Busy month signals vacation season

With reference to LBO France, the main talking point still remains the Converteam deal and, to a certain extent, the Cegelec exit. In the light of the freak plus value generated by the Converteam buyout, Dominique Senequier, head of AXA Private Equity, sparked an interesting debate by suggesting that there should be a trickle down effect of these substantial riches to the company employees to the tune of up to 5%. The logic is not only to paint private equity in a more favourable light, but to reward employees who are effectively the core of the company's success and motivate them further.

Interestingly, for the sale of Cegelec, it seems the Qatari investment authority simply bypassed GPs funds and invested directly into the company of its choice. With sovereign funds keen to invest in European markets, could this direct approach of acquisition rather than an LP approach to investment be the start of a trend? According to the Coller Capital summer barometer, 58% of LPs think that sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) could be a significant threat to buyout houses over the next couple of years.

Following on from last month's focus on the potential of investment in PIPE deals, it seems PAI's stated interest at the time was a little understated. PAI took the step of creating Akkadia, a new investment vehicle, 50/50 with Philippe Guez, which is to focus solely on minority stakes in listed companies. This came on the heels of an interesting PIPE deal by PAI, which took a 17.9% stake in Atos Origin. What was unusual about that deal is that PAI was the original investor in the company. PAI's newly-acquired long-term stake makes it the majority shareholder in front of hedge funds Pardus and Centaurus Capital which between them own 23%. PAI's investment might be seen as some kind of white knight as it effectively throws a spanner in the works of any potential break-up plans for a quick sale that the two hedge funds may have harboured.

Finally, Partech International is back on track after a turbulent few months resulting from bitter in-house bickering among its US partners which had effectively resulted in a suspension of investments. Ultimately the instability saw the European wing of the business and its investors stage an MBO and gain its independence this month. The French office and the now settled US office will, however, still work very closely together on future investments.

Yours sincerely

Francois Rowell

Editor, France unquote"

Tel: +44 20 7004 7524

francois.rowell@incisivemedia.com.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• France