its original
investment and an IRR of 87 per cent over nearly five years. In recognition of this and
other divestments, such as Hobbs, Salter Houswares, Edotech and GLS Educational
Supplies, the firm was named UK Private Equity Firm of the Year, and European
Private Equity Firm of the Year at the Financial News Awards for Excellence in Private
Equity, Europe 2005 where it also claimed a third awardEuropean Disposal of the
Yearfor Admiral. Barclays Private Equity was also awarded Private Equity House
of the Year by Real Deals/BVCA in 2005 and Exit of the Year for Admiral by
Acquisitions Monthly, the M&A and buyouts publication. In 2006 Barclays Private
Equity was voted Fund of the Year by the Real Deals/BVCA Private Equity Awards.
121
November 2004 and doubled the warehousing capacity of the retailer in three years.
GETTING HIRED
While Barclays PE managers were educated at top schools in Europe (Cambridge
and ESSEC are the most represented, with the MBA as rather an exception), they
generally join the firm with significant experience. There is some diversity in the
team, with four PhDs and one lawyer in a buyout team of 47 professionals.
In line with other private equity firms Barclays recruits primarily from Investment
Banking and Big 4 accountancies (PWC, the late Arthur Andersen and KPMG are the
most prominent former employers). The team is very stable, which limits
opportunities for experienced hires. However there are opportunities for analysts:
in Paris for example, there is a rolling 6-month intern position that allows business
students to get a serious introduction to the sector at a renowned firm, and may lead
to a full time position.
Higher Diploma
Source: Candesic
122
3.0
2.5
2.0
Oxford (2)
1.5
EM Lyon (2)
1.0
St.Gallen (2)
0.5
ESSEC (3)
0.0
Cambridge (3)
Source: Candesic
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
Barclays (3)
1.5
KPMG (3)
1.0
0.5
0.0
PWC (4)
Source: Candesic
Being a subsidiary of a UK firm, Barclays PE obviously has more staff in the UK, with
growing teams in continental Europe. The Paris and Munich offices have their own
websites with contact details for potential candidates.
123
ADVENT
BC
PARTNERS
INTERNATIONAL
43-45
UK
Regional
Portman
Headquarters
Square
Advent International
London
W1H 6DA plc
111 Buckingham
United
Kingdom Palace Road
London
Tel:
+44SW1W
(0)20 7009
0SR 4800
UK
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800
www.bcpartners.com
www.adventinternational.com
THE STATS
Managing partner: 9 managing partners
Employer Type: Private Company
The
Stats
Total private equity funds under manageChairman:
Peter
A. Brooke
ment:
11bn
in 2008
Employer Type:
Independent
Private
Employees:
45 investment
professionals
Company
in
2008
Totalofprivate
No.
Offices:equity
6 funds under
management: about 11bn (2008)
Employees: 130 investment professionals,
of which 65 in FOCUS
Europe (2008)
COMPANY
No. of Offices: 15
Sectors:
All sectors
Financial stages:
Company
Focus
International buyouts,
recapitalization and
EUROPEAN
LOCATIONS
growth equity investments (up to 500m
London
(HQ) venture
Geneva
Hamburg
equity), some
capital
Milan Paris Milan
Types of financing:
Majority equity
124
European
REST
OF THE
Locations
WORLD
New York
London
(HQ)
Amsterdam Bucharest Frankfurt
Kiev Madrid Milan Paris Prague
Warsaw
Bratislava (affiliate) Oslo
KEY COMPETITORS
(affiliate)
Apax Permira Cinven CVC KKR
Bain Capital Blackstone
Key Competitors
3i Apax Barclays Private Equity
Cinven Montagu
Employment Contact
In the US: info@adventinternational.com
For other offices, see "contact us" at
www.adventinternational.com
BC Partners
THE SCOOP
The firm was founded as Baring Capital Investors in 1986. In 1995, at about the time
of the collapse of Barings Bank that was famously documented in the movie Rogue
Trader, it became independent through its own MBO and renamed itself BC
Partners. It is worth noting that BC Partners has no link with Baring Private Equity
Partners (BPEP), which finalised its MBO from parent company and Barings owner
ING Group in 2004 and invests via four regional fund groups in Russia, Asia, India
and Spain.
Funds
VINTAGE YEAR
FUND CAPITAL
2005
5.9bn
2000
4.3bn
FUNDS
Since 1986, BC Partners has invested in 66 companies with a total enterprise value of
over 54bn. While they target only two or three acquisitions every year, they can
commit over 2bn of equity to any given one and are ready to contribute significant
additional capital to grow it. Over the next five years, they plan to acquire fifteen to
twenty businesses, with enterprise values typically in the range of 300m to 4bn.
NHS gold
In 2000, BC Partners recognised the opportunity for the private sector to become
more involved in the treatment of NHS patients in the UK. Attractive changes in
healthcare policy further underlined potential growth prospects. To take advantage
of this opportunity, it bought General Healthcare Group from Cinven for 2.2 billion.
GHG was the largest acute care hospital provider and leading independent provider
of specialist psychiatric care services in the UK. Over the next six years, the new
owner supported considerable organic growth and made two significant hospital
acquisitions to optimise national coverage.
In 2005, it sold separately the health screening and occupational health operation
BMI Healthcare services to The Capita Group Plc, and the Partnerships in Care
psychiatric operation back to Cinven for about 560m, allowing management to focus
125
on its core business. In 2006, it sold the acute care hospitals for 2.35 billion to a
consortium led by Netcare, a leading South African hospitals group. At that time,
the transaction was the largest ever deal in the European healthcare services sector.
Contrarian outlook
In 2007, BC Partners acquired two corporate companies: Bureau van Dijk Electronic
Publishing from Candover for a rumoured 700m, and a combination of leading
London estate agency Foxtons, also comprising mortgage broker Alexander Hall, for
an estimated 390m. Amid fears of a slowdown in the UK real estate market, the
decision to acquire the business may show BC Partners bet that the long-term
fundamentals of the market remain good. It may also be a sign that there will be
opportunities to streamline and consolidate a sector built on a 15 year growth wave.
One thing is for certain though, everyone will be scrutinising how the new owner
will adapt to a fast changing environment.
126
BC Partners
GETTING HIRED
BC Partners investment managers work as one team across its six country offices.
Teamwork skills, international exposure and the ability to operate in several
languages are therefore highly valued. Investment managers are not recruited
straight from school. They must accumulate significant experience before joining,
mostly in strategy consulting and investment banking.
BC Partners doesnt advertise for recruiting.
Higher Diploma
Source: Candesic
Source: Candesic
127
Bocconi (4)
HEC (4)
Cambridge (5)
INSEAD (5)
Harvard (6)
Source: Candesic
8
7
6
5
McKinsey (3)
BCG (4)
Bain (8)
Source: Candesic
128
BRIDGEPOINT
CAPITAL LTD.
ADVENT
INTERNATIONAL
30 Warwick
Street
UK
Regional Headquarters
London International
WC1B 5AL plc
Advent
United
Kingdom Palace Road
111
Buckingham
Tel: +44SW1W
(0)20 740SR
32 3500
London
UK
www.bridgepoint.eu
Tel:
+44 20 7333 0800
EUROPEAN
LOCATIONS
European
Locations
www.adventinternational.com
KEY COMPETITORS
THE STATS
130
Boston (HQ)
Tokyo
SingaporeCONTACT
(affiliate) Buenos
EMPLOYMENT
Aires Sao Paulo Mexico Further
info@bridgepoint.eu
affiliates
in five other countries
Key Competitors
3i Apax Barclays Private Equity
Cinven Montagu
Employment Contact
In the US: info@adventinternational.com
For other offices, see "contact us" at
www.adventinternational.com
FUND CAPITAL
Bridgepoint Europe IV
2008
4 (target)bn
2005
2.5bn
Bridgepoint Europe II
2002
2bn
FUNDS
Outside looking in
One of Bridgepoints unique selling points is their reliance on impartial external
advice; they have an advisory committee made up of external industry experts who
are present at every investment evaluation. The firm tends to emphasise this
transparency and accountability between investors and management, and is said to
encourage an open minded outlook amongst employees. The advisory committee,
who recently recruited the dean of INSEAD among their ranks, acts as an overarching
advisory panel to the local teams who do the work on the ground.
131
THE SCOOP
132
Higher Diploma
Source: Candesic
Source: Candesic
133
GETTING HIRED
Higher Diploma
Harvard (3)
5
4
3
2
INSEAD (3)
Bocconi (4)
Manchester (4)
1
0
Cambridge (7)
Source: Candesic
GE (3)
3
PWC (3)
2
UBS (4)
Cambridge and Manchester dominate in the pedigree of the UK team, while Bocconi
no surprise is the most frequent alma mater in the Italian team. MBAs now
account for a third of the managers, with INSEAD and Harvard leading the pack.
If you are interested in joining the firm, Bridgepoint invites you to contact their
human resources team at gill.neaster@bridgepoint.eu.
134
CANDOVER
20 Old Bailey
London EC4M 7LN
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 74 89 9848
Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Debt, Mezzanine, Shareholders
loans
www.candover.com
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
THE STATS
Managing Director: Colin Buffin
Employer Type: Public listed company
(LSE) unique structure with plc owning
ltd
Ticker Symbol: CDI
Total private equity funds under management: 3.5bn (of which 2.9bn from
third parties)
Employees: 39 professionals in 2007
No. of Offices: 5
KEY COMPETITORS
Apax BC Partners Bridgepoint Cinven CVC EQT Industri Kapital PAI
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
info@candover.com
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Media
Financial Services
Support Services
Leisure
Healthcare
Technology
Industrial
Other sectors
Financial stages:
Large buy-out (150m-300m equity),
Mid market buyout (15m-150m equity)
135
THE SCOOP
Candover is a London based firm specialising in large-cap, and often high profile,
buyouts. In 1980 Roger Brooke, a former diplomat turned CEO, met Henry Kravis,
co-founder of KKR, to learn about a new kind of transaction that was gaining
popularity in the US: leveraged buyouts. A few months later, he got together 100,000
from Electra, 3i and various UK pension funds to set up Candover, the first buyout
firm in Europe. In one of its earliest transactions, the confectionary unit Famous
Names, it made a return of ten times its investment, making people take notice.
FUND CAPITAL
2005
3.5bn
2002
2.7bn
1998
1.4bn
FUNDS
While Candover began life as a niche investment firm focusing on UK deals, it has
since grown to be a truly Western European player. The expansion outside of the UK
was slightly behind other firms, although each new office was established with a key
partner in charge. In 2002, Candover hired Cyrille Chevrillon, its longstanding French
partner who had contributed to the successful buyout of Picard, to head the Paris
office. That same year, the firm appointed Kurt Kinzuis to head up the German team.
But Germany would prove to be more difficult, and shortly after, Candover
appointed Jens Tonn to the role. After nine years, in November 2007, following his
decision to leave the company and head Vestars new German office, Candover
appointed Boris Hentze as Head of Germany. Currently, the firm doesnt have a
German office anymore and the German team works out of London. Also in 2002,
Alejandro von der Pahlen joined the firm as an adviser to originate deals in Spain
and Portugal. Candover formally opened an office in Madrid shortly after, and in
2006 relocated Aldo Maccari from London to Milan to open the Italian office. The
firm also named Humphrey Cobbold, a former McKinsey partner, in the newly
created position of Origination Director with responsibility for coordinating
Candover's deal sourcing activities across Europe.
136
Over the last 27 years Candover has closed nine funds with almost 9bn worth of
investor money raised; the firm has taken these funds and completed 134 buyouts to
date, valued at 40bn, creating an average rate of return of 34 per cent.
Candovers managing directors, Colin Buffin and Marek Gumienny, have been with
the firm for close to 20 years. They are unique in that the structure of the company,
Candover Investments plc and wholly owned subsidiary Candover Partners Limited,
allows for a very transparent investment process. Some initial conclusions about the PE
slow down were actually founded on publicly available Candover investment research,
which Gumienny has referred to as a healthy correction of the market. For many
years, Candover has been publishing a quarterly barometer of private equity in Europe.
The latest Candover 2005 Fund focused on investments in the European markets,
with eight transactions made before 2008. Candover particularly looks for companies
in Benelux and the UK with solid management, good growth opportunities and
company values between 150 million and 1 billion. For example, the investment in
Capital Safety Group, a UK based designer and manufacturer of height safety and fall
protection equipment, was evaluated in May 2007. The deal value was set at 415
million and funded by debt, mezzanine and private equity funding, where Candover
provided the private equity and partnered with other firms to enlarge the equity
commitment. Capital Safety Group has a high quality management team, a strong
market position and real growth potential. The transaction has an estimated IRR
(Internal Return Rate) of 23 per cent over the next 9 years.
137
Candover
Evaluating investments
London Stock Exchange, with a return of four times its original investment. It also
sold Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing to BC Partners with a return of 2.3 times
its original investment, and sold Get, the Norwegian cable TV operator, to
Quadrangle and GS Capital Partners for 745m, realising an IRR of 50 per cent.
In July 2004, Candover, 3i and JP Morgan Partners acquired Vetco International from
ABB Oil & Gas for $925 million. In 2007 the consortium sold it in two parts: Vetco
Gray to GE Oil and Gas for $1.9 billion and Aibel to Ferd Private Equity (now
Herkules Capital) for $0.9 billion.
In December 2004, Candover led the 465m management buyout of the Thule Group,
a Swedish company and the world leader in sports utility transportation. It sold it in
2007 to Nordic Capital, realising an IRR of more than 40 per cent.
GETTING HIRED
Candover has built a team of 35 to 40 professionals hired from various industries.
Cambridge and Oxford feature prominently among employees degrees and 40 per
cent of them hold an MBA from a prestigious university, mostly Harvard, INSEAD
or LBS. But as usual investment managers join with significant previous experience
in banking, accounting, consulting or the industry.
Candidates interested to apply should contact the office of their choice on Candovers
website under Contact us.
138
Candover
Higher Diploma
Masters (54%)
Unknown (3%)
MBA (40%)
Source: Candesic
Source: Candesic
LBS (3)
Oxford (3)
Harvard (4)
INSEAD (4)
1
0
Cambridge (7)
Source: Candesic
BCG (2)
1.5
McKinsey (2)
1.0
0.5
3i (3)
0.0
PWC (3)
Source: Candesic
139
CINVEN
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
Warwick Court, Paternoster Square
City, Country
London EC4M 7AG
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 76 61 3333
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
www.cinven.com
THE STATS
KEY COMPETITORS
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Business & Financial Services
Healthcare
Industrials
TMT
Retail
Leisure
Consumer
Financial stages:
Large MBO/MBI (EV>500m with at
least 100m equity), Public to private
Types of financing:
Majority Equity
140
OFFICES IN PLANNING
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
None. Cinven does not recruit graduates
nor does it offer internship programmes.
It is currently not recruiting at any level.
Cinven
THE SCOOP
Since 1977 Cinven has been one of the largest private investment funds dedicated
solely to the European market, and lays claim to having executed more large,
complex European buyouts than any other firm. In July 2006 they announced the
closure of the Fourth Cinven Fund, which exceeded its target of 5 billion; at 6.5
billion it is one of the largest funds dedicated solely to European buyouts, enabling
the firm to build on the 60 billion worth of transactions it has led so far. Each year,
Cinven invests in only a handful of companies of significant size, sometimes with an
entreprise value of several billion, and seeks to bring a pan-European dimension to
the businesses future opportunities. Since their founding, Cinven has invested in 23
transactions with more than 1 billion total consideration.
FUND CAPITAL
2006
6.5bn
2002
4.4bn
FUNDS
141
142
Cinven
GETTING HIRED
There are 51 professionals working at Cinven. While Bain & Company tops the list
of their previous employers, investment banks account for 40 per cent of them.
Cinven has a diverse European team but the core group is definitely English,
educated at Cambridge, Oxford, LSE and Edinburgh.
Higher Diploma
Source: Candesic
Source: Candesic
143
ESCP-EAP (3)
LSE (3)
4
2
0
HEC (4)
Oxford (4)
Cambridge (10)
Source: Candesic
6
5
4
JP Morgan (3)
1
0
BCG (4)
Bain (6)
Source: Candesic
Cinven has one of the most stable teams in the private equity industry. Their strategy
is to retain employees for as long as possible in order to preserve their knowledge and
expertise. Many of their partners have been involved since the very beginning in
1988. Maybe for that reason, it is clearly not the policy of the firm to advertise
positions. Candidates will have to rely on their personal networks and their good
fortune to fill a potential vacancy.
144
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
www.cvc.com
THE STATS
KEY COMPETITORS
Apax BC Partners Bridgepoint
Candover Cinven EQT Industri
Kapital PAI
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Distribution
Food/Beverages
IT/Media
Manufacturing
Retail
Services
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
humanresources@cvc.com
Financial stages:
Mega buyout (>300m equity), Large
buy-out (150m-300m equity), Public
to private
Types of financing:
Main: Majority equity
Other: Debt, CLOs (second lien and
mezzanine instruments), Infrastructure
145
THE SCOOP
CVC Capital Partners was founded in 1981 as Citicorps European private equity
arm, and was subsequently bought out by the firms partners in 1993. CVC boasts 135
employees with 16 nationalities. They operate a network of 18 offices on four
continents, one of the largest and most extensive in the private equity industry.
Although still focused on European assets, they have aggressively expanded into
Australasia and recently opened their first office in the US.
FUND CAPITAL
2008
11(target)bn
2007
4bn
2005
6bn
2005
$2bn
2001
$4bn
FUNDS
Since inception, the firm has made around 260 investments with a total value of
65bn, and currently holds a portfolio of 53 firms mainly in the retail, manufacturing
and service sectors. Together these companies have combined annual sales of 55.3
billion and employ approximately 431,000 people. Their third European fund
achieved annual returns of over 40 per cent after fees, making it one of the most
successful pan-European houses.
146
Global coverage
CVC Asia Pacific has been one of the most active private equity investors in the Asia
Pacific region and has completed 25 MBOs there in the last seven years. They opened
their fifth office in the region in Singapore in 2007. The same year, they faced their
first major conflict in Asia as unions at Coca-Cola Korea Bottling Company plants
opposed their acquisition of the business. In 2007 too, CVC appointed Christopher
Stadler, previously head of InvestCorp's private equity business in North America,
to open and run their first American office in New York.
