UK - 3i Quoted to list

3i Group will list its new Quoted Private Equity arm on the London Stock Exchange in June. The firm will issue shares at £8, aiming to raise at least £400m in the offering. 3i Quoted Private Equity was set up to invest in listed companies and keep them on the public markets during the holding period. The fund will invest in up to a dozen companies over the next 18 months. The team behind it is headed by Alan MacKay, and calls on expertise from Richard Segal, former chief executive of the Financial Times, and Stephen Hill, formerly head of PartyGaming, as advisers. Tony Dalwood, Head of Public Equity at SVG Advisers revealed that this arrangement had been formulated some months ago, prior to 3i’s launch of Quoted Private Equity in November. ‘3i made a commitment to one of our funds back in September last year, following which 3i partner Alan MacKay joined the SVG advisory board.’ Dalwood stressed that the arrangement presents no conflict of interest, as SVG will not be influencing 3i’s investment decisions, and expects the relationship to be something of a quid pro quo. ‘They will come to us for advice, and if something presents itself in an area where 3i are well-placed we will go to them for advice’. However, he acknowledged that as the market develops SVG ‘may begin to encroach’ on the space in which 3i will be involved through QPE. 3i is the only private equity FTSE 100 company, and has a market cap of EUR 7.6bn.