The perfect venture

01 November 2009

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As the autumn leaves fall and the winter months draw in, LPs have a reason to smile. Following on from last month's EUR2.6bn exit of Orangina by private equity behemoths Lion Capital and Blackstone, this month gives us another impressive exit - this time from the venture market

Fovea, a biotech company with no turnover, was sold to Sanofi-Aventis for the princely sum of EUR370m providing an impressive return for backers Sofinnova Partners, Abingworth Management, The Wellcome Trust, GIMV, Credit Agricole Private Equity and Forbion. For Sofinnova - which is still trying to hit its fundraising target - the exit, combined with the $700m sale of another biotech earlier in the year, CoreValve, is a welcome boost that will do it no harm in the eyes of LPs.

Meanwhile, the question of GP remuneration has reared its head again in France with calls to increase the taxation on carried interest, putting it in the same league as bonuses. GPs have been expressing their discontent on the issue. I asked Gonzague de Blignieres, president of Barclays Private Equity, to give me his views on the matter (page 17).

Elsewhere, the tag of war between PAI partners and their investors does not look to be nearing a conclusion, with LPs having different options on which course of action to take on the EUR5.4bn fund. While a number of LPs were willing to support the GPs' suggestion of a 50% increase to the fund, others are pushing for nearer to 70%.

Finally, to finish on a high note, according to the data from the Q3 unquote" Private Equity Barometer, produced in association with Candover, European private equity figures are up for the second quarter in succession with buyouts recording a particularly strong showing.

Yours sincerely,

Francois Rowell

Editor, France unquote"

Tel: +44 20 7004 7524

francois.rowell@incisivemedia.com.