CVCs portfolio covers a wide variety of industries, geographies and economic
environments. In 2006, their nine investments were already regionally diversified
four in Europe, four in Asia and one in Australia. In 2007, they have had 12 deals, of
which eight were in Europe, two in the U.S., one in Asia and one in Australia. The list
includes a diverse group of companies such as Belgium specialty chemicals firm
Taminco for 0.8bn; CementBouw and Koninklijke Volker Wessels Stevin in the
Netherlands; Danish retailer Matas; German firms Ista and DYWIDAG-Systems
International; AA, the UK roadside and insurance business, now merged with Saga;
Samsonite, the luggage company, for $1.7bn; global chemical distributor Univar for
1.5bn; Amtek Engineering from Singapore; and 75 per cent of PBL Media in Australia.
In December 2007, CVC announced the appointment of Stephen Vineburg as Chief
Executive of a newly established infrastructure investment business. A new $2 billion
fund will be launched in 2008, to make investments globally.
147
GETTING HIRED
CVC Partners boasts a true pan-European team with professionals educated at a wide
range of top universities across Europe, like Stockholm, WHU or ESCP-EAP.
Higher Diploma
Source: Candesic
Source: Candesic
148
ESCP-EAP (4)
Stockholm (4)
INSEAD (4)
Source: Candesic
10
8
6
PWC (4)
Goldman Sachs (4)
4
2
0
JPMorgan (5)
McKinsey (7)
Citigroup (10)
Source: Candesic
An insider mentions that CVC has a very competitive environment with a culture of
strong collegiate rivalry. The investment professionals have an average of eight years
service within the firm. Their previous backgrounds include investment banking
primarily, with a range of experiences in consulting, accounting, private equity and
other areas of asset management, law, property development and general
management in various industries.
To learn more about employment opportunities at CVC you can email
humanresources@cvc.com.
149
DOUGHTY HANSON
45 Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5JG
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 76 63 9300
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
London (HQ) Frankfurt Luxembourg
Madrid Milan Munich Paris
Stockholm
www.doughtyhanson.com
KEY COMPETITORS
THE STATS
Executive Director: Nigel E. Doughty
Employer Type: Private Company
Total private equity funds under management: 5bn (estimate)
Employees: 123 staff (56 professionals),
15 nationalities in 2008
No. of Offices: 8
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
info@doughtyhanson.com
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
All sectors
Financial stages:
Expansion development, Mega buyout
(>300m equity), Large buy-out
(150m-300m equity), Mid market buyout (15m-150m equity), Technology
venture, Real estate
Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Minority Equity, Shareholders
loans
151
THE SCOOP
Founded in 1985, Doughty Hanson is a leading UK private equity company that splits
its efforts between three investment activities; early stage technology investments,
real estate investments and mid to large cap leveraged buyouts. The company as a
whole has an aggregate acquisition value of 23 billion in over 100 transactions, with
a strictly European portfolio. Although the majority of Doughty Hansons investment
professionals are based in London, they have regional offices in Frankfurt,
Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris and Stockholm.
Most important funds
VINTAGE YEAR
FUND CAPITAL
2007
3bn
2005
1.5bn
FUNDS
The firm is not particularly sector focused; their current portfolio includes companies
from sectors as diverse as luxury goods, media, retail, mobile phones, engineering,
manufacturing and building materials. The firm invests in market leading companies
with enterprise values between 250 million and 1 billion and prefers to be the sole
investor with a majority stake in the company. The technology venture capital
investments can be as little as 0.1 million for seed investments and 10 million for
later stage investments.
Cashing out
In early 2008, the firm is closing its sale of the Moeller Group, a global manufacturer
of systems for building applications, to the Eaton Corporation for 1.55 billion,
152
GETTING HIRED
In April 2008, Doughty Hanson increased tremendously their transparency when
they unveiled their 2007 annual report. Still they remain one of the few established
private equity firms that do not disclose any information about their team members.
While investment professionals are expected to bring significant industrial experience
to the team, the firm occasionally hires juniors from Stockholm School of Economics,
London School of Economics, Oxford, Cambridge or HEC. INSEAD graduates
represent more than 10 per cent of the investment team.
153
Doughty Hanson
representing a three times return on equity and a gross IRR of 54 per cent. The firm
was acquired by the Munich team using the 1.5bn Fund IV, which closed in early
2005, with a price tag of 1.1bn including pension liabilities. The sale is the second exit
from Fund IV, the first being Saft, a French high-end battery maker, meaning a total
of 1 billion has been returned to investors with nine Fund IV investments yet to be
realised. Companies still in the portfolio include Tumi, the luxury luggage maker,
Hellermann Tyton, a cable company, and TV3, the Irish TV company.
Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Shareholders loans
www.dukestreetcapital.com
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
London (HQ) Paris
THE STATS
Managing Director: Peter Taylor
Employer Type: Private Company
Total private equity funds under management: 2bn
Employees: 34 in 2007 (18 investment
professionals)
No. of Offices: 2
KEY COMPETITORS
Apax European Capital Montagu
Quilvest
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
mail@dukestreetcapital.com
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Business Services & Outsourcing
Retail & Consumer
Healthcare
Leisure
Financial Services
Financial stages:
Expansion/development, Refinancing
bank debt, Secondary purchase/replacement capital, Rescue/turnaround, MBO,
MBI, Institutional BO, Leveraged Build
Up, Public to private
Large buy-out (150m-300m equity),
Mid market buyout (15m-150m equity)
154
Since 1980, Duke Street Capital has been involved in mid-market private equity
investments in the UK and France, from their offices in London and Paris. Duke Street
uses an operational improvement strategy to add value, and retains the services of
industry experts as operational partners. The firm specialises in management buy-ins
and actively advertises for experienced managers to approach them with potential
investment opportunities.
Most important funds
FUNDS
VINTAGE YEAR
FUND CAPITAL
DSC VI
2006
0.85bn
In 2004, the firm sold its 1.5bn leveraged loan CDO management business to Babson,
a subsidiary of MassMutual, to concentrate on its private equity business.
By the end of 2007, Duke Street had closed 49 transactions in the business services,
retail and consumer, healthcare, leisure and financial services sectors. The firm points
out that they will consider any opportunity, but their expertise and experience is
currently focused around these sectors. The firm is currently in the process of
investing its sixth fund, DSC VI, with approximately 2 billion under management.
In 2007, the DSC V fund went through the build stage of a buy and build
strategy, with acquisitions and organic growth bulking up the portfolio companies.
In April, Food Partners, the leading supplier of pre-packaged sandwiches in the UK,
acquired a major competitor, Brambles Food, for an estimated 210 million.
In June of 2007, Duke Street acquired Oasis Healthcare, a leading corporate dentist,
for 76.9 million plus debt, adding to the flurry of activity in the preceding year;
Hutton Collins had recently bought into James Hull Associates and Legal & General
Ventures had acquired a controlling stake in Integrated Dental Holdings. The sector
is very fragmentedcorporate dentists account for less than 5 per centand many
industry observers are predicting further consolidation.
In December of 2007, the firm acquired The Original Factory Shop, a value retailer
headquartered in Burnley, UK. The deal, valued at 68.5 million, will see a
nationwide growth strategy roll out new shops throughout the UK, adding to the 84
outlets currently owned by OFS.
155
THE SCOOP
GETTING HIRED
Staffing
The firms 21 investment professionals are split between London and Paris, with
about three quarters of them in the UK. Although it is hard to draw conclusions from
such a small number of professionals, the majority came from top investment banks
and from other private equity firms. Management consultants are absent and only
one Big Four accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, is represented.
Recruiting
The educational background of Duke Street professionals is very diverse, with
Durham, Cambridge, Dauphine and ESCP-EAP being the most popular
undergraduate universities. While two thirds of the investment professionals have a
Masters degree, the MBA is the exception. Insiders point out that there is no specific
recruiting policy; the team is relatively small and hiring needs are filled ad hoc.
156
ADVENT
INTERNATIONAL
EQT
PARTNERS
PO Box 16409, Linngatan 6
103 27 Stockholm
Sweden
Tel: +46 8 50 655 300
www.eqt.se
THE STATS
Managing Partner: Conni Jonsson
Employer Type: Private Company
Total private equity funds under management: 11bn
Employees: 80 professionals in 2008 (67
investment professionals)
No. of Offices: 9
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Stockholm (HQ) Copenhagen Frankfurt Helsinki Munich Oslo
KEY COMPETITORS
3i Apax Carlyle Industri Kapital
Nordic Capital
CAREER CONTACTS
+46 8 (0)50 655 300
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
All sectors
Financial stages:
Expansion development, Mega buyout
(>300m equity), Large buy-out (150m300m equity), Mid market buyout
(15m-150m equity), Other early stage,
Privatisation, Public to private, Replacement, Seed, Small buyout (<15m equity), Start-up, Turnaroundrestructuring
Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Mezzanine
157
THE SCOOP
Founded in 1994 by Investor AB, EQT Partners (an abbreviation of equity) is a
leading private equity house, based in Sweden. The firm has over 11 billion under
management, and has invested 5 billion in 60 companies, with a particular focus on
Northern Europe and China. In particular, the firm is active in Scandinavia, Benelux,
Finland, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. The firm targets leading medium-sized
companies, specializing in buyouts, mezzanine financing and special situation
investments. The opportunity fund invests in turnarounds, insolvencies,
restructurings and special situations where revenues exceed 50 million. Currently,
the European portfolio is invested mostly in Sweden, Denmark and Germany, and
to a lesser extent in Finland. The rest of the portfolio companies are in Greater China.
FUND CAPITAL
EQT V
2007
4.2bn
2007
0.5bn
2005
0.4bn
EQT IV
2004
2.5bn
FUNDS
158
EQT has a little more clout than their fund size would suggest, as they are backed by
the Wallenberg family, who own a controlling stake in Investor AB and are one of
Swedens wealthiest families. The Wallenbergs were famously nicknamed the
Royal family of Swedish business for their heritage and success as bankers and
industrialists. The family currently owns the majority of the preferred stock in
Investor AB, which holds superior voting rights over regular shares, meaning that
they have ultimate control over the company even though it is publicly listed.
Recently, activist investors have tried to initiate a break-up of the group, which has
been trading below the value of its assets for years, to no avail.
EQT prefers to list their portfolio companies when exiting investments, having been
involved in several successful public offerings in the past. In 2006, EQT listed
Symrise, the German flavours and fragrances firm, at the top end of its price range,
making it the biggest German IPO that year at 1.4 billion. Tognum, a diesel engine
manufacturer, was listed on the German mid-cap index in 2007, with a significant
oversubscription resulting in a total offering volume of around 2 billion. Since
listing, Tognum has outperformed the German mid-cap index by around 3 per cent,
with EQT still owning around a fifth of the shares.
In 2008, EQT plans to partner with Goldman Sachs Capital Partners to list ISS, the
Danish cleaning company, which they took private in 2005 for 4 billion. EQTs other
future ambitions include opening an office in Hong Kong, and further investments
in Eastern Europe.
GETTING HIRED
EQT Partners has 67 investment professionals with a broad range of industrial and
financial backgrounds. The majority are based in Europe, the Nordic countries and
Germany. Teams are staffed based on their regional and industrial experience. EQT
focuses primarily on professionals with investment banking experience (half of the
professionals), while former strategy consultants represent a distant second. The local
industry is also well represented with former employees from Volvo, ABB, Radisson SAS,
Bertelsmann or VIAG. The most represented universities among staff are Stockholm,
Copenhagen and Helsinki, a further sign of EQTs strong Nordic roots.
Candidates can register their application and CV on EQTs website. The firm is currently
looking for outstanding candidates with relevant experience to join its Greater China team
159
EQT Partners
Royal connections
Higher Diploma
Source: Candesic
Source: Candesic
12
10
8
NYU (3)
INSEAD (3)
Helsinki (7)
2
0
Copenhagen (7)
Stockholm (12)
Source: Candesic
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
UBS (3)
2.0
JPMorgan (3)
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
McKinsey (4)
Source: Candesic
160
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
EURAZEO
32 rue de Monceau
75008 Paris
France
Tel: +33 1 44 15 0111
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
www.eurazeo.com
KEY COMPETITORS
Bridgepoint PAI
THE STATS
Chairman of Executive Board: Patrick
Sayer
Employer Type: Public listed Company
(Euronext Paris)
Ticker Symbol: RF
Total private equity funds under management: 2.7bn (value of PE portfolio on
31/12/07)
Employees: about 20 investment professionals
No. of Offices: 2
CAREERS CONTACT
+33 1 44 15 0111
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
All sectors
Financial stages:
Mid market buyout (15m-150m equity), public equity, real estate
Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity; Minority Equity
161
THE SCOOP
In April 2001, Eurazeo was formed through the merger of two renowned French
investment companies, Eurafrance and Azeo, formerly known as Gaz et Eaux, the
gas and water distributor dating back to 1881. The firm currently has an enterprise
portfolio value of 6 billion, almost half of it in private equity, with a heavy focus on
French companies requiring an investment of over 200 million. From 2003 to 2006,
the 3 billion invested boasted an annual IRR of 53 per cent, well above the market
average. Though listed on the Euronext, Eurazeo is effectively owned by institutional
investors, with the public owning only 12 per cent of the shares.
Since 2002, Eurazeo has balanced its private equity investments by allocating 10-15
per cent of its portfolio to real estate assets, while maintaining its significant positions
in major listed corporations. In 2006, the firm sold off its portfolio of funds and
liquidated its Asian assets, shedding any non-strategic investments.
Keeping busy
In 2003, Eurazeo was ranked as the number one French PE firm, having made several
substantial investments that year; Friklin, a European rental truck company with
over 52,000 vehicles, Eutelsat, a division of France Telecom, and Terreal, a French
brick producer, were all acquired that year. The following year, Rexel was acquired
in the largest European LBO at the time, only to be released the following year
through a public offering. In 2005, Eurazeo kept the deal flow going strong by
recapitalizing Eutelsat, acquiring B&B, a hotel chain, and exiting Terreal, which
reached an astonishing IRR of 105 per cent.
In 2006, Eurazeo sold more than 2.1 billion worth of French companies, while
moving away from their home market by launching an Italian office, and acquiring
Eurocar. In 2007, Eutelsat and Fraikin were sold, realising IRRs of 59 per cent and
162
In 2007, Eurazeo launched Euraleo in Italy, in a 50/50 joint venture with Banca
Leonardo. The sister company is managed by Alessandro Foti and concentrates on
the Italian private equity market.
GETTING HIRED
Eurazeos investment team currently consists of about 20 professionals, half of whom
previously worked for an investment bank. They typically graduated from the French
elite schools Ecole Polytechnique and HEC and at least two of them started their
careers within the French government, a significant advantage when trying to get
access to deals in France. Eurazeo is a very French company but its European
ambitions may create opportunities for strong candidates from other European
countries. Candidates can upload their CV and submit their application on the
company website at www.eurazeo.fr/uk/emploi/form.php.
163
Eurazeo
37.5 per cent respectively. The same year, they acquired Apcoa, the German car park
operator, for 885 million, and Vanguard, the US car rental group. To further develop
the non-French European business, Eurazeo invested in Gruppo Banca Leonardo in
Italy and APCOA in Germany.
EUROPEAN
CAPITAL
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
25 Bedford Street
London WC2E 9ES
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7539 7000
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
www.europeancapital.com
KEY COMPETITORS
THE STATS
Managing Director: Nathalie Faure
Beaulieu
Employer Type: Public listed company
(LSE)
Total private equity funds under management: 2.3bn
Employees: 19 in 2007
No. of Offices: 3
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors of focus:
All sectors
Financial stages:
Buyouts (50 - 500 million), Mezzanine
(up to 250 million)
Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Minority Equity
164
CAREERS WEBSITE
info@EuropeanCapital.com
American Capital, parent company of European Capital, is the largest publicly traded
private equity company in the world and the only alternative asset management firm
in the S&P 500. With over $20 billion under management, the firm allows
shareholders the opportunity to invest in mid-market private companies in all sectors
throughout North America and Europe.
European Capital manages 1.6 billion of funds, targeting middle-market European
firms worth between 5 million and 500 million. The first European offices, in Paris
and London, were only established in 2005, with the further two offices in Madrid
and Frankfurt opening in 2007.
Being an affiliate firm to American Capital has several advantagesthe fund uses
American Capitals back office functions, including the operations, legal and
compliance teams, and benefits from the same access to cheap and available credit.
The European Capital team alone were extended a 900 million credit facility in 2006,
a significant advantage to a relatively new private equity house which would never
have happened if they had been a standalone firm.
The group is also in the process of developing a new fund, European Capital Equity I.
The majority of the firms investments have come from the French and British offices,
with the Frankfurt office making its first investment in July 2007; 10 million was
invested in Euro-Druckservice, a leading commercial printer in Central and Eastern
Europe.
In 2007, the Paris office made several investments in the manufacturing sector and
related industries; 22 million was invested in Global Design Technologies, a
provider of specialised fittings for the aerospace industry; 29 million was invested
in Soflog Telis, a provider of logistics to major industrial consumers; 12.5 million
was invested in Tiama, a manufacturer of in-line inspection devices; and finally,
undisclosed investments were made in Groupe Sud Robinetterie, a valve
manufacturer, and DEVGLASS, a window pane manufacturer and distributor.
That same year, the London office made key investments in the retail sector; 30
million was invested in Camaieu, a womens clothing retailer; 18.5 million was
invested in Fat Face, an active lifestyle clothing brand; and 8 million was invested
165
European Capital
THE SCOOP
in Vivarte, a French retailer of footwear and clothing. Other well known acquisitions
around that time include Gondola Holdings, the food group that owns casual
dinning chains such as Pizza Express and ASK, iglo Birds Eye, the well known frozen
food group, and Selecta, the largest vending services company in Europe.
