A mixed Christmas

2009 has ended as a bit of a mixed bag for French private equity. On the one hand, this month has seen a couple of restructurings, with Duke Street Capital having its share in Navimo reduced to 30% after BNP Paribas took control, and both CVC and the beleaguered Cognetas lost their entire investment in Chevrillon Philippe Industrie (CPI) to the company's lenders

On the other hand, the largest deal of the year is about to close, with debt and all the trimmings: Astorg Partners is set to complete its purchase of a 31.8% stake in Gras Savoye, an insurance broker, in a deal that values the company at nearly EUR450m, the largest of the year. As if the difficulties in financing such a transaction need to be highlighted, it took six months of efforts to gather nine banks to come up with the EUR165m of debt and put vendor loans in place (see page 27).

The most striking factor in the deal is that the financing package was put together in the first place. Certainly the banks have probably put in a number of clauses to minimise risk, but it is the first time in France this year that a deal with this amount of debt has been completed. At a time when it is hard to raise anything close to EUR50m in bank loans, what was even more remarkable was Astorg had two offers to syndicate the debt.

What better way to turn the page on 2009 and welcome the New Year? After a year that will no doubt rank among the worst for private equity for a long time, there is general optimism about what 2010 might bring and it is with these thoughts that I wish you all an enjoyable festive season and look forward to accompanying you on what is looking like a very exciting year.

Yours sincerely,

Francois Rowell

Editor, France unquote"

Tel: +44 20 7004 7524

francois.rowell@incisivemedia.com.