Vault Career Guide to

Private Equity
• 2009 European Edition •

© 2009 Vault.com Ltd

Copyright © 2008 by Vault.com Ltd. All rights reserved.

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ISBN 13: 978-1-58131-598-1

ISBN 10: 1-58131-598-8

Printed in the United Kingdom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to all Vault staff for their help. Special thanks to our family and friends,
especially Angelina, Antoine, Ariana, Olivier, Andrew, Goncalo, Christelle and the
Candesic team.

We are also grateful to all the private equity fund managers who agreed to answer
our questions and complete our data.
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREAMBLE 1

THE SCOOP 3
CHAPTER 1: What is Private Equity? 4
Who invests 4
Other specific cases 8

CHAPTER 2: The Market 10

Industry statistics 10
Current trends and issues 12

GETTING HIRED 25
CHAPTER 3: Is It the Right Job for Me? 26
Comparison with other elite jobs 29
Lifestyles 32
Interview with a London director at 3i 33
Interview with former senior partner at London-based mid cap fund 34
Days in the life 35
Career paths 39

CHAPTER 4: The Hiring Process 40

Campus recruiting 40
Networking 41
Search firms 42
Websites 42
Preparing for the interview 42
PROFILES OF 37 REPRESENTATIVE PRIVATE EQUITY
FIRMS IN EUROPE 47
US-ORIGINATED GLOBAL FUNDS with direct presence in Europe 48
Advent International 48
Bain Capital 53
The Blackstone Group 57
The Carlyle Group 65
General Atlantic 71
Goldman Sachs Principal Investment Area 76
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) 81
TPG 87
PAN-EUROPEAN FUNDS 91
3i Group 91
Allianz Capital Partners /Allianz Private Equity Partners / Allianz AGF PRE 98
Apex Partners 103
AXA Private Equity 111
Barclays Private Equity 118
BC Partners 124
Bridgepoint Capital Ltd. 130
Candover 135
Cinven 140
CVC Capital Partners Limited 145
Doughty Hanson 151
Duke Street Capital 154
EQT Partners 157
Eurazeo 161
European Capital 164
Glide Investment Management 167
HgCapital 171
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Table of Contents
Industri Kapital 176
Montagu Private Equity 181
PAI Partners 184
Permira Advisers 188
TerraFirma 195
OTHER FUNDS with more regional focus 199
Englefield Capital 199
Exponent Private Equity 202
Investitori Associati 205
Mercapital 208
Sagard 211
MEZZANINE FUNDS 214
Intermediate Capital Group PLC 214
FUND-OF-FUNDS 218
Partners Group 218

SHORT PROFILES OF 200 OTHER PRIVATE EQUITY

FIRMS IN EUROPE 225
LBO, growth equity and diversified PE Funds 226
Mezzanine Funds 304
Distressed Funds 310
Secondary Funds 312
Fund of Funds 316

APPENDIX 335
RECOMMENDED READING 337
WEB RESOURCES 337
ACADEMIC SOURCES 337
INDUSTRY JARGON (glossary) 338
ABOUT THE AUTHORS 342
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

PREAMBLE

Preamble
his guide covers late stage private equity funds only, excluding venture

T capital. Using the Candesic database of private equity firms, we have

identified around 250 companies that meet the following criteria: a minimum
of €200-300 million of committed private equity investments in Europe. The list
includes LBO, growth capital, distressed, mezzanine funds and, to an extent, funds
of funds. The guide excludes sovereign funds, which are state owned pools of money,
as well as most of the real estate and infrastructure funds. Together and excluding the
funds of funds, the first 200 firms in our sample manage about €400 billion in
commitments and invested assets in Europe. (Including the assets outside of Europe
and the funds of funds, our sample reaches €900 billion in total commitments and
investments in private equity.)

We selected 37 firms that we deemed representative of Europe, not necessarily the

largest ones. This includes mostly direct LBO funds and a couple of examples in each
of the other categories. Selecting the top firms was not necessarily clear cut
considering the variety of situations occurring in an industry undergoing European
convergence. All the other firms included in the analysis are listed at the end of the
guide with key statistics and contact details.

1
THE SCOOP

CHAPTER ONE: What is Private Equity?