GETTING HIRED
The investment professionals at European Capital studied at a mixture of American
and European undergraduate universities, representing locally hired staff and
professionals hired from within American Capital to European locations. The
universities are varied, but include top universities such as Dauphine University,
MIT and Durham University. Six out of the 21 professionals have an MBA, from
institutions such as HEC, ENPC and Wisconsin University. Around 40 per cent of
the professionals come from other private equity companies and 30 per cent from
banks. Two of the 21 professionals came from Credit Suisse and two came from
Socit Gnrale, making them the most popular former employers. European
Capital does not run a formal recruitment process, although potential candidates can
contact the firm at info@europeancapital.com to discuss potential opportunities.
166
ADVENT
INTERNATIONAL
GILDE
INVESTMENT
MANAGEMENT
Newtonlaan 91
BP Utrecht
3584
Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0)30 21 92 535
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
www.gilde.nl
www.gildepartners.com
THE STATS
CAREERS CONTACT
KEY COMPETITORS
info@gilde.nl
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
General Industries, Consumer Goods,
Basic Industries, Services, Other
Financial stages:
Mid market buyout (15m-150m)
Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Minority Equity, Shareholders
loans
167
THE SCOOP
Founded in 1982, Gilde Investment Management is a Dutch private equity and venture
capital firm, currently boasting around 2 billion under management. In 1996, the firm
became an independent subsidiary of Rabobank, the Dutch cooperative bank, only to
be released through a management buyout in 2005. Rabobank still has close ties to
Gilde and continues to act as a key investor in their funds, although the management
team thought independence would help attract new institutional investors.
FUND CAPITAL
2006
0.6bn
1996
0.43bn
FUNDS
Gilde Investment Management is divided into three business units: Gilde Equity
Management (GEM) Benelux Partners invests in Benelux headquartered mid-market
firms, with a transaction size of 15-75 million; Gilde Buy Out Partners focuses on
mid-market companies based in continental Western Europe, with a transaction size
of 75-600 million; Gilde Healthcare Partners is a venture capital company that
invests in European or US emerging healthcare companies in the therapeutic,
diagnostic and medical device sectors.
168
169
The firm received the regional 2007 M&A award for Best Private Equity House Mid
Market, and is regarded as one of the key players focusing on the Benelux region. GEM
is not sector focused, but has been particularly successful in the food and manufacturing
industries; investments such as All Crump, Ad van Geloven, Bakker Bart, Hamal
Signature and Royal Peijnenburg in the food industry and Axxicon, Codi, CurTec,
Hevea/Dunlop and De Oliebron/Kroon-Oil in manufacturing being examples.
GETTING HIRED
With offices in The Netherlands, Switzerland and France, Gildes staff of 40
professionals is highly multinational. Their employees have previous backgrounds
in finance, investment banking, consulting, industry and private equity, with a large
variety of former employers.
Since Gilde is a Dutch firm, many of the professionals were educated in Dutch
Universities, including the State University of Groningen, University of Rotterdam,
Free University of Amsterdam, Groningen Rijks University and Leiden University.
Only six out of the 33 professionals have an MBA, which they obtained at top
institutions including INSEAD and Wharton.
170
ADVENT
INTERNATIONAL
HG
CAPITAL
Regional
Headquarters
2UKMore
London
Riverside
Advent International
plc
London
SE1 2AP
111 Buckingham
United
Kingdom Palace Road
London
Tel:
+44SW1W
(0)20 700SR
89 7888
UK
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800
www.hgcapital.com
www.adventinternational.com
THE STATS
Managing Director: Ian Armitage
Employer
The StatsType: Private Company, Investment Trust
Chairman:
PeterLSE:
A. Brooke
Ticket
Symbol:
HGT.L
Employer
Type:
Independent
Private
Total
private
equity
funds under
manageCompany
ment:
2.5bn
Total private70equity
funds under
Employees:
in 2007
management:
11bn (2008)
No.
of Offices:about
3
Employees: 130 investment professionals,
of which 65 in Europe (2008)
No. of Offices:FOCUS
15
COMPANY
Sectors:
Consumer & Leisure
Healthcare
Company Focus
Industrials
Sectors:
Services
Business Services & Financial Services
TMT
Retail & Consumer
Technology,
Media & Telecoms
Financial
stages:
Healthcare&development,
Life Sciences Large buyout
Expansion
Industrial
(150m-300m
equity), Mid market buyout (15m-150m), Privatisation, Public
Financial
to
private,stages:
Replacement, Turnaround
International buyouts, recapitalization and
restructuring
growth equity investments (up to 500m
equity),ofsome
venture capital
Types
financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Types of financing:
Majority equity
European Locations
EUROPEAN
LOCATIONS
London (HQ) Amsterdam Munich
Amsterdam Bucharest Frankfurt
Kiev Madrid Milan Paris Prague
Warsaw
Bratislava (affiliate) Oslo
KEY
COMPETITORS
(affiliate)
3i Advent International Apax Barclays PE European Capital Montagu
Boston (HQ)
info@hgcapital.com
Tokyo Singapore (affiliate) Buenos
Aires Sao Paulo Mexico Further
affiliates in five other countries
Key Competitors
3i Apax Barclays Private Equity
Cinven Montagu
Employment Contact
In the US: info@adventinternational.com
For other offices, see "contact us" at
www.adventinternational.com
171
THE SCOOP
Founded in 1985, Mercury Private Equity was one of the original private equity
players in the European mid-cap market. In 1997, the firm was acquired by Merrill
Lynch and integrated into the ML Investment Management division of the bulgebracket bank. Three years later, the firm was spun off as an independent unit, rebranding itself HgCapital the chemical symbol for mercury and also an acronym for
High Growth.
The firm currently has around 2.5 billion under management, and typically invests
in mid-market companies with enterprise values between 75 million and 500
million. The firm has worked with a broad range of companies, requiring different
investment types such as leveraged buyouts, management buy-ins, turnarounds,
operational improvement initiatives, public-to-private and scaling up for fast growth.
The firms offices in London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt represent their focus on
Western Europe, and past investments have focused on the UK, Ireland, Germany
and Benelux. HgCapital is sector specific, acting as a general private equity investor
in the following sectors: consumer & leisure, healthcare, industrials, services &
technology, media and telecommunication (TMT).
172
The firm also manages an investment trust, known as HgCapital Investment Trust,
which takes a minority interest in all of HgCapitals private equity investments,
allowing investors the chance to invest in a diversified range of private equity
activities with some liquidity. In 2007, the firm won the Private Equity Investment
Trust of the Year award at the Investment Week Awards for the third year running,
making them the only company to have ever completed the hat-trick. The award was
given in recognition of consistent returns and sector-leading performance; in the
decade spanning 1997 to 2007, the Trust delivered a share price total return of 19 per
cent per annum against 7.3 per cent for the FTSE index, and a share price growth of
21.8 per cent over the final year.
In early 2008, the firm sold The Sanctuary, a UK spa and beauty products business,
to PZ Cussons for 75 million, which was their seventh transaction in the preceding
five months. All in all it was a very successful period for HgCapitalthe joint
disposal of CS Group and IRIS Software, combined with the sale of Hirschmann
Electronics, cummulated in an annual rate of return above 75 per cent. In addition,
the sale of Schenck realised proceeds of 34 million, at an impressive 85 per cent
annual rate of return.
In the same period, the firm invested in several new opportunities; Schleich, the
plastic toy manufacturer, Americana, the clothing brand responsible for Bench and
Hooch brands, SLV, a lighting systems company, Mondo, the talc mining group, and
Fabory, the industrial fastener distributor, were all acquired by HgCapital. The 2007
acquisition of Fabory represents the firms fifth investment in the Benelux region
since opening an office in Amsterdam two years earlier. In late 2007, the firm added
to its healthcare portfolio by acquiring Casa Reha, the German care homes business.
173
Hg Capital
Trust yourself
GETTING HIRED
HgCapitals investment team studied at the typical elite universities including
Oxbridge, Harvard, INSEAD and London Business School. Almost a third of the
professionals hold an MBA. In terms of employment, HgCapitals professionals have
a variety of backgrounds; top previous employers are leading consulting firms, Big
Four accounting firms and top tier investment banks. Interestingly, almost a fifth of
HgCapitals professionals have a background in strategy consulting, which is roughly
the same as the number of professionals who came from investment banks.
HgCapital does not run a formal recruitment process, but can be contacted at
info@hgcapital.com to discuss potential employment opportunities.
174
Hg Capital
Higher Diploma
PhD/JD/MD (2%)
Bachelors only (38%)
Unknown (7%)
MBA (30%)
Masters (23%)
Source: Candesic
Source: Candesic
LBS (2)
INSEAD (2)
Harvard (5)
Oxford (5)
Cambridge (7)
Source: Candesic
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
KPMG (2)
0.5
Deloitte (3)
0.0
Bain (3)
Source: Candesic
175
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
INDUSTRI
KAPITAL
Brettenham
UK
Regional House,
Headquarters
5 Lancaster Place
Advent International
London
WC2E 7EN plc
111 Buckingham
United
Kingdom Palace Road
London
Tel:
+44SW1W
(0)20 730SR
04 4300
UK
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800
www.industrikapital.com
European Locations
EUROPEAN
LOCATIONS
www.adventinternational.com
THE STATS
Chairman and Chief Executive: Bjrn
Savn
The
Stats
Employer Type: Private Company
Chairman:
Peter
A. Brooke
Total
private
equity
funds under manageEmployer
Type: Independent Private
ment:
5.7bn
Company 70 staff (30 professionals) in
Employees:
Total private equity funds under
2008
management:
11bn (2008)
No.
of Offices:about
5
Employees: 130 investment professionals,
of which 65 in Europe (2008)
No. of Offices:FOCUS
15
COMPANY
Sectors:
Manufacturing (31 per cent)
Service (24 per cent)
Company
Focus
Retailing
Sectors: & Distribution (18 per cent)
Wholesale
Business
Services(8
& per
Financial
Food
processing
cent)Services
Retail & materials
Consumer(8 per cent)
Building
Technology,process
Media &
Specialised
(8Telecoms
per cent)
Healthcare
& cent)
Life Sciences
Media
(3 per
Industrial
Financial stages:
Financial stages:
Mid-market
buyout (15m-150m equity)
International buyouts, recapitalization and
growthofequity
investments (up to 500m
Types
financing:
equity),
some venture
Main: Majority
Equity capital
Types of financing:
Majority equity
176
Key Competitors
3i Apax Barclays Private Equity
Cinven Montagu
Employment Contact
In the US: info@adventinternational.com
For other offices, see "contact us" at
www.adventinternational.com
FUND CAPITAL
2007
1.7bn
2004
0.825bn
2000
2.1bn
FUNDS
In 1993, after gaining independence, the firm branched out from its London base and
opened regional offices in Stockholm and Oslo. By 1995, the firm had closed its
second fund, with 250 million of capital from investors in Europe and North
America. Two years later, the firm closed its third fund at 750 million while also
opening an office in Hamburg, indicating their ambitions to begin investing in
Germany. The firms further fundraising ambitions peaked in 2000, when their fourth
fund closed at 2.1 billion, after which their fifth and sixth funds closed at 825
million and 1.7 billion, respectively. The Paris office was a late addition, opening in
2006, after the firm had already purchased several French companies.
As of early 2008, Industri Kapital was managing four active funds, with 5.7 billion
under management targeting Scandinavia, Benelux, France and Germany. Their
current portfolio has 20 European companies, with a total combined turnover of over
7 billion. Overall, the firm has acquired 64 companies from a range of industries; the
largest transaction was the acquisition of Magotteaux, a global grinding media and
casting supplier, which had a final price tag of 373 million.
177
Industri Kapital
THE SCOOP
GETTING HIRED
Industri Kapital has investments teams in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland,
Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France and the Benelux. Their regional investment
teams enable the private equity company to establish local networks and knowledge
bases, a key driver of successful transactions. Together the teams speak twelve
languages. About half of Industri Kapital employees have a previous experience in
investment banking. Top former employers are Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, ABN
Amro and of course Enskilda, the former mother company. Several were trained at
strategy consultancies like Bain & Company. The team is European but with a
majority of Scandinavians, and a significant proportion graduated from the well
reputed Stockholm School of Economics. Candidates should contact directly the
office they would like to apply to.
For Industri Kapital it is very important to recruit professionals who fit into their
regional teams. Their decisions are mainly dependent on the language skills and local
experience of applicants, so be sure to point out any regional knowledge.
178
Industri Kapital
Higher Diploma
PhD/JD/MD (3%)
Bachelors only (23%)
Unknown (3%)
MBA (17%)
Masters (54%)
Source: Candesic
Source: Candesic
8
7
6
5
INSEAD (2)
HEC (3)
Harvard (3)
Stockholm SE (8)
Source: Candesic
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
PWC (2)
JPMorgan (2)
1.5
Bain (2)
1.0
Enskilda (2)
0.5
0.0
Source: Candesic
179
MONTAGU PRIVATE
EQUITY
2 More London Riverside
London SE1 2AP
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 73 36 9955
Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
www.montagu.com
THE STATS
Chief Executive: Chris Masterson
Employer Type: Private Company
Total private equity funds under management: 3bn
Employees: 43 in 2007
No. of Offices: 5
KEY COMPETITORS
Advent International 3i Apax
Barclays Private Equity HgCapital
CAREERS CONTACT
COMPANY FOCUS
enquiries@montagu.com
Sectors:
Aerospace & Defence
Engineering
Chemicals
Electronics
Food & Beverage
General Financial
General Industrial
Healthcare
Media
Pharmaceuticals
Retailers
Support Services
Transportation
Financial stages:
Large buyout (150m-300m equity),
Mega buyout (>300m equity)
181
THE SCOOP
In 2003, HSBC spun off its European private equity unit in a management buyout, in
a deal that valued the business somewhere in the region of 60 million. The firm was
re-branded as Montagu Private Equity, which is derived from the well known 19th
century London stockbroker Montagu & Samuel. HSBC retained a 19.9 per cent stake
in the business and still uses the firm as their primary vehicle for private equity
investments in Europe. Montagu got to keep the network of European offices in
London, Manchester, Stockholm, Dsseldorf and Paris, retaining Chris Masterson,
the former MD of HSBC Private Equity, to head the firm as CEO.
Most important funds
VINTAGE YEAR
FUND CAPITAL
Montagu III
2005
2.26bn
2002
1bn
FUNDS
Since 1968, the firm has invested in over 400 companies, with an impressive historic
rate of return and a current total of 3 billion under management. The firm typically
invests between 100 million to 1 billion in a given deal, but pursues larger deals
through co-investments with other firms. Unlike at most other private equity firms,
investment professionals at Montagu do not have a sector specialisation.The firm is
not sector oriented, and instead prefers to believe that a strong investment
opportunity, even in a weak market, can still succeed. The firm looks as a priority for
niches that are easy to defend.
Montagus investment philosophy can be described as no-nonsense; they have an
underlying principle that capital providers often have too much belief in their own
ability to add value, and instead emphasise how important it is to back the right
management team. Chris Masterson, Chief Exec of Montagu, points out that Montagus
strategy doesnt include Management Buy-Ins (MBI), so its crucial they are happy with
the target companys current CEO and management team. In fact, Montagu boasts that
they have fired less than 10 per cent of the CEOs of companies they have acquired
defying a practice that is very common amongst private equity firms.
182
The two most notable, and most expensive, Montagu acquisitions were BSN Medical,
the German pharmaceuticals group, acquired for 1.03 billion in 2005 and Linpac,
the UK industrial company, which they bought for 860 million in 2003. In 2007, the
firm made one of their more successful realisations by selling Cory Environmental,
the waste management group, for five times their original investment after only two
years. The firm also made a tidy return on the 2006 management buyout of Misys
General Insurance, which they subsequently named Open International Limited,
buying it for 182 million and selling it for 276 million a year and a half later.
GETTING HIRED
Sixty per cent of the Montagu professionals are based in the UK, with a fifth in Paris,
twelve per cent in Germany and a handful in Sweden. The undergraduate
qualifications of Montagus professionals are unusually mixed; Oxford, Cambridge
and ESSEC all have three alumni at Montagu, and universities like Reading,
Birmingham, Sheffield Hallam, Heriot-Watt, Bristol, Newcastle and HEC all make
an appearance as well.
Around a third of Montagu professionals came from an investment banking
background, with almost a fifth coming from transaction services firms such as
PricewaterhouseCoopers. Only two of the 43 professionals came from strategy
consulting, one from Booz Allen and one from McKinsey.
183
In 2007, the firm only made two acquisitions: UK-based Jamella Group, the hair
styling group trading under GHD, was bought for 160 million, and Unifeeder, the
Danish transport and logistics company, was acquired. In 2006, the firm made
another four acquisitions in a variety of sectors, continuing the trend of pursuing an
opportunity as opposed to an industry; British Car Auctions, the British vehicle
auction business, Sebia, the French pharmaceuticals business, Logstor, the Danish
pipe manufacturer, and Open International, the British software business, were all
acquired by Montagu in 2006.
PAI PARTNERS
43 avenue de l'Opra
75002 Paris
France
Tel: +33 (0)1 55 77 9101
www.paipartners.com
THE STATS
Chief Executive: Dominique Mgret
Employer Type: Independent private
company since 2002 buyout from BNP
Paribas
Total private equity funds under management: 7bn
Employees: 49 professionals in 2007
No. of Offices: 5
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Consumer Goods (including Healthcare
Services
Capital Goods
Financial stages:
Large buyout (150m-300m equity),
Mid market buyout (15m-150m equity), Public to private
Types of financing:
Majority equity and shareholders loans
184
LOCATIONS
Paris (HQ) London Madrid Milan
Munich
KEY COMPETITORS
BC Partners Blackstone Cinven
CVC Eurazeo LBO France Wendel
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
www.paipartners.com
PAI Partners
THE SCOOP
PAI is a rapidly growing European private equity firm that has fast become the
largest French player and one of the largest investment houses in Europe. With 49
professionals split across five European offices in Paris, London, Madrid, Milan and
Munich, the company is exclusively European; the last decade has seen investment
activity in ten countries, all of them in Western Europe.
FUND CAPITAL
PAI Europe V
2008
5.4bn
PAI Europe IV
2005
2.7bn
2001
0.21bn
FUNDS
The firm has around 7bn under management and typically invests in medium to
large size public or private companies, with investments in the range of 500m
3bn. PAI operates in three sectors that are just being redefined:
The Consumer Goods group covers the food industry, other consumer
goods and healthcare
PAI has a long history of financing large companies that goes back to its roots as a
division of Paribas bank. In 1931, it had been a founding shareholder of RTL Group
and had supported the successful development of the group in Europe until it sold
its stake to the Group Frre years ago.
185
Expensive taste
During the summer of 2007, PAI built an 80 per cent stake in the public company
Kaufman & Broad, one of Frances leading developers and builders of homes with a
turnover of about 1.3bn. Earlier that year, PAI led the 2.4bn acquisition of Lafarge
Roofing, a 12,000 employee company headquartered in Luxembourg and the
worldwide leader in tiles for pitched roofs, roofing components and chimney
systems.
The year 2005 was key, with 9 acquisitions including: Danish company Chr. Hansen,
the worldwide leader in natural ingredients to the food industry (1.1bn); Cortefiel,
the market leading apparel retailer in Spain (1.5bn); Kwik-Fit, Europes largest
automotive fast-fit services provider (800m); and Saur, a leader in the water
distribution, sanitation and waste management in France (1bn, exited).
Previous important acquisitions have included many other leading European
companies; UK-based United Biscuits, a leading European manufacturer of biscuits
and snacks with 9,000 employees and a turnover of 1.3bn; Elis, the European leader
in the textile rental and well-being services industry (1.5bn, exited); Italian firm
Saeco, the leading European coffee machine manufacturer (825m); Vivarte, the
leading specialist retailer of footwear and clothing in France (1.5bn, exited); and
Yoplait, the No. 2 worldwide producer of fresh dairy products, were all significant
acquisitions for PAI.
Historical legacy
PAI partners is one of the most experienced private equity firms in Europe, with
historical links tracing back to Paribas Affaires Industrielles in 1872, the merchant
bank now part of BNP Paribas. The firm was spun off from BNP Paribas in 2002, into
its current form PAI Partners. The scale of its ambitious fundraising has taken the
industry by surprise, and they have emerged as one of the key players in the
European market. Although they have been around for centuries, Dominique Megret,
current Chief Exec, points out that they have only been truly independent for a few
years and have the capacity and desire to grow.
186
GETTING HIRED
The Europe-wide team is composed of 49 professionals from several European
countries who have considerable combined sector experience and in-depth
knowledge of the European markets. Many PAI employees formerly worked for
investment bank Paribas before it merged with BNP in 1999. That underscores the
strong Investment Banking background of PAI employees.
Because of its French roots, PAIs recruiting is significantly biased toward French
Grandes Ecoles, with about half its investment professionals being graduates from
Polytechnique, HEC, ESSEC, ESCP-EAP or Sciences Po. Only 15 per cent of them
hold an MBA.
PAI generally employs five or six graduate trainees for a gap year during their
studies. A couple of them receive an offer once they graduate from school. Insiders
tell us that there is no real opportunity for summer internships as it takes at least
three months to train interns.
187
PAI Partners
auctions. The funds predecessor, Europe IV, was also one of the largest continental
European funds when it stopped raising new money in 2005.
ADVENT ADVISERS
PERMIRA
INTERNATIONAL
20 Southampton Street
London WC2E 7QH
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7632 1000
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
London (HQ) Frankfurt Guernsey
Luxembourg Madrid Milan Paris
Stockholm
www.permira.com
KEY COMPETITORS
Apax Bain Capital Blackstone Carlyle CVC KKR TPG
CAREERS WEBSITE
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Chemicals
Consumer
Financial Services
Healthcare
Industrial Products & Services
TMT
Financial stages:
Large buyout (150m-300m equity),
Mega buyout (>300m equity), Public to
private
Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
188
http://www.permira.com/en/contacts/con
tacts.html
Since 1985, Permira has been an active private equity investor and currently boasts
22 billion in its 19 funds under management. Permira has roots in Schroders Plc,
the British investment manager, which created a series of provincial private equity
firms in the 1980s, tasked with managing country specific funds sponsored by
Schroders. In the mid-1990s, the business units in France, Germany, Italy and the UK
joined together to form Schroder Ventures Europe, which then began to act with
increasing independence from its parent company.
Most important funds
FUNDS
VINTAGE YEAR
FUND CAPITAL
Permira IV
2006
11bn
2003
5.1bn
Permira Europe II
2000
3.5bn
189
Permia Advisers
THE SCOOP
private equity firms, Permira raised a significant amount from blue chip investors; 45
per cent came from investment managers, with a further 31 per cent from pension
funds. The remaining funds came from government agencies, insurance companies,
charities and banks.
Geographically, the firm does not have a headquarters and is managed by its board
and executive committee members located across the various offices. In 2002, the
firm expanded outside of Europe for the first time, opening its New York office. In
2003, the firm opened in Stockholm to manage its Nordic region investments, and in
2004, opened in Madrid to cover Iberian investments. An office in Hong Kong is due
to open in the first half of 2008 and in California in the second half.
Further afield
As one of the major international firms, Permira participates in the largest
transactions, targeting companies valued above 500 million. The firm invests in a
variety of transaction types, specializing in divestitures of non-core assets,
developing family businesses, and acquisition-driven sector consolidation. Besides
the multiple office structure, the firms investment professionals are also organised
along sector lines. The core sector teams have historically been Chemicals, Consumer,
Industrial Products and TMT, but the firm is currently developing new teams with
specialisations in Financial Services and Healthcare.
Permiras board is comprised of a group of senior partners and chaired by Damon
Buffini. The executive committee, which is responsible for managing the private
equity business, is chaired by the co-managing partners Kurt Bjorklund and Tom
Lister and comprised of five other senior partners from across the business.
190
Although Mr Buffini is seen as the face of the British private equity industry, and
one of its most outspoken defenders, he is also seen as unusually media shy, and not
a lot is known about his personal life. What is known about his past paints the picture
of someone who has worked hard to achieve his level of success; he was raised on a
council estate in Leicester by a single mother, attending the local grammar school,
and although he did not stand out as academically exceptional, he was referred to as
very hard working.
This work ethic saw him secure a place at Cambridge to study law, after which he
joined LEK Consulting and took advantage of their scholarship program to enroll
for an MBA at Harvard. Upon returning to the UK he joined Imperial Group as a
consultant, where he was recruited by Jon Moulton, head of rival private equity firm
Alchemy, to join Schroders Ventures.
191
Permira Advisers
acquisition and $1.5 billion capex program, as part of a club deal, of Intelsat, the
American satellite operator.
The firms ambitions to move further east could possibly have been behind the 2007
investment in Galaxy Entertainment, the company behind one of only a handful of
licensed casino operators in Macau, Permira acquired 20 per cent of the company,
and announced that the investment would go towards building Galaxys second
Chinese casino resort.
GETTING HIRED
Contact:
Angelika Sonnenschein
Director, Human Resources
Permira Beteiligungsberatung GmbH
Falkstrasse 5
60489 Frankfurt
Angelika.sonnenschein@permira.com
Permira usually hires professionals with at least four to five years prior business
experience in either investment banking, management consulting, accounting/audit
or in industry. Most staff have a secondary degree, such as an MBA. The number of
MBA graduates recruited every year is extremely small, and only two per cent of
investment professionals have been hired with just an undergraduate degree.
Stats 2008 Backgrounds:
Investment banking: 30 per cent
Consulting: 23 per cent
PE: 22 per cent
Finance: 14 per cent
Industry: 6 per cent
Legal: 3 per cent
Undergraduate: 2 per cent
192
193
Permira Advisers
The interviews are conducted by the local offices and usually consist of a series of
four to six interviews with different Permira professionals. The interviews will cover
the professional background of the applicant but also include case studies and
potentially a modelling exercise. If a candidate is to be hired into a specific industry
sector, international members of that sector may participate in the recruiting process.
Higher Diploma
PhD/JD/MD (5%)
Bachelors only (42%)
Unknown (5%)
MBA (40%)
Masters (8%)
Source: Candesic
Source: Candesic
12
10
8
Cologne (3)
Oxford (7)
Harvard (9)
Boccini (9)
INSEAD (11)
Source: Candesic
10
8
6
BCG (3)
McKinsey (9)
Source: Candesic
194
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
TERRAFIRMA
2 More
UK
Regional
London
Headquarters
Riverside
Advent International
London
SE1 2AP
plc
111 Buckingham
United
Kingdom Palace Road
London
Tel:
+44SW1W
(0)20 7015
0SR 9500
UK
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800
www.terrafirma.com
www.adventinternational.com
THE STATS
CEO: Guy Hands
Employer Type: Private Company
The
Stats
Total private equity funds under manageChairman:
Peter A. Brooke
ment:
11bn
Employer Type:
Private
Employees:
100 inIndependent
2008 (70 professionals)
Company
No.
of Offices: 2
Total private equity funds under
management: about 11bn (2008)
Employees: 130FOCUS
investment professionals,
COMPANY
of which 65 in Europe (2008)
Sectors:
No. of Offices: 15
All sectors
Financial stages:
Buyout
European Locations
EUROPEAN
LOCATIONS
London (HQ) Frankfurt
Amsterdam Bucharest Frankfurt
Kiev Madrid Milan Paris Prague
Warsaw
Bratislava (affiliate) Oslo
KEY
COMPETITORS
(affiliate)
Bain Capital Blackstone Charterhouse KKR Permira
Key Competitors
3i Apax Barclays Private Equity
Cinven Montagu
Company Focus
Employment Contact
Sectors:of financing:
Types
Business
Services
Financial Services
Mid
market
buyout&(15m-150m
equity),
Retail buyout
& Consumer
Large
(150m-300m equity),
Technology,
& Telecoms
Mega
buyoutMedia
(>300m
equity)
Healthcare & Life Sciences
Industrial
Financial stages:
International buyouts, recapitalization and
growth equity investments (up to 500m
equity), some venture capital
Types of financing:
Majority equity
195
THE SCOOP
In 1994, Guy Hands founded the Principal Finance Group within Nomura, the Japanese
investment bank. He subsequently made a name for himself by turning around
struggling companies in some of the largest leveraged deals of the time; the group
made 15 acquisitions with total enterprise value over 20 billion. In 2002, the firm was
spun-off into its current form of Terra Firma Capital Partners, keeping Nomura as a
significant investor. Since 1994, the firm has invested over 11 billion, mainly in
European companies, with an aggregate transaction value totalling 42 billion.
Most important funds
FUNDS
VINTAGE YEAR
FUND CAPITAL
TFCP III
2007
5.4bn
2006
2.1bn
TFCP II
2004
2.6bn
196
Terra Firmas, and hence Guy Hands, investment strategy can be said to be
somewhat contrarian; the firm only targets large companies that it feels are
underperforming and not living up to their potential. The target is then acquired,
actively managed and financed by Terra Firma, until the company is in a healthy
state where it can be sold or listed on the public markets.
There is another rationale for Mr. Hands investment strategy his severe dyslexia.
A friend was quoted as saying that Mr. Hands could not read long investment
rationales, so was forced to focus on the key points and make the numbers work,
which he could do very well. It is said that he sees things differently to everyone else,
whether this is dyslexia, genius or just the fact that he is a smart and hard working
man, his track record speaks for itself; one of his first deals at Nomura was to
purchase Angel Trains, where he was the only external bidder, selling it on for a 390
million profit. He then proceeded to start buying up pubs when no one else would
touch them, briefly becoming the UKs biggest pub landlord, and changing the way
the industry works. William Hague, former leader of the conservative party and
Hands best man, once said that if Guy had translated his private equity success to
politics he would have been Prime Minister by now.
A firm Hands
Mr. Hands most recent foray into the press, which he seems to have a talent for
attracting, is regarding the planned cuts at EMI, the music label. Terra Firma recently
acquired the business for 2.4 billion and subsequently announced it would be
cutting 2,000 jobs, or a third of the workforce. The move has not proved popular and
big name acts such as Radiohead, Robbie Williams and the Rolling Stones have all
been outward critics of the new management; Mr. Hands is unmoved in his position
and retorts that he needed to remind executives at Odeon, the cinema business he
acquired, that they were in the popcorn selling business, not Hollywood.
Although these cuts may not make great press, the truth is that Mr. Hands has earned
respect for his work ethic and blunt management style the fact that stories of excess
at EMI are pouring out of the floodgates only strengthens his case. This notoriously
hard work ethiche starts work at 6 am and doesnt leave the office until midnight
is expected of all his employees at Terra Firma. Another telling indicator of his
leadership style is evident in boardroom meetings, where no other member of his
team speaks during negotiations, unlike most other private equity groups.
197
TerraFirma
What a Guy
Big spender
Terra Firma will invest in any sector, although prefers complex industries that are
highly regulated; this philosophy is evident in the 1.1 billion acquisition of Tank &
Rast, the German motorway services group, the 453 million purchase of East Surrey
Holdings, the British water and gas utility, and the $2.5 and $5.2 billion acquisitions
of AWAS and Pegasus, both aircraft leasing companies.
Other notable deals include the acquisitions and subsequent merger of Odeon and
UCI, two UK cinema chains, together making up about 40 per cent of the UKs cinema
exhibition market. But fame came in 2007 on the front page of the Financial Times
with Terra Firmas combat against rival giant KKR for the control of Alliance Boots,
the UK pharmacy chain, in the biggest private equity transaction in Europe ever.
Terra Firma honourably gave up after weeks of strategic moves, much to its luck as
KKRs banks still hadnt managed to syndicate the debt six months after its victory.
GETTING HIRED
Terra Firma employs 70 professionals, most of them with an investment banking
background, although accounting, industry and advisory backgrounds are welcome
too. They are organised in two major teams: financial (investment) professionals and
business (portfolio) professionals who help improve the operations in the portfolio.
Cases tend to be staffed more on industry experience than on regional expertise.
The firm discloses the profiles of the senior members of the team only but is known
to attract very talented people. Most top universities are represented in the team. In
addition to the experienced hires, Terra Firma also recruits a number of MBAs from
the leading business schools each year and provides training programmes to new
analysts and associates. Candidates interested in joining can apply on
www.terrafirma.com/careers.html.
198
ENGLEFIELD CAPITAL
Michelin House, 81 Fulham Road
London
SW3 6RD
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7591 4200
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
www.englefieldcapital.com
Types
of financing:
3i
Apax
Barclays Private Equity HgMajority
Capital equity
ADVENT
INTERNATIO
NAL
UK Regional Headquarters
Advent
International plc
THE
STATS
111 Buckingham Palace Road
Head of SW1W
Management
London
0SR Board: Dominic
Shorthouse
UK
Employer
Type:
Tel:
+44 20
7333Private
0800 Company
Total private equity funds under management: 1.76bn
www.adventinternational.com
Employees: 19 professionals
No. of Offices: 1
The Stats
COMPANY FOCUS
Chairman: Peter A. Brooke
Sectors:
Employer Type: Independent Private
All
sectors, with some focus on Financial
Company
and
TotalBusiness
private Services
equity funds under
management: about 11bn (2008)
Financial
stages:
Employees:
130 investment professionals,
Mid
market
(15m-150m
equity)
of which 65 buyout
in Europe
(2008)
No. of Offices: 15
Types of financing:
Majority equity, Minority equity with contractual rights
Company Focus
Sectors:
Business Services & Financial Services
Retail & Consumer
Technology, Media & Telecoms
Healthcare & Life Sciences
Industrial
Financial stages:
London
(HQ)buyouts, recapitalization and
International
growth equity investments (up to 500m
equity), some venture capital
KEY COMPETITORS
European
CAREERS Locations
CONTACT
London (HQ)
englefield@engcap.com
Amsterdam Bucharest Frankfurt
Kiev Madrid Milan Paris Prague
Warsaw Bratislava (affiliate) Oslo
(affiliate)
Key Competitors
3i Apax Barclays Private Equity
Cinven Montagu
Employment Contact
In the US: info@adventinternational.com
For other offices, see "contact us" at
www.adventinternational.com
199
THE SCOOP
In 2002, Dominic Shorthouse, previously a board member at Warburg Pincus,
founded Englefield Capital, a mid-market specialist that focuses on European
investments between 30-300 million, although typically with enterprise values over
75 million. The firm invests throughout the UK and continental Europe, from a
single office located in London.
FUND CAPITAL
Englefield Fund II
2007
1bn
Englefield Fund I
2003
0.7bn
FUNDS
Englefields first fund, closing at 706 million in 2003, has been invested in ten
companies through a range of sectors, two of which have already been realised. In
January 2007, the second fund closed at 1 billion, with a similar investment
philosophy as the first fund.
200
Englefield is unique in the way it raises funds. Both funds have been sponsored by
Bregal, the Swiss-based holding company of the Brenninkmeijer family, owners of the
C&A retailer who have an estimated 12.5bn fortune, with only three other
institutional investors allowed to contribute: AXA Private Equity, the Dutch Shell
Pension Fund and Delta Lloyd. The rest of the money comes from what is termed an
Affiliates Fund basically a group of 150 friends and contacts, most of whom are
business leaders in the UK, Western Europe and the United States.
GETTING HIRED
Englefield is very representative of its industry:
Three of the 19 investment professionals came from Morgan Stanley, three from
leading consultancies and the rest from top investment banks or other private equity
houses.
The majority of Englefields investment professionals studied at elite European
universities, with Oxford and Cambridge being the most common. A quarter of the
professionals have an MBA, and three out of the five are from INSEAD.
201
Englefield Capital
EXPONENT PRIVATE
EQUITY
12 Henrietta Street
London WC2 8LH
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7845 8520
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
www.exponentpe.com
KEY COMPETITORS
THE STATS
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Media
Business & Financial Services
Healthcare
Leisure
Consumer
Financial stages:
Mid market buyout (15m-150m equity)
Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Minority Equity, Public to private
202
London (HQ)
CAREERS CONTACT
+44 (0)20 7845 8520
In 2004, Richard Campin spun-out a successful team from 3i after fifteen years with
the company, taking three other high profile directors with him: Tom Sweet-Escott,
Chris Graham and Hugh Richards. The newly formed Exponent Private Equity was
established to target mid-cap UK companies with enterprise values up to 350
million.
