State-backed BPI France pledges not to outbid PE firms

BPI France and private equity trade body Afic co-signed a charter of best practices during Afic's annual development capital conference in Paris earlier this week.

BPI France stated it will always look for external co-investors when called on to back businesses unable to attract private capital in the first place, even if the search is unlikely to be fruitful. The fund will also always appeal to traditional private equity and venture funds when sourcing an investment opportunity.

But notably, BPI France pledged never to outbid other private equity funds during auction processes. While BPI France will not look to join bidding consortiums during an auction, it will potentially submit independent co-investment offers after the auction completes.

These guidelines could go some way towards appeasing the local private equity and VC community, which often points out the risks of unfair competition given the financial clout of BPI France and its lower returns expectations.

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