CHAPTER TWO: The Market
CHAPTER ONE: WHAT IS PRIVATE EQUITY?

s its name implies, private equity investing refers to investments in non-

A publicly traded assets. This encompasses a wide range of investments, from

small equity stakes in new ventures by so-called angel investors to highly
leveraged controlling equity investments in multi-nationals.

Who invests?

Most private equity funds are structured as limited partnerships with a life of
between five and ten years, with a General Partner and a Manager. The direct
investors, or ‘limited partners’, are mostly institutional investors who want to
diversify into alternative asset classes. This can also include funds of funds that allow
smaller investors access to the asset class. One of the big strengths of private equity
is that it closely aligns the interests of investors with those of the fund managers (the
general partners) and the management of the companies they invest in, as they
generally all have a substantial share of the equity.

PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTORS

Smaller Investors

Investors/GPs
(Institutions, HNWI) Funds of Funds

Investment Managers

PRIVATE EQUITY FUND

Company Management/Entrepreneur
Source: Candesic

How they make money

Private equity investors seek to recognise niches that offer attractive growth prospects, to
‘buy or build’ a well positioned player in that niche and to give that player the means to

4
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

perform better than its peers. In addition, at least in mature markets, they attempt to

Chapter One: What is Private Equity?

multiply their return by leveraging their investment, aided in recent years by low interest
rates. As a more difficult credit environment evolves and debtor protection increases, it is
likely that some poorly performing funds won’t be able to survive much longer.

Types of PE—segmentation by stage and product

The wider private equity sector can be divided into four distinct types of investment:
leveraged buyouts, venture capital, mezzanine financing and distressed debt. Some
firms will specialise in a single type of investment, while larger firms will often
provide a range of investment alternatives.

A leveraged buyout is the name given to an acquisition that is funded primarily

through debt. Public companies are often taken private, using large bank loans or
corporate bonds to acquire the firm’s outstanding equity. The practice was initially
pioneered in the 1970s by banking icons such as Henry Kravis, founder of KKR, and
has developed into an accepted industry standard.

In a leveraged buyout the management team is often given or allowed to purchase a

stake in the investment. This is done to incentivise the management team and align
their interests with the PE firm, who will trust the management team to look after
their investment for them. If the current management team is involved in buying the
company from existing owners, it is known as a management buyout, or MBO. When
the management team involved is an external group that replaces the existing
management, it is known as a management buy-in, or MBI.

Venture capital is a form of alternative investment that provides high risk equity to
early stage companies. The firms are typically entrepreneurial ventures that do not
have the steady cash flows or track record to raise money through bank loans and
public markets. To compensate, the venture capital firms expect very high returns on
their investments. It is sometimes the case that companies seeking venture capital
investment may have nothing more than a business plan, and therefore have a high
risk of failure. This inherent risk was particularly damaging during the dotcom crash,
as many of the tech companies that lost equity were backed by venture capital firms.
The mature part of venture capital is called “expansion capital”, and is often a side
activity of LBO funds.

Mezzanine finance is the term given to a layer of debt that is typically used to fill a gap
when structuring an LBO, which can be either in time, transaction structure or capital
structure. This level of debt can have many forms and can offer several advantages
over other forms of financing.

5
Distressed debt is a high risk form of debt given to a company that is financially distressed
or bankrupt. Distressed firms are typically very volatile and difficult to value, and
therefore present arbitrage opportunities for financial investors such as hedge funds.

TYPICAL BIG LBO FINANCING STRUCTURE (PRE-CRISIS)

Equity 30% Choice of high yield over

mezzanine can be led by:

Mezzanine 10%
• Market conditions
High yield 10% • Pricing
• Ease of issue
• Possible need to refinance

Senior debt 50%

Source: Candesic

Segmentation by style—direct investors, co-investors, secondary

funds and funds of funds

This book focuses on primary funds that invest directly into companies, either taking
a majority stake, so they can influence the management and decide on the strategy
of their asset, or investing alongside other funds (co-investors like Parallel in the UK).

Another category of private equity investing that is growing fast is the so-called
“secondary”, when a fund buys a portfolio of private equity assets or pre-existing
investor commitments to private equity.

While this activity is not new, the maturing of the industry and the market
downturn of 2000 led many historical private equity investors, often banks or
insurance companies, to withdraw from the private equity asset class