In 2004, their first fund closed at 400 million and was around 80 per cent invested
in eight transactions by the end of 2007. In early 2008, the firm closed its second fund
at 805 million, twice the size of its first fund, which was rumoured to be targeting
750 million; this oversubscription highlights the growing demand for mid-market
PE funds in the face of adverse credit conditions, which have slowed down the mega
buyout houses. Exponent only started raising their second fund in May of 2007, with
most of the commitments secured by September, which is a surprisingly swift round
of fundraising.
Interestingly, the capital for the most recent fund came predominantly from outside
the UK, demonstrating the global appetite for the UK mid-market private equity
sector; 42 per cent of the commitments were from the US, 29 per cent from the UK,
22 per cent from continental Europe, and the remainder from the rest of the world.
Major investors include funds managed by Pathway, Pantheon Ventures, NYL
Capital Partners and Bank of Scotland.
The firm benefits from its size, as it can be flexible and responsive, but also goes
through the same issues surrounding any start-up business; in the early days, Richard
Campin recalled that after starting the business out of the pockets of the four
founders, they all eventually had credit cards that didnt work anymore.
The firms strategy to target the upper mid-market is paying off as the big players
keep moving up in deal size, leaving Exponent to fill the void between the mega
buyout houses and typical mid-market firms. Exponent has the flexibility to invest
up to 200 million in a single deal, which is a relatively large amount as it represents
a quarter of their most recent fund.
To date, the firm has only made one exit from the portfolio created using its first
fund; in 2005, TSL Education was acquired from News International for 235 million,
only to be sold in 2007 to Charterhouse. It is still seen as a relatively young portfolio
203
THE SCOOP
and Hugh Richards, one of the four founding partners, said of the TSL sale: All the
plans came right with TSL and quicker than expected. It was a helpful proof of
principle, but it would have been unrealistic to expect more.
The firm has seven active portfolio companies, acquired using Exponents first fund.
In 2006, Durrants Media Monitoring was bought for 82 million from August Equity;
The Trainline, the online train ticket company, was bought from Virgin for 163 million;
Exponent invested in GTI, the graduate recruitment publisher, backing the founding
management team; and Magicalia, the online publisher, was acquired for 13 million.
In 2007, the firm acquired V.Holdings, the worlds largest ship management business,
for US $340 million; Cardsave, the electronic payment services company, was acquired;
and most recently, Radley, the womens fashion brand, was bought from Pheonix
Equity Partners in a transaction valuing the company at 130 million.
GETTING HIRED
The educational pedigree of Exponents professionals is mixed; four of the
professionals have MBAs, two of which are from Harvard, although none have a
PhD level qualification. At undergraduate level, five come from Oxbridge, while
other Universities range from Glasgow to Bristol to Manchester.
The background of the twelve Exponent investment professionals is fairly typical of
the private equity industry as a whole; previous employers include Bain & Co, a top
management consultancy, PricewaterhouseCoopers, a Big Four accounting firm, Merrill
Lynch, a top investment bank, and a variety of other private equity firms. There doesnt
seem to be a single type of background preferred at Exponent, and candidates are
advised to contact the firm directly to discuss potential employment opportunities.
204
INVESTITORI
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATI
Via Agnello 8
20121 Milan
Italy
Tel: +39 02 854 5731
www.investitoriassociati.it
THE STATS
KEY COMPETITORS
3i Advent International Apax BC
Partners CVC
CAREERS CONTACT
info@investitoriassociati.com
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
All sectors
Financial stages:
Mid market buyout (15m-150m equity),
Large buyout (150m-300m equity)
Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Milan (HQ)
205
THE SCOOP
Milan-based Investitori Associati is one of the leading Italian private equity houses,
particularly active in mid-market transactions with values over 100 million. The
company creates subsidiaries that individually manage each fund, with the idea that
each team is independent under a collective umbrella that dictates overall strategy
and offers advice to each fund. The most recent fund, Investitori Associati IV, was
oversubscribed by almost three times and closed with 700 millionover 100
million more than originally intended.
Most important funds
VINTAGE YEAR
FUND CAPITAL
Investitori Associati IV
2004
0.7bn
2000
0.4bn
FUNDS
Previously, Investitoris first three funds had a total of 475 million between them,
making 22 investments in a variety of industrial and services companies, mainly in
Italy. This investment history is enough to make them one of the leading Italian
players, and their reputation has seen the firm involved in some large club deals; in
2003, Investitori teamed up with Permira, CVC and BC Partners to acquire Seat
Pagine Gialle, the directories business unit of Telecom Italia, in a deal valued at 5.7
billion. Although Investitori is not in the same league as these international players,
they provide the access, experience and network for the Italian market, which means
they are often called upon to partner with for Italian deals.
Unsurprisingly, as one of the leading Italian firms, Investitori Associati has won a
variety of awards ranging from Italian Private Equity Firm of the Year to Italian
M&A Deal of the Year for the Seat Pagine Gialle deal.
Investitori Associati recently established their first alternative investment subsidiary,
aimed at controlling management companies of several types of funds: private equity
funds, fund of funds, co-investment funds and eventually other high yielding asset
classes such as hedge funds and mezzanine funds. The business unit represents a
diversification for Investitori, away from typical private equity deals into other
sectors near their core business.
206
GETTING HIRED
The three founding partners and the majority of the management team have
extensive experience in the private equity sector, developed in particular within the
firm.
Investitori Associati is an Italian company with mainly Italian private equity fund
managers. The background of the younger part of the team is mostly in investment
banking and strategy consulting. Employees studied mainly at Italian undergraduate
and graduate university programs, although lately there is an interest for
internationally renowned MBA programs like Harvard or Wharton. Applicants with
a strong Italian investment banking background will have an advantage when
applying to Investitori Associati.
207
Investitori Associati
Acquisitions using the fourth fund took place throughout 2005 and 2006, in sectors
ranging from transportation to pharmaceuticals. This includes market leading blood
fractionator Kedrion, a family business from Tuscany with 150m turnover, and
Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV), which operates a fleet of ten cruise ferries and is one
of the main operators in the Mediterranean Sea with 265m turnover.
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
MERCAPITAL
Parque Empresarial "La Finca",
Paseo del Club Deportivo, 1 Edificio 14
Madrid
28223 Pozuelo de Alarcn
Spain
Tel: +34 (0)91 557 8000
KEY COMPETITORS
www.mercapital.com
mercapital@mercapital.com
THE STATS
Chairman: Jos Mara Loizaga Viguri
Employer Type: Private Company
Total private equity funds under management: 1.4bn
Employees: 20 in 2007
No. of Offices: 1
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors
All sectors
Financial stages:
Small market buyout (<15m equity),
Mid size market buyout (15m150m
equity)
Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Minority Equity
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Madrid (HQ)
208
CAREERS CONTACT
Mercapital
THE SCOOP
Since 1986, Mercapital has firmly established itself as a reference in the Spanish
private equity market. With investments totalling 1.4 billion, the firm is one of the
most active and experienced mid-market firms dedicated to the Iberian market;
unlike many other European firms, Mercapital is happy being a niche player and
currently has no ambitions to expand geographically throughout Europe.
Most important funds
VINTAGE YEAR
FUND CAPITAL
2006
0.55bn
2001
0.6bn
FUNDS
Typically, the firm will invest 40 million to 50 million in Iberian companies, with
enterprise values in the 100 million to 150 million range, making them a fairly
typical mid-market PE firm. With over 20 dedicated professionals, Mercapital is the
largest independent firm dedicated to the region. It is however increasingly
threatened by global and pan-European rivals who have been opening offices in
Madrid in recent years and are actively hiring well-connected senior advisors.
The firm had five investment vehicles before their first traditional private equity
fund, Spanish Private Equity Fund (SPEF), which closed in 1998 at 260 million. Their
second fund, SPEF II, closed in 2000 with a sizeable 600 million from a global
investor base. In late 2006, the most recent SPEF III fund closed at 550 million,
slightly above the 500 million target. The firm is allocating all of SPEF III to buyouts,
compared to about two-thirds of the previous fund, meaning they have significantly
increased their potential buyout capacity.
In 2007, the firm failed to make any investments, which may be somewhat indicative
of the market conditions at the time. In 2006, however, the firm still only made one
investment; Mercapital acquired 75 per cent of Gasmedi, a medical gas provider, in
an MBO that valued the company somewhere around 275 million. In contrast, 2005
saw the firm make a record four investments in a variety of sectors; Saprogal, an
animal nutrition company, Holmes Place, a fitness centre group, Menorquin Yachts,
a boatyard, and Grupo Abaco, a cinema company, were all acquired that year.
209
GETTING HIRED
The team of twenty professionals is exclusively Spanish, as is the wide group of close
industry advisors, and both are exclusively dedicated to the Spanish market. The
majority joined after a first professional experience in the industry (25 per cent). Others
worked at a Big Four audit firm (15 per cent), a strategy consultancy (15 per cent) or an
investment bank (15 per cent). Prior to that, while they all pursued their undergraduate
studies at local Spanish universities, one third of the team holds an MBA from INSEAD.
Unless Mercapital change their regional focus, only candidates with a strong Spanish
background and connections stand a chance of joining the team.
210
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
SAGARD
24/32 rue Jean Goujon
75008 Paris
France
Tel: +33 (0)1 53 83 3000
www.sagard.com
THE STATS
KEY COMPETITORS
Barclays Private Equity Bridgepoint
European Capital Montagu
CAREERS CONTACT
contact@sagard.com
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
All sectors
Financial stages:
Small market buyout (<15m equity),
Mid size market buyout (15m150m
equity)
Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Minority Equity, business development capital
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Paris (HQ)
211
THE SCOOP
Sagard Private Equity Partners, the France-based buyout arm of the Canadian
Desmarais family, was formed in 2002 with the support of the Power Corporation of
Canada. Sagard was established to unite a group of influential industrial families
and financial institutions, allowing them to leverage their industrial expertise and
networks to add value to potential acquisitions.
Most important funds
FUNDS
VINTAGE YEAR
FUND CAPITAL
Sagard II
2006
1bn
Sagard I
2003
0.6bn
The funds founding partners and investors provided all of the capital for the first
fund, Sagard I, which closed in 2003 at 600 million, with 54 per cent coming from
industrial families. The second fund, Sagard II, closed in 2006 with over 1 billion
from both original and new investors, with the industrial family contribution rising
to 65 per cent.
Sagard, named after the French missionary who set off for Quebec in the seventeenth
century, invests in mid-market companies based in France or French speaking
European countries, with enterprise values above 100 million. The Chairman of the
advisory board is none other than Paul Desmarais Jr., a role he fits into his spare time
while also serving as Chairman and Co-CEO of Power Corporation, the Canadian
utilities company with market cap of C$14 billion.
The Desmarais are one of the truly powerful and elite Canadian families, controlling
the Power Corporation amongst an array of other holdings. Paul Desmarais, the 73year- old patriarch of the family, is counted as being one of the top ten richest people in
Canada, with an estimated fortune of around C$4.25 billion. His blackberry has links to
the global political elite, including Canadian Prime Ministers, US Presidents and current
French leaders. His son is married to the daughter of former Canadian Prime Minister
Jean Chretien, and the most recent ex-Prime Minister was his former employee, as
President of Power Corporation. In fact, Stephen Harper, the current Canadian leader,
is the first Prime Minister in a quarter century to have no real ties to the Desmarais.
212
Sagards first fund was fully invested by 2006, with twelve investments ranging from
a pharmaceuticals wholesaler to a French private hospital company. The second
fund, Sagard II, has been used to fund four acquisitions to date; Flakt woods, a
manufacturer of clean air systems, SGD, a glass packaging company, Vivarte, a
footwear and apparel retailer, and Aliplast, an aluminium products manufacturer,
were all acquired in 2007.
GETTING HIRED
Of Sagards twenty professionals, the majority received undergraduate degrees in
Paris, at top business schools such as ESCP-EAP and HEC. Three of the professionals
have MBAs from top American schools: Wharton, Dartmouth and MIT. Only one
person on the investment team has a PhD level qualification.
Almost half of the professionals come from a banking background, with bulge
bracket firms Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs being the most popular. One
professional has a background in consulting, from Accenture, and none come from
an accounting or transaction services background. It is highly unlikely that Sagard
would recruit using a traditional application process, but that shouldnt stop suitable
candidates from contacting them to discuss potential career opportunities.
213
Sagard
The Sagard private equity funds represent a shift in the Desmarais focus, moving
away from Canada and towards France. This shift can also be seen in their political
dealings, as their growing friendship with Nicolas Sarkozy has been well
documented. The Desmarais family recently hit the press during the controversial
Gaz de France and Suez merger; if the companies successfully merge, the holding
company jointly owned by the Desmarais and the Frre family of Belgium would be
the largest private shareholder. In fact, Mr. Sarkozys outspoken support for the deal
has been one of the driving factors in the face of much criticism from the unions. The
creation of the Sagard Private Equity funds means that the Desmarais will have an
excuse, and a requirement, to be in Paris for a considerable amount of time, as the
fund is targeting growing companies that will require a lot of attention.
INTERMEDIATE
CAPITAL
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
GROUP PLC
20 Old Broad Street
London EC2N 1DP
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7628 9898
www.icgplc.co.uk
THE STATS
Managing Director: Tom Attwood
Employer Type: Public listed Company
Ticker Symbol: ICP
Total funds under management: 4 billion
Employees: 68 in 2007
No. of Offices: 9
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
London (HQ) Frankfurt Madrid
Paris Stockholm
KEY COMPETITORS
Capvent DAM Capital Park Square
Indigo Capital EuroMezzanine Almack Mezzanine
COMPANY FOCUS
CAREERS CONTACT
Sectors:
All sectors
Financial stages:
Mezzanine
Types of financing:
Acquisitions, Public to private transactions with or without private equity
backing, Management buyouts/management buy-ins, Development capital, Public quoted company finance,
Off-balance-sheet finance, Refinancing
and recapitalisations, Pre-IPO financing
214
FUND CAPITAL
2006
2.25bn
2003
1.5bn
2000
0.307bn
FUNDS
As of 2007, the firm has invested in transactions worth more than 8 billion, and is
one of the leading providers of mezzanine finance in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North
America. The firm provides between 15 million and 500 million for a range of
situations including acquisitions, buyouts, public to private, development capital,
public companies, off balance sheet financing, refinancing and pre-IPO funding.
In 2007, ICG saw its outlook improve considerably, as the liquidity squeeze saw
investors flock to intermediate finance as a way of deferring interest payments. In
January 2008, ICG announced that they were planning to invest a 700 million pool
of debt finance, showing that they are finding further ways to capitalise on the credit
crunch.
In 2007, the firm closed its most recent mezzanine European Fund 2006 at 2.25
billion, representing 1.25 billion of committed equity and 1 billion of leverage.
Although ICG specialises in providing mezzanine finance, they regularly make an
215
THE SCOOP
equity co-investment alongside the lead investor. In 2007, ICG provided equity in
support of TPG and AXA Private Equitys acquisition of TDF, the leading French
television broadcaster. They also provided mezzanine and equity in 3is management
led buyout of Marken, the British clinical trial logistics firm. In another 3i buyout, of
Finland-based Inspecta, ICG provided senior and junior mezzanine finance as well
as an equity co-investment.
ICG has a broad European reach, with recent transactions spread across several
countries; in 2007, ICG sponsored transactions in Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The French office has been
particularly active lately, with twelve of the 26 transactions executed in 2007 taking
place in France.
The firm has also seen a flurry of activity in the healthcare industry, indicative of the
increasing presence of private equity players in the sector. ICG provided finance for
Industri Kapitals acquisition of Attendo, the largest nursing home provider in
Sweden; they supported EQTs acquisition of Dako, the Danish cancer diagnostics
specialist; and they also provided bonds for LBO Frances acquisition of MdiPartenaires II, the French acute hospital group.
GETTING HIRED
ICG recruits from top tier universities, with London- and Paris-based schools
featuring heavily, which makes sense as these are ICGs two most active offices. Only
11 per cent of ICGs professionals have MBAs, with the majority holding just a
bachelors degree.
The majority of ICGs professionals came from a banking or transaction services
background, most likely due to the more technical financial aspects involved in
arranging mezzanine finance. There are relatively few strategy consultants in
comparison to other private equity firms, again probably due to the complex
structuring of the securitised products ICG specialises in.
216
Higher Diploma
PhD/JD/MD (5%)
Bachelors only (61%)
Unknown (10%)
MBA (11%)
Masters (13%)
Source: Candesic
Source: Candesic
3.0
2.5
2.0
ESCP-EAP (2)
1.5
HEC (2)
1.0
LSE (2)
0.5
0.0
Oxford (3)
LBS (3)
Source: Candesic
5
4
3
KPMG (4)
JPMorgan (4)
Calyon (5)
Source: Candesic
217
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
PARTNERS
GROUP
Zugerstrasse
UK
Regional Headquarters
57
Advent
6341
Baar-Zug
International plc
111 Buckingham Palace Road
Switzerland
London
Tel:
+41SW1W
(0)41 768
0SR85 85
UK
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800
www.partnersgroup.ch
European
REST
OF THE
Locations
WORLD
www.adventinternational.com
THE STATS
CEO: Dr. Steffen Meister
Head of Private Equity: Philipp Gysler
The
Stats
Employer Type: Publicly listed company
Chairman: Peter A. Brooke
(SWX)
Employer
Type:PGHN
Independent Private
Ticker
Symbol:
Company
Total
private equity funds under manageTotal private
equityinfunds
ment:
CHF16.7bn
2008 under
(out of
management:
about 11bn (2008)
CHF24bn
globally)
Employees: 130
Employees:
100investment
in 2007 professionals,
of which
65 in Europe
(2008)
No.
of Offices:
9 (10 inc.
additional
No. of Offices:
planned
opening15in 2008)
COMPANY FOCUS
Company Focus
Sectors:
Sectors:
All
sectors
Business Services & Financial Services
Retail & Consumer
Financial
stages:
Technology,
Funds
of funds
Media
(Primary
& Telecoms
investments,
Healthcareinvestments,
& Life Sciences
secondary
direct investIndustrial
ments,
real estate, infrastructure)
Financial stages:
International buyouts,
recapitalization and
EUROPEAN
LOCATIONS
growth equity investments (up to 500m
Baar-Zug
(HQ)venture
Guernsey
equity), some
capital London
Luxembourg
Types of financing:
Majority equity
218
New York
London
(HQ)
San Francisco Singapore
Amsterdam
Sydney Tokyo
Bucharest Frankfurt
Kiev Madrid Milan Paris Prague
Warsaw Bratislava (affiliate) Oslo
(affiliate)
KEY COMPETITORS
Boston (HQ)
Tokyo Singapore (affiliate) Buenos
Aires Sao Paulo Mexico Further
affiliates in five other countries
Key Competitors
3i Apax Barclays Private Equity
Cinven Montagu
Employment Contact
In the US: info@adventinternational.com
For other offices, see "contact us" at
www.adventinternational.com
In 1996, Partners Group, a Swiss alternative asset management firm, was established,
offering a private equity fund of funds as their first product. Offices in Guernsey and
New York were established in 1999 and 2000 respectively, followed by additions in
Singapore and London in 2004, in San Francisco and Tokyo in 2007 and lately Sydney
and Luxembourg in 2008. The firm also plans to open an office in Beijing.
In 2001, the firm entered the hedge fund industry by acquiring Swiss Alternative
Investment Strategies Group, a firm founded by ex-Credit Suisse hedge fund
professionals. Today, Partners Group is a global alternative asset management firm,
with strong roots in Switzerland, offering a range of investment alternatives,
including hedge funds, real estate funds, private debt and private equity. The private
equity division makes up over two thirds of the 15 billion managed by the group,
using a global team of over a hundred professionals spread across six offices.
Partners Group splits their private equity investment funds by the stage of the target
companies they invest in: the venture capital funds invest in new and emerging
companies, that tend to have negative cash flow and a longer investment horizon; the
buyouts funds target companies that are well established and typically use debt, or
leverage, to finance the acquisition; the special situations fund is set aside for any
other investment that doesnt fall in the first two categories of funds.
Partners Group is not a typical fund of funds, as they invest in primary, secondary,
direct and listed private equity investments. Their investment strategy separates
North America, Europe and Asia/emerging markets in a matrix against types of
investments; the matrix is then overweighted given current market conditions, and
assets are allocated accordingly. The firms direct investments come in the form of coinvestments, typically led by a partnership already in their network.
The firms investment strategy, dubbed Alternative Beta Strategies, was one of the
first strategies to clone the methods used by hedge-funds, and now has over $1.1
billion invested in it from high profile investors, such as the leading UK pension
fund, Universities Superannuation Scheme.
The firm gained accolades in 2004, winning the European Fund of Funds award
and achieving second place in the Secondaries Firm of the Year. In 2006, the firm
was deemed the most successful European listing, jumping 133 per cent after
becoming available to public investors.
219
Partners Group
THE SCOOP
Products offered by the firm are split into three categories: limited partnerships,
which are regularly established, and can vary from diversified global funds to
targeted funds such as a European buyout fund of funds; publicly traded products,
such as investment companies, certificates and principal investment vehicles, which
normally aim to offer a diversified portfolio of investments across all financing types
and stages; and open-ended product, or mutual funds, which have been created for
specific investor groups, and provide the added level of regulation and liquidity
some investors prefer.
In 2006, the firm became public, listing around 30 per cent of the equity on the SWX
Swiss exchange and through select private placements. Following the transaction, it
is thought that the management team retained a large portion of the equity.
In January 2008, the group as a whole announced their highest ever annual growth,
taking total assets under management from 10.6 billion to nearly 15 billion during
2007. The firm seems to have avoided any injury from the credit crisis that dominated
the rest of the private equity world during 2007; Alfred Gantner, Executive Chairman,
explained that the slow down in direct investments was complemented by cheaper
secondary private equity investments becoming available, and the private debts held
by the firm were priced with the intention of holding them to maturity.
GETTING HIRED
Partners Group is a global alternative asset manager with strong Swiss roots, as
evidenced by the background of its investment professionals. Seventy per cent of
them joined with previous experience at a Swiss bank, a Swiss asset manager or a
Swiss insurance company, while most of the rest worked at the Swiss subsidiary of
an international firm. This is also very visible academically, with only 10 per cent of
them venturing abroad for an MBA or a PhD. Not surprisingly, St. Gallen is the most
represented institution. Surprisingly, there are very few managers with previous
experience in direct or indirect private equity investment.
220
Higher Diploma
PhD/JD/MD (12%)
Bachelors only (18%)
Unknown (15%)
MBA (12%)
Masters (43%)
Source: Candesic
Source: Candesic
221
Partners Group
Still, Partners Group is growing with the entire PE industry and offers a variety of
career opportunities. They state that they actively recruit new talent from top
business schools in the United States and in Europe and look especially for
entrepreneurship, drive, outstanding academic and professional performance and
desire to learn in all candidates. The firm offers an associate program completed in
two six-month modules and also selectively targets experienced hires. The full
recruiting process is explained on their website in the About us menu. For PE
investment managers, they express a preference for investment banking or
accounting experience and a particular interest for sectors of high tech, telecom and
chemicals. Strategy consulting doesnt appear to be a target, as is it considered less
useful in funds of funds.
8
7
6
5
Source: Candesic
6
5
4
3
PWC (4)
UBS (6)
Source: Candesic
222
Short Profiles of
200 REPRESENTATIVE
PE firms in Europe
Via G. Felissent, 90
31100 Treviso
Italy
Tel +39 0422 316611
www.21investimenti.it
www.aaccapitalpartners.com
STATS
Chief Executive: Alessandro Benetton
Employer Type: Private Company
No. of employees: 21
AuM: 700m (2007)
STATS
Chief Executive: Gerben Kuijper
Employer Type: Private firm
No. of employees: 27 professionals
AuM: 3.1bn (2007)
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Treviso Paris (21 Centrale Partners)
226
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Amsterdam London
Stockholm
STATS
Head of Investment, Private Equity:
Francesco Santinon
Employer Type: Private equity division
of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC
Employees: 41 professionals
AuM: 267m (2008)
STATS
Managing Director: Herv Claquin
Employer Type: Currently a subsidiary
of ABN Amro (2007)
No. of employees: 6 professionals in Paris
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris Milan Madrid
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: London Aberdeen Birmingham Glasgow Inverness Leeds
Manchester
CAREERS CONTACT
private.equity@aberdeen-asset.com
227
Activa Capital
Engelbrektsgatan 5
SE-11487 Stockholm
Sweden
Tel +46 8 545 073 00
www.accentequity.se
www.activacapital.com
STATS
STATS
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Stockholm
Offices: Paris
228
Ahorro Corporacion
Desarollo
Paseo de la Castellana 89
28046 Madrid, Spain
Tel +34 91 586 4242
www.acdesarollo.com
STATS
Managing director: Antonio Fernandez
Lopez
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Grupo
Ahorro Corporacion
Employees: 11 investment professionals
AuM: 250m (2007)
STATS
Managing Director, Alternative Investments Europe: Ion Bogdaneris
Employer Type: Subsidiary of AIG
Employees: 200 team members
AuM: $27.2bn worldwide (expansion,
LBO, mezzanine, funds of funds)
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid Sevilla Malaga Valencia
LOCATIONS
Offices: London New York and 22
more locations
229
Alchemy Partners
Alpha
20 Bedfordbury
London WC2N 4BL, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7240 9596
49 Avenue Hoche
75008 Paris
France
Tel +33 (0) 1 56 60 20 20
www.alchemypartners.com
www.groupealpha.com
STATS
Founder and managing partner: Mr. Jon
Moulton
Employer Type: Private Company
No. of employees: 24 (20 investment
professionals)
AuM: 2bn
STATS
Chief Executive: Nicolas ver Hulst
Employer Type: Private Company
No. of employees: 18 professionals
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
jmoulton@alchemypartners.co.uk
230
Jachthavenweg 118
Amsterdam 1081 KJ
The Netherlands
Tel +31 20 5407575
www.alpinvest.com
STATS
Chief Executive: Volkert Doeksen
Employer Type: Private Company
No. of employees: 68 (60 professionals)
AuM: 40bn
LOCATIONS
STATS
Managing Principal: Joe Giannamore
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 6 professionals (2007)
AuM: 300m
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
contact@anacapfp.com
231
Apollo Management
2 Manhattanville Road
Purchase, NY 10577
United States
Tel +1 914 694 8000
www.andlinger.com
STATS
STATS
CEO: Johan Volckaerts
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 25
LOCATIONS
Offices: Brussels Vienna New York
Shanghai
CAREERS CONTACT
demulder@andlinger.be
232
LOCATIONS
Offices: Frankfurt London and Paris
New York Los Angeles Singapore
Arcapita
Bracken House
One Friday Street
London EC4M 9JA
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7090 6874
15 Sloane Square
London SW1W 8ER, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7824 5600
www.arcapita.com
www.apposite-capital.com
STATS
STATS
Managing Partner: David Porter
Employer Type: Private company
No. of employees: 7 (6 professionals)
AuM: ~200m
LOCATIONS
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
enquiry@apposite-capital.com
233
Argan Capital
Argos Soditic
14 rue de Bassano
75783 Paris Cedex 16
France
Tel +33 (0)1 53 67 20 50
www.argancapital.com
www.argos-soditic.com
STATS
Managing Partner: Mr. Lloyd Perry
Employer Type: Private Company
No. of employees: 14 (10 professionals)
AuM: 425m
STATS
Chief Executive: Mr. Louis Godron
Employer Type: Private Company
No. of employees: 25 (17 professionals)
AuM: 518m
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: London Milan Paris
Warsaw
234
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris Geneva Milan
Astorg Partners
Academy House
36 Poland Street
London W1F 7LU
United Kingdom
Tel +44 20 7439 0088
www.arguscapitalgroup.com/en/
STATS
STATS
Managing partner: Ali Artunkal
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 10 investment professionals
AuM: 400m
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
235
August Equity
40 rue de Chteaudun
75009 Paris
France
Tel +33 (0)1 45 26 60 16
10 Bedford Street
London WC2E 9HE, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7632 8200
www.augustequity.com
www.atria-partenaires.com
STATS
STATS
Chief Executive: Mr. Dominique Oger
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 11
AuM: 320m
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
236
Offices: London
www.bcpe.co.uk
STATS
STATS
Chairman: Michael Proudlock
Employer Type: European private equity
arm of Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc
Employees: 7 senior professionals
AuM: 600m
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
(Further presence in the US and China
through Baird Private Equity. For Germany, see Granville Baird Capital Partners Germany.)
CAREERS CONTACT
ibrecruitinguk@rwbaird.com
237
STATS
Co-Managing Partners, Russia: Michael
Calvey and Alexei Kalinin
Employer Type: Russian unit of Baring
Private Equity Partners1
Employees: about 50 (25 professionals
in Europe)
AuM: $1.9bn ($3.4bn worldwide)
BS Private Equity
BS Investimenti SGR Spa
Via dellOrso, 8
20121 Milan, Italy
Tel +39 02 762 1131
www.bspeg.com
STATS
Managing partners: Paolo Baretta, Antonio Perricone, Francesco Sironi
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 28 professionals
AuM: 510m (2007)
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Milan
LOCATIONS
Offices: Moscow Aviles Barcelona
Guernsey Madrid Murcia San
Francisco Hong Kong Shangha
Singapore Tokyo
CAREERS CONTACT
info@bvcp.ru
238
www.cajamadrid.es
STATS
STATS
President: Mariano Perez Claver
Employer Type: Division of Caja Madrid
Employees: 10 investment professionals
AuM: 560m (2007)
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid
239
CapVest Limited
Talacker 42
CH-8022 Zrich
Tel +41 43 300 58 58
www.capvis.com
www.capvest.co.uk
STATS
STATS
Founding partner: Seamus FitzPatrick
Employer Type: Part of AIG Private
Equity
AuM: 3bn (last fund: 350m)
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
info@capvest.co.uk
CAREERS CONTACT
info@capvis.com
240
CCMP Capital
www.ccmpcapital.com
www.changecapitalpartners.com
STATS
Managing partner: Stephen Murray
Employer Type: Private Company
No. of employees: 54
LOCATIONS
Offices: London New York Honk
Kong Tokyo
Assets under management: $10bn (2007)
STATS
Managing director: Mr. Luc Vandevelde
Employer Type: Private Company
No. of employees: 9 investment professionals
AuM: 300m
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
241
Charterhouse
Chequers Capital
www.charterhouse.co.uk
www.chequerscapital.com
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London Paris
CAREERS CONTACT
mail@chequerscapital.com
242
CIC Finance
Ciclad
4, rue Gaillon
75002 Paris, France
Tel +33 1 42 66 76 63
8, av Franklin-Roosevelt
75008 Paris, France
Tel +33 (0) 1 56 59 77 33
www.ciclad.com
STATS
No. of employees: 27 professionals
AuM: 600m
STATS
Managing directors: Thierry Thomann,
Jean-Franois Vaury
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 8
AuM: 310m (2007)
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
243
STATS
Managing director: John R. Barber
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Citigroup
Employees: 10 senior investment
profesionals
AuM: $62bn for the whole of Citi
Alternative Investments
STATS
Founder and Chairman: Joseph Rice
Employer Type: Independent Private
Company
Employees: 35 investment executives
(12 in the UK)
AuM: $4bn (latest fund)
LOCATIONS
Offices: London New York
LOCATIONS
Offices: New York London
CAREERS CONTACT
info@cdr-ltd.com
244
STATS
Founder and CEO: Claudio Sposito
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 15 (9 investment professionals)
AuM: 820m
STATS
Chief Executive: John Snook
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 15
AuM: 1bn in 2007
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
Offices: Milan
CAREERS CONTACT
info@clessidrasgr.it
245
Cobalt Capital
Cognetas
28, bd Malesherbes
75008 Paris, France
Tel +33 (0)1 43 12 91 10
www.cobalt-cap.com
www.cognetas.com
STATS
Managing directors: Christophe Fercocq,
Herv Franc
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 6 investment professionals
AuM: 150m
STATS
Chief Executive: Nigel McConnell
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 30 professionals
AuM: 2.26bn
CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
Offices: Paris
246
Corpfin Capital
Marqus de Villamejor, 3
28006 Madrid
Spain
Tel +34 91 781 28 00
www.corpfincapital.com
STATS
Chairman: Felipe Oriol
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 11 investment professionals
AuM: 400m
LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid
CAREERS CONTACT
contacto@corpfincapital.com
STATS
CEO: Fabien Prevost
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Credit
Agricole
No. of employees: 40
AuM: 1.7bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
CAREERS CONTACT
cape.contact@ca-privateequity.fr
247
STATS
Founders: Derek Elliott, Jonathan Kaye
& Kevin Street
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 3 investment executives
AuM: 250m (2008 target)
STATS
Head of private companies: Luke
Bridgeman
Employer Type: Specialist team of
Dawnay, Day Group
Employees: 4 investment executives
AuM: 1bn (access)
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
contact@darwinpe.com
248
Deutsche Beteiligungs AG
Kleinen Wiesenau 1
60439 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Tel +49 69 957 87 0
www.deutsche-beteiligung.de
STATS
Chief executive: Wilken Freiherr von
Hodenberg
Employer Type: Public company
(Frankfurt Stock Exchange)
No. of employees: 17 professionals
AuM: 520m
STATS
Chief Executive: Steven Rattner
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Credit
Suisse
Employees: 14
LOCATIONS
Offices: Frankfurt
CAREERS CONTACT
LOCATIONS
Offices: London New York
Los Angeles
AuM: $6.8bn
welcome@deutsche-beteiligung.de
CAREERS CONTACT
dljmb-eu@credit-suisse.com
249
ECI Partners
10 George Street
Edinburgh EH2 2DW, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)131 225 6699
www.dunedin.com
www.eciv.co.uk
STATS
Chief Executive: Ross Marshall
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 23 (15 investment professionals)
AuM: 500m
STATS
Managing partners: Ken Landsberg and
Tim Raffle
No. of employees: 14 professionals
AuM: 500m
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
info@dunedin.com
250
enquiries@ecipartners.com
Edmond de Rothschild
Private Equity Partners
Edmond de Rothschild
Investment Partners
Enterprise Investors
Warsaw Financial Center
Emilii Plater 53, 31st floor
00-113 Warsaw, Poland
Tel +48 22 458 85 00
www.ei.com
STATS
Employer Type: Subsidiary of La
Compagnie Financire Edmond de
Rothschild
Employees: 18
AuM: 506m (expansion, LBO, VC)
STATS
Chairman: Robert Faris
No. of employees: 53 (30 professionals)
AuM: 1bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: Warsaw
CAREERS CONTACT
info@ei.com.pl
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
251
Explorer Investments
Marnixlaan 24
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Tel +32 2 213 60 90
STATS
Managing director: Ian Gallienne
Employer Type: Backed by Groupe
Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) and Parcom
AuM: 500m
LOCATIONS
STATS
Managing director: Rodrigo Guimares
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 5 senior investment professionals
AuM: 262m (2008)
LOCATIONS
Offices: Lisbon
CAREERS CONTACT
explorer@explorerinvestments.com
252
www.fidiasgr.it
STATS
STATS
Employer Type: Fund financed by
consortium of 8 Italian banks
Managing director: Stefano Scarpis
AuM: 250m
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
CAREERS CONTACT
info@finama-pe.fr
253
FL Partners
Stradbrook House
Stradbrook Road, Blackrock
Co. Dublin, Ireland
Tel +353 1 663 7630
Montagne du Parc 3
1000 Brussels, Belgium
Tel +32 2 565 11 33
www.merchantbanking.fortis.com
www.flpartners.ie
STATS
STATS
Managing partners: Peter Crowley and
Neill Hughes
Employer Type: Private Company
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Dublin
Offices: Brussels
CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
info@flpartners.ie
info@fortisprivateequity.com
254
Gala Capital
Serrano 57
28006 Madrid
Spain
Tel +34 91 426 1900
www.galacapital.com
STATS
STATS
Managing directors: Jaime Bergel and
Carlos Tejera
Employer Type: Private equity vehicle
for some of Spains wealthiest
individuals
AuM: 165m (2nd fund) with access to
more capital
LOCATIONS
Offices: Spain Bulgaria Portugal Romania
255
GI Partners
GIMV
Karel Oomsstraat 37
2018 Antwerp
Belgium
Tel +32 3 290 21 00
www.gipartners.com
www.gimv.com
STATS
Chief Executive: Rick Magnuson
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 21 professionals (9 in
Europe)
AuM: $2bn
LOCATIONS
STATS
Executive Vice President Corporate
Investment: Geert-Jan van Logtestijn
Employer Type: Public company. Sticker:
GIMB (Euronext)
No. of employees: 19 investment
professionals
AuM: 1.2bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: Antwerp Frankfurt London
The Hague
CAREERS CONTACT
info@gimv.be
256
Global Finance
www.gep.at
www.globalfinance.gr
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
office@globalfinance.gr
office@gep.at
257
GMT Communications
Partners
www.gmtpartners.com
www.granvillebaird.de
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
info@gbcp.de
258
Graphite Capital
www.graphitecapital.com
STATS
STATS
Heads of investment team: Simon Ffitch
& Andy Gray
Employer Type: Independent private
company
No. of employees: 16 investment professionals
AuM: 1.2bn
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London Birmingham
Manchester
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
info@graphitecapital.com
259
Strandveien 50
P.O Box 34
1324 Lysaker, Norway
Tel +47 67 10 80 00
www.higprivateequity.com
www.ferdpe.no
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
CAREERS CONTACT
260
post@ferdpe.no
Ibersuizas
Marqus de Villamagna, 3
28001 Madrid, Spain
Tel +34 91 426 43 80
www.ibersuizas.es
www.hermes.co.uk/hermes_private_equity
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid Barcelona London
Luxembourg
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
info@ibersuizas.es
261
43 Welbeck Street
London W1G 8DX
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7487 9888
www.impalacapital.com
www.inflexion.com
STATS
Chairman: Carlos Guerrero
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 9 investment professionals
AuM: 215m (2007)
STATS
Managing partners: John Hartz & Simon
Turner
Employer Type: Private company
No. of employees: 17 (12 professionals)
AuM: 300m
LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid
LOCATIONS
Offices: London Manchester
CAREERS CONTACT
info@impalacapital.com
CAREERS CONTACT
info@inflexion.com
262
Innova Capital
48 Grosvenor Street
London W1K 3HW
United Kingdom
Tel +44 20 7629 6600
www.innovacap.com/EN
www.investcorp.com
STATS
Managing partners: Steve Buckley & Rob
Conn
Employer Type: Private company
Employees: 8 investment professionals
AuM: 500m
STATS
Head of Private Equity Europe: Steven
Puccinelli
Employees: 42 professionals (16 in
London)
AuM: $3.8bn
CAREERS CONTACT
mail@innovacap.com
263
Investindustrial
www.investindustrial.com
www.invision.ch
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
CAREERS CONTACT
info@invisio.ch
264
ISIS EP
www.isisep.com
www.kaupthingsingers.co.uk
STATS
Managing partner: Wol Kolade
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 31 (28 investment
professionals)
STATS
Employer Type: Private equity arm of
Iceland's Kaupthing Bank
AuM: 500m
LOCATIONS
Offices: London Birmingham Leeds
Manchester
AuM: 700m (2007)
CAREERS CONTACT
wol.kolade@isisep.com
265
L Capital Management
Havenlaan 12
1080 Brussels, Belgium
Tel +32 (0)2 429 36 45
www.kbcpe.be
www.lvmh.com
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Brussels Bucharest Budapest
Prague Warsaw
Offices: Paris
CAREERS CONTACT
lcapital@lvmh.fr
266
LBO France
www.langholm.com
www.lbofrance.com
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
Offices: Paris
267
LD Equity
LDC
www.ldequity.dk
STATS
STATS
Managing partners: Christian Mller,
Soren Mller, Lars Tnnesen
Employer Type: Independent part of
Fondsmglerselskabet af 2004 A/S
(FMS04)
Employees: 18 investment professionals
AuM: DKK 7.5bn (1bn) in 2007
LOCATIONS
Offices: Copenhagen
CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
info@ldequity.dk
tfarazmand@ldc.co.uk
LOCATIONS
268
Lehman Brothers
Merchant Banking
25 Bank Street, London E14 5LE
United Kingdom
www.lehman.com/im/pe/mb/
STATS
Global Head: Charles Ayres
No. of employees: 35 professionals
AuM: ~700m for Europe ($3.3bn
globally for 4th fund)
LOCATIONS
Offices: London New York Hong
Kong
LGV
5th Floor, Bucklersbury House, 3
Queen Victoria Street
London EC4N 8NH, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 20 7528 6456
www.legalandgeneralventures.com
STATS
Chief Executive: Adrian Johnson
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 3 partners
AuM: 200m (5th fund)
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
Contact for Analyst Recruiting, Europe:
Salonika Mitra
269
Lion Capital
21 Grosvenor Place
London SW1X 7HF, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 20 7201 2200
www.lioncapital.com
Rue de la Corraterie 11
P.O. Box 5215
1211 Geneva 11
Switzerland
Tel +41 (0)22 709 21 11
STATS
STATS
CAREERS CONTACT
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
270
contact@lodh.com
Lyceum Capital
MB Funds
Bulevardi 1 A
00100 Helsinki, Finland
Tel +358 9 131 011
www.mbfunds.fi
www.westpe.com
STATS
STATS
CEO: Philip Buscombe
No. of employees: 10 investment
professionals
AuM: 300m
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
Offices: Helsinki
CAREERS CONTACT
info@lyceumcapital.co.uk
271
STATS
Managing directors: Jos Mara Muoz &
Mr. Jaime Hernndez Soto
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 12 (10 investment
professionals)
AuM: 250m
LOCATIONS
STATS
President/Group Head: Nathan C.
Thorne
Employer Type: PE investment arm of
Merrill Lynch
No. of employees: 19 senior
professionals, of which 4 are in London
Offices: Madrid
LOCATIONS
Offices: London New York Bangkok
Hong Kong Tokyo Sydney So
Paulo
272
www.mideuropa.com
www.midoceanpartners.com
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
273
Middle Europe
Investments
Zwiepseweg 27
7240 GM Lochem, Netherlands
Tel +31 573 28 98 88
www.mei.nl
STATS
Managing partner: Dr. Peter H. M.
Winkelman
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 75
CAREERS CONTACT
info@mei.nl
STATS
Managing partners: Bill Robinson and
Erick Rinner
Employer Type: Private company
Employees: 12
AuM: 400m
LOCATIONS
Offices: London Paris
CAREERS CONTACT
info@milestone-capital.com
274
STATS
Managing directors: Graham KenistonCooper & Michael Hehn
Employees: 40 worldwide (target)
AuM: $6bn worldwide (target)
LOCATIONS
Offices: London New York
STATS
Chief Executive: Jean-Louis Delvaux
Employer Type: Private equity arm of
Natixis
Employees: 250 (115 investment
professionals)
AuM: 3.1bn (VC, expansion, LBO, fund
of funds)
LOCATIONS
Offices: France Germany Italy
Poland Spain China India Brazil
275
Nazca
www.nazca.es
www.nbgipe.co.uk
STATS
Chairman: Miguel Canalejo
Employer Type: Member of Fortis
Private Equity Group
Employees: 6 investment professionals
AuM: 250m (2007)
STATS
Chairman & CEO: Pavlos C. St. Stellakis
Employer Type: Subsidiary of the
National Bank of Greece
Employees: 26
AuM: 360m
LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid
LOCATIONS
Offices: London Athens
CAREERS CONTACT
info@nbgipe.co.uk
276
Nikko Principal
Investments
100 Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5NN
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7799 7700
www.npil.co.uk
STATS
CEO: Brian Berry
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Nikko
Employer Type: Cordial Corporation
Employees: 30 professionals
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
STATS
Managing director: Federico Pastor
Employer Type: Division of N+1, an
independent Employer Type: Private
company
Employees: x investment professionals
AuM: 850m (plan 2008)
LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid Barcelona
CAREERS CONTACT
firstcontact@nikko.co.uk
277
Nordic Capital
www.nomura.com/europe/services/mer
chant_banking/private_equity
STATS
STATS
Head: Andrew Healey
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Nomura
Employees: 7 investment professionals
(United Kingdom)
AuM: 300m ($4.5bn worldwide)
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
278
Nordwind Capital
Residenzstrae 18
80333 Munich, Germany
Tel +49 89 29 19 58-0
www.nordwindcapital.de
STATS
Managing director: Dr. Hans Albrecht
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 9
AuM: 300m
LOCATIONS
Offices: Munich
Oaktree Capital
Management
27 Knightsbridge
London SW1X 7LY
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7201 4600
www.oaktreecapital.com
STATS
Managing principal: John Frank
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 174 investment
professionals globally (9 in European
private equity)
AuM: $8.3bn in private equity only
(2008)
CAREERS CONTACT
info@nordwindcapital.com
LOCATIONS
Offices: Los Angeles London
Frankfurt Luxembourg New York
Stamford Beijing Hong Kong
Seoul Shanghai Singapore Tokyo
CAREERS CONTACT
careers@oaktreecapital.com
279
Olivant
Franzsische Strae 8
10117 Berlin, Germany
Tel +49 (0) 30 20 17 23-0
2 Basil Street
London
SW3 1AA
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 20 7225 4100
www.ocie.de
www.olivant.com
STATS
Founder and managing partner: Dr. Jens
Odewald
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 7 senior investment
professionals
AuM: 1bn
STATS
Chairman: Luqman Arnold
Employees: 16 investment professionals
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Berlin
CAREERS CONTACT
info@olivant.com
280
Orlando Management
GmbH
Am Platzl 4
80331 Munich
Germany
Phone: +49 89 29 00 48 - 50
www.orlandofund.com
STATS
President: Richard (Dick) M. Cashin, Jr.
Employer Type: PE investment arm of
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
No. of employees: 38 professionals, of
which 10 are in Germany
AuM: $5bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: Frankfurt Chicago New
York
CAREERS CONTACT
oep.info@oneequity.com
STATS
Partners: Dr. Henrik Fastrich and three
other partners
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 5 investment professionals
AuM: 420m
LOCATIONS
Offices: Munich
CAREERS CONTACT
info@orlandofund.com
281
Pamplona Capital
Management
25 Park Lane
London W1K 1RA
United Kingdom
Tel +44 20 7079 8000
www.pamplonafunds.com
STATS
Managing partners: A. Michael Hoffman,
Louis G. Elson
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 14 investment professionals
AuM: 1.1bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
STATS
Chief executive: Alex Knaster
No. of employees: 15 professionals
AuM: 1.3bn (2nd fund)
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
info@pamplonafunds.com
282
Parcom
Pechel Industries
Olympia 4c
1213 NT Hilversum
The Netherlands
Tel +31 35 646 44 40
www.parcomventures.nl,
www.parcom.fr
STATS
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
STATS
CAREERS CONTACT
contact@pechel.com
283
33 Glasshouse Street
London W1B 5DG
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20-7434 6999
www.pentacapital.com
www.phoenix-equity.com
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
info@pentacapital.com
284
enquiries@phoenix-equity.com
PM Partners
PPM Capital
www.pm-partners.it
STATS
STATS
Managing partners: Mr. Francesco
Panfilo, Mr. Andrea Mugnai
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 8 investment professionals
AuM: 215m
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Milano
285
Pragma Capital
Primary Capital
13 avenue Hoche
75008 Paris, France
Tel +33 (0)1 58 36 49 50
www.pragma-capital.com
www.primaryeurope.com
STATS
Chief Executive: Christophe Ramoisy
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 9 investment professionals
AuM: 500m
LOCATIONS
STATS
Chief executive: Charles Gonszor
Employer Type: Independent Private
Company
Employees: 12 (9 investment
professionals)
AuM: 361 million
Offices: Paris
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
primary@primaryeurope.com
286
Providence Equity
28 St George Street
London W1S 2FA
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20-7514 8800
www.provequity.com
STATS
CEO: Jonathan M. Nelson
Employer Type: Independent Private
Company
Employees: 67 investment professionals
(19 in the UK)
AuM: $21bn worldwide
LOCATIONS
Offices: London New York
Providence (HQ) Hong Kong New
Delhi
Quadrangle Capital
Partners
Quadrangle Group Europe Ltd
15 Conduit Street
London W1S 2XJ
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7317 3800
www.quadranglegroup.com
STATS
Managing principal Europe: Gordon
Holmes
Employer Type: Private company
No. of employees: 40 investment
professionals
AuM: $6bn (about half in PE)
LOCATIONS
Offices: New York Palo Alto
London
CAREERS CONTACT
info@provequity.co.uk
CAREERS CONTACT
hr@quadranglegroup.com
287
STATS
Managing partner: Dr. Andreas Fendel
Employer Type: Private company
Employees: 8 investment professionals
AuM: 525m (3rd fund)
STATS
CEO: F. Michel Abouchalache
Employees: 28 investment professionals
AuM: $1bn (including funds of funds)
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris London Luxembourg
Zurich New York
CAREERS CONTACT
contact@quadriga-capital.de
CAREERS CONTACT
info-pe@quilweb.com
288
STATS
Managing partners and founders: Robert
F. Agostinelli & M. Steven Langman
Employer Type: Independent private
company
AuM: ~$800m (Rhne Capital Partners III)
LOCATIONS
RJD Partners
8/9 Well Court
London EC4M 9DN
United Kingdom
Tel +44 20 7050 6868
www.rjdpartners.com
STATS
Chief Executive: David MacLellan
Employer Type: Private company
Employees: 9 professionals
AuM: 180m (2nd fund)
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
Info: karen.poole@rjdpartners.com
289
STATS
Employees: 25 investment professionals
AuM: 2.2bn
Rutland Partners
Rutland House
Rutland Gardens
London SW7 1BX
United Kingdom
Tel +44 20 7556 2600
www.rutlandpartners.com
STATS
Chairman: Michael Langdon
Employer Type: Private company
Employees: 11 professionals
AuM: 530m
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
info@rutlandpartners.com
290
Segulah
Paseo de la Castellana, 7
28046 Madrid, Spain
Tel +34 91 342 68 96
Styrmansgatan 2
114 84 Stockholm
Sweden
Tel +46 8 442 8950
www.santanderprivateequity.com
www.segulah.se
STATS
Managing director: Luis Abraira de Arana
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Santander
Employees: 6 professionals
AuM: 320m
STATS
Managing partner: Christian Sievert
Employer Type: Private company
Employees: 8 professionals
AuM: SEK 2.35bn (~300m)
LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid
LOCATIONS
Offices: Stockholm
291
SigmaBleyzer
www.sgam-ai.com
www.sigmableyzer.com
STATS
Global Heads: Jean Grimaldi, Corinne
Ferrire
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Societe
Generale
Employees: 55 investment professionals
AuM: 1.8bn (VC, expansion & LBO,
funds of funds, specialised)
STATS
Recruiting Manager: Alina Martynenko,
amartynenko@sigmableyzer.com.ua
President & CEO: Michael Bleyzer
Employees: 16
AuM: 250m (4th fund)
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris Bucharest London
Milan Munich Warsaw
292
Silver Lake
Smedvig Capital
20 St James's Street
London SW1A 1ES
United Kingdom
Tel +44(0)20 7451 2100
www.silverlake.com
www.smedvigcapital.com
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Menlo Park (HQ) London
New York San Francisco
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
enquiries@smedvigcapital.com
293
Sovereign Capital
25 Buckingham Gate
London SW1E 6LD
United Kingdom
Tel +44 20 7828 6944
www.sovereigncapital.co.uk
www.star-capital.com
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
info@sovereigncapital.co.uk
294
mail@star-capital.com
www.stirlingsquare.com/stirlingsquareca
pitalpartners.htm
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
LOCATIONS
Offices: London Boca Raton Los
Angeles New York Shenzhen
Tokyo
CAREERS CONTACT
info@stirlingsquare.com
295
TA Associates
Taros Capital
25 Knightsbridge
London SW1X 7RZ
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7823 0200
www.ta.com
www.taroscapital.com
STATS
Managing partner in London: Mr. Ajit
Nedungadi
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 65 (50 investment
professionals)
AuM: $10bn
STATS
Managing partners: Paul Lamers &
Alexander van Wassenaer
Employer Type: Private company
Employees: 6 senior professionals
AuM: 550m
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
CAREERS CONTACT
amsterdam@taroscapital.com
296
TCR Capital
TDR Capital
www.tcrcapital.com
www.tdrcapital.com
STATS
Managing partner: Marc Demicheli
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 7 senior professionals
AuM: 300m
STATS
Founding partners: Manjit Dale &
Stephen Robertson
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 17 professionals
AuM: 2.6bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
297
TowerBrook Capital
Partners
After Hof 5
80331 Munich, Germany
Tel +49 89 242 248 90
83 Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5ES
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7451 2002
www.riversideeurope.com
www.towerbrook.com
STATS
Managing Partner: Antonio Cabral
Employer Type: Private company
No. of employees: 28 (16 investment
professionals)
AuM: $2bn (world)
STATS
Co-CEOs: Ramez Sousou (London) &
Neal Moszkowski (New York)
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 28 investment professionals
AuM: $2.5bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: Munich Amsterdam
Brussels Budapest Madrid Prague
Stockholm Warsaw Atlanta
Chicago Cleveland Dallas Los
Angeles New York San Francisco
Tokyo
298
LOCATIONS
Offices: London New York
Triton Advisors
Valanza
www.triton-partners.com
STATS
STATS
Employer Type: Private Company
AuM: 1.1bn (second fund)
299
www.vss.com
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London New York
300
Vista Capital
Vitruvian Partners
C/ Serrano 67
28006 Madrid
Spain
Tel +34 914 360 606
53 Davies Street
London W1K 5JH
United Kingdom
Tel + 44 (0)20 7152 6503
www.vitruvianpartners.com
STATS
CEO: Ignacio Moreno
Employer Type: Private equity subsidiary
of Santander and RBS (50/50)
AuM: unknown
STATS
Managing partners: Ian Riley, Michael
Risman, Toby Wyles
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 9 senior professionals
AuM: 424m (2007)
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
301
Warburg Pincus
Almack House, 28 King Street
London SW1Y 6QW
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7306 0306
www.warburgpincus.com
STATS
Managing partners: Charles R. Kaye &
Joseph P. Landy
Employees: Private Company
Employees: 160 deal professionals
AuM: ~$15bn
STATS
Managing partner and founder: Rob
Thielen
Employees: Independent Private
Company
AuM: 625m
LOCATIONS
Offices: London Frankfurt New
York San Francisco/Menlo Park
Beijing Hong Kong Mumbai Seoul
Shanghai Tokyo
LOCATIONS
Offices: Bussum Antwerpen-Berchem
Dusseldorf
CAREERS CONTACT
info@waterland.nu
302
Weinberg Capital
Partners
11, rue La Boetie
75008 Paris, France
Tel +33 1 53 53 55 00
Wendel Investissement
89, rue Taitbout
75009 Paris, France
Tel +33 (0)1 42 85 30 00
www.wendel-investissement.com
www.weinbergcapital.com
STATS
STATS
Managing Partner: Serge Weinberg
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 11 investment professionals
AuM: 420m
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
CAREERS CONTACT
contact@weinbergcapital.com
303
MEZZANINE FUNDS
Babson Capital Europe,
Almack Mezzanine
61 Aldwych
London WC2B 4AE
United Kingdom
Tel +44 20 3206 4500
www.babsoncapitaleurope.com
STATS
Managing directors: David Wilmot &
Adam Eifion-Jones
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Babson
Capital Management LLC
Employees: 5 senior investment
professionals
AuM: 800m (Almack Mezzanine)
Capvent AG
Dufourstrasse 24
8008 Zurich, Switzerland
Tel +41 43 500 50 70
www.capvent.com
STATS
Founders and Managing partners: Tom
Clausen, Varun Sood
Employer Type: Independent Private
Company
Employees: 11 investment professionals
AuM: >1bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: Zurich Bangalore
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
304
DAM Capital
26-28 rue Edward Steichen, Btiment C
PO Box 464
L-2014 Luxembourg
Tel +352 34 00 29 1
STATS
Co-CEOS: Dirk van Daele & Robert
Wardrop
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Anschutz
Investments
AuM: ~1bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: Luxembourg London Milan
Darby Overseas
Investments, Central
Europe Mezzanine Fund
Dr. Karl Lueger-Ring 10
1010 Vienna
Austria
Tel +43 1 53226 5510
www.darbyoverseas.com
STATS
Senior Managing Director Europe:
Robert D. Graffam
Employer Type: Private equity arm of
Franklin Templeton Investments
Employees: 9 professionals in Europe
AuM: 300m
CAREERS CONTACT
info@damgroup.com
LOCATIONS
Offices: Vienna Budapest Warsaw
305
EuroMezzanine
11 Rue Scribe
75009 Paris, France
Tel +33 (0) 1 5330 2330
www.euromezzanine.com
STATS
Managing directors: Thierry Raiff & Louis
Vaillant
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 10 investment professionals
AuM: 660m (6th fund)
LOCATIONS
STATS
Founders and Managing partners:
Matthew Collins & Graham Hutton
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 12 investment professionals
AuM: 550m (2nd fund)
Offices: Paris
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
306
IFE Mezzanine
Indigo Capital
41 avenue George V
75008 Paris
France
Tel +33 1 56 52 02 40
25 Watling Street
London EC4M 9BR
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7710 7800
www.ifefund.com
www.indigo-capital.com
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
LOCATIONS
Offices: London Paris
307
Mezzanine Management
Central Europe
Kohlmarkt 5/6
1010 Vienna, Austria
Tel +43 1 532 89 90
www.mezzmanagement.com
STATS
STATS
Founding Partner and Executive
Director: Franz Hoerhager
No. of employees: about 11 investment
professionals (2007)
AuM: 376m
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Vienna Bucharest Budapest
Warsaw
CAREERS CONTACT
office@mezzmanagement.com
308
Novum Capital
An der Welle 4
60322 Frankfurt, Germany
Tel +49 (0)69 7593 7995
www.novumcapital.co.uk
www.parksquarecapital.com
STATS
Founders and Managing partners: Felix
Hlzer & Bjrn Pirrwitz
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 4 investment professionals
STATS
Managing Partner: Robin Doumar
Employees: 14 professionals
AuM: 2.3bn (mezzanine and credit)
LOCATIONS
Offices: Frankfurt London
LOCATIONS
Offices: London Guernsey
Luxembourg
309
DISTRESSED FUNDS
Butler Capital Partners
22 Billiter Street
London EC3M 2RY
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 20 7553 2340
www.butlercapitalpartners.com
www.epicprivateequity.com
STATS
Founder and managing partner: Walter
Butler
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 12
AuM: ~500m
STATS
Chief Executive: Giles Brand
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Epic
Investment Partners
AuM: 125m
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
Offices: London
310
Kelso Place
110 St. Martin's Lane
London WC2N 4BA
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 20 7836 0000
www.kelsoplace.com
STATS
Co-founder: John Drinkwater & Sion
Kearsey
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 9 investment professionals
AuM: 100m (third fund)
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
311
SECONDARY FUNDS
Cipio Partners
Coller Capital
33 Cavendish Square
London W1G 0TT
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 76 31 8500
www.cipiopartners.com
www.collercapital.com
STATS
Chief executive: Werner Dreesbach
Employer Type: Private company
Employees:13 investment professionals
STATS
Founder and managing partner: Jeremy
Coller
Employees: 102
AuM: $3.5bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: Munich San Jose
LOCATIONS
Offices: London New York
CAREERS CONTACT
wdreesbach@cipiopartners.com
CAREERS CONTACT
mail@collercapital.com
312
Lexington Partners UK
42 Berkeley Square
London W1J 5AW
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 73 18 08 88
www.greenparkcapital.com
www.lexingtonpartners.com
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
LOCATIONS
Offices: London Boston Menlo Park
New York (HQ)
CAREERS CONTACT
mail@greenparkcapital.com
CAREERS CONTACT
ewilde@lexpartners.com
313
Nova Capital
Paul Capital
11 Strand
London WC2N 5HR
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7389 1540
www.nova-cap.com
www.paulcapital.com
STATS
Founder & Managing Director: David
Williamson
Employees: 18 professionals
AuM: 600m
LOCATIONS
STATS
Founder: Philip S. Paul
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 60 professionals
AuM: $4bn in total, about half in buyout
and growth secondaries
LOCATIONS
CAREERS CONTACT
info@nova-cap.com
314
Pomona Capital
Vision Capital
16 Hanover Square
London W1S 1HT
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 74 08 94 33
54 Jermyn Street
London SW1Y 6LX
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7389 6410
www.pomonacapital.com
STATS
STATS
Founder and CEO: Michael Granoff
Employer Type: Private company
(strategic partnership with ING)
Employees: 17
AuM: 850m ($4bn worldwide)
LOCATIONS
CAREERS CONTACT
Offices: London
info@pomonacapital.com
CAREERS CONTACT
info@visioncapital.com
315
FUND OF FUNDS
Access Capital Partners
20 Grosvenor Place
London SW1X 7HN
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 20.7823.0640
www.access-capital-partners.com
www.adamsstreetpartners.com
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris Brussels Munich
CAREERS CONTACT
acp@accesscp.com
316
Adveq Management AG
Affolternstrasse 56
CH-8050 Zurich, Switzerland
Tel +41 (0)43 288 32 00
Baarerstrasse 8
CH-6300 Zug
Switzerland
Tel +41 41 710 70 60
www.adveq.com
www.aigprivateequity.com
STATS
Board of directors: Allan S. Bufferd,
Andr P. Jaeggi & Bruno E. Raschle
Employer Type: Independent private
company
AuM: $3bn (2007)
STATS
Chairman: Eduardo Leemann
Employer Type: Public company (listed
APEN on SWX)
AuM: CHF 600m (out of $27bn
worldwide)
LOCATIONS
Offices: Zurich Frankfurt New York
Beijing
LOCATIONS
Offices: Zug
CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
info@adveq.com
info@aigprivateequity.com
317
ALPHA Associates
Paseo de la Castellana 31
28046 Madrid, Spain
Tel +34 91 310 7230
www.alpha-associates.ch
www.altamarcapital.com
STATS
STATS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Zurich
CAREERS CONTACT
altamar@altamarcapital.com
318
STATS
Employer Type: Public company (HSE)
AuM: 1.6bn
LOCATIONS
STATS
Managing partner: Torben Vangstrup
No. of employees: 16
AuM: 3bn
Offices: Helsinki
LOCATIONS
Offices: Copenhagen New York
CAREERS CONTACT
info@atp-pep.com
319
Bregal Investments
2-5 Old Bond Street
4th floor
London, W1S 4PD
United Kingdom
Tel + 44 207 408 1663
www.bregal.com
www.camprivateequity.com
STATS
Co-Chairmen: Louis Brenninkmeijer &
Yves de Balmann
Employees: 11 investment professionals
AuM: 3bn
LOCATIONS
STATS
Executive Partner: Constantin von
Dziembowski
Employer Type: Independent private
fund of funds
No. of employees: 38
AuM: 2.7bn
LOCATIONS
CAREERS CONTACT
management@bregal.com
CAREERS CONTACT
cologne@cam-pe.com
320
Capital Dynamics
Bahnhofstrasse 22
6301 Zug
Switzerland
Tel +41 41 748 84 44
www.capdyn.com
Capital Z Investments
Partners
84 Brook Street
London W1K 5EH
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7866 6133
www.capitalz.com/czip/index.html
STATS
Managing Director: Thomas Kubr
Employer Type: Independent private
company
No. of employees: 90 professionals
AuM: $20bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: Zug Birmingham London
New York San Francisco Hong
Kong
STATS
Chief Executive: Laurence Cheng
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 15
AuM: $2.25bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: London New York Hong
Kong
321
Capman
Korkeavuorenkatu 32
00130 Helsinki
Finland
Tel +358 9 6155 800
www.capman.com
STATS
CEO: Heikki Westerlund
Employer Type: Subsidiary of CapMan
Plc, listed on HSE
Employees: 80 (28 in buyout team)
AuM: >1.3bn
STATS
Managing Partner: John Danielsen
Employer Type: Part of Danske Bank
Group
Employees: 19 (11 investment
professionals)
AuM: 1.7bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: Helsinki Copenhagen
Guernsey Oslo Stockholm
LOCATIONS
Offices: Copenhagen
CAREERS CONTACT
info@danskeprivateequity.com
322
Finnish Industry
Investment
PO Box 685
00101 Helsinki, Finland
Tel +358 9 680 36 80
Fondinvest Capital
33 rue de la Baume
75008 Paris, France
Tel +33 (0)1 58 36 48 00
www.fondinvest.com
www.industryinvestment.com
STATS
STATS
Managing director: Mr. Juha Marjosola
Employer Type: Government owned
Employees: 18
AuM: 360m
LOCATIONS
Offices: Helsinki
CAREERS CONTACT
tesi@teollisuussijoitus.fi
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris San Francisco Tokyo
CAREERS CONTACT
mailbox@fondinvest.com
323
STATS
Managing director: Peter Gale
Employer Type: Department of
Gartmore Investment Management
Employees: 14
AuM: 2.9bn (2007)
STATS
Chief executive: Dr. jur. Dieter Brender
Employer Type: Private Company
AuM: 280m
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Frankfurt
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
lucy.warren@gartmore.com
324
info@globalvision-ag.com
STATS
Managing director and founder: Jeremy
Golding
Employer Type: Independent private
fund of funds
No. of employees: 26
AuM: 1.1bn
LOCATIONS
HarbourVest International
Partners
Berkeley Square House, 8th Floor,
Berkeley Square
London W1J 6DB
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7399 9820
www.harbourvest.com
STATS
Managing directors: Edward W. Kane &
Brooks Zug
Employer Type: Independent Private
Company
Employees: 164 (63 investment
professionals)
AuM: 2.38bn (latest European fund)
LOCATIONS
CAREERS CONTACT
info@goldingcapital.com
325
Henderson Equity
Partners
4 Broadgate
London EC2M 2DA
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7818 2963
www.hendersonprivatecapital.com
www.horizon21.ch
STATS
Employer Type: Subsidiary of
Henderson
Employees: 10 investment executives (UK)
AuM: 1.2bn (UK)
CAREERS CONTACT
STATS
Chief Executive: Harold Weiss
Employer Type: Private Company.
Strategic alliance with Swiss Re
Employees: 130
AuM: ~CHF10bn (private equity funds
of funds)
roger.greville@henderson.com
LOCATIONS
Offices: London Bratislava Zurich
Hong Kong Cayman Islands
326
INVESCO Capital
3, via Borgonuovo
20121 Milan, Italy
Tel +39 02 72 08 03 37
30 Finsbury Square
London EC2A 1AG
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7065 4000
www.ideacapitalfunds.com
www.invescoprivatecapital.com
STATS
Managing Partner: Mario Barozzi
AuM: 400m
STATS
Chief Executive: Greg Stoeckle
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 15
CAREERS CONTACT
info@ideacapitalfunds.com
LOCATIONS
Offices: New York San Francisco
London
327
Keyhaven Capital
1 Richmond Mews
London W1D 3DA
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7432 6200
www.keyhavencapital.com
STATS
STATS
Co-founder and managing director:
Sasha van de Water
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 6 investment professionals
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
info@keyhavencapital.com
328
NORDCAPITAL
Emissionshaus GmbH &
Cie. KG
Hohe Bleichen 12
20354 Hamburg, Germany
Tel +49 (0)40 3008-0
Northgate Capital
1 Jermyn Street
London SW1Y 4UH
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7961 6480
www.northgatecapital.com
www.nordcapital.com
STATS
STATS
Chief executive: Florian Maack
Employer Type: Private Company
AuM: 250m (Equitrust funds)
CAREERS CONTACT
vertrieb@nordcapital.com
LOCATIONS
Offices: London San Francisco Bay
Area
329
Pantheon Ventures
Limited
Norfolk House, 31 St. James's Square
London SW1Y 4JR
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7484 6200
www.pantheonventures.com
STATS
Chief executive: Rhoddy Swire
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Russell
Investment Group, Northwestern
Mutual Life
Employees: 71
AuM: $7.9bn (world)
LOCATIONS
Offices: London Brussels San
Francisco Hong Kong Sydney
330
STATS
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Robeco
(with public fund listed on Euronext
Amsterdam)
AuM: $2bn
RWB
RenditeWertBeteiligungen
AG
Keltenring 5
82041 Oberhaching/Munich, Germany
Tel +49 (0)89 66 66 94-0
www.rwb-ag.de
STATS
STATS
Managing partner: Horst Guedel
Employer Type: Private company.
Partnership with Capvent
Employees: 41
AuM: 825m
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Zurich
CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
scm@scmag.com
info@rwb-ag.de
331
SL Capital Partners
Unigestion
1 George Street
Edinburgh EH2 2LL
Scotland, United Kingdom
Tel +44 131 245 0055
privateequity.standardlifeinvestments.com
STATS
STATS
Chief Executive: David Currie
Employer Type: Subsidiary of the
Employer Type: Standard Life
Investments group
Employees: 12 investment professionals
AuM: 5.2bn
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Edinburgh
CAREERS CONTACT
hpbader@unigestion.com
332
VenCap International
King Charles House, Park End Street
Oxford OX1 1JD
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)1865 79 93 00
www.vencap.com
STATS
Chairman & CEO: Michael Ashall
Employer Type: Independent Private
Company
Employees: 18
AuM: $1.5bn worldwide
LOCATIONS
Offices: Oxford
CAREERS CONTACT
info@vencap.com
333
APPENDIX
Recommended Reading
Web Resources
Academic Sources
Industry Jargon (glossary)
About the Authors
APPENDIX
Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco (Collins) by Bryan Burrough & John
Helyar
Damodaran on Valuation: Security Analysis for Investment and Corporate Finance (Wiley
Finance) by Aswath Damodaran
WEB RESOURCES
www.evca.com (European Venture Capital Association)
www.bvca.com (British Venture Capital Association)
www.altassets.com
www.penews.com (Dow Jones Private Equity News Europe)
www.privateequitywire.co.uk
www.candover.com/english/media-centre/barometer
ACADEMIC SOURCES
Centre for Management Buy-Out Research
www.nottingham.ac.uk/business/cmbor/
Journal of Private Equity
www.iijournals.com/JPE
Chicago GSB
www.chicagogsb.edu/capideas/may04/privateequity.html
337
Appendix
RECOMMENDED READING
Catch-up
Capital call
The management company asks for capital
from the investors in the fund it manages.
Usually, investors commit themselves to providing a certain amount of capital to a fund,
and the management company draws down
these commitments in several stages, as the
fund makes new investments.
Clawback
Contract clause that obliges the management
company to return capital to the fund, if it has
received more carried interest than was agreed.
Diversification
Maximum proportion of fund that can be invested in any one transaction. Typically 20-25
per cent.
Distribution of proceeds
The order in which the sale proceeds and
profits are split between GP and LP.
Dry powder
Cash reserves kept on hand to cover future
obligations. In private equity, it refers to the
uncalled but still available capital commitments.
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Fund term
Life of the fund. Typically 10 years with two
one year extensions possible.
Period during which the GP can make investments. Typically five or six years from the
date of closing for a 10 year fund. All commitments not drawn down are cancelled
after that.
Mezzanine
Investment period
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Glossary
Due diligence
Monitoring/Directors fees
Secondary fund
Transaction fees
Overhang
Vintage year
NYSE
P2P (Public-to-Private)
Acquisition of the majority interest in a
publicly-listed company by a public tender
offer, often followed by a squeeze out
and subsequent delisting.
Pooled IRR
A method of calculating an aggregate IRR
by summing cash flows together to create
a portfolio cashflow and calculate IRR on it.
Residual value
Estimated value of the fund, net of management fees and carry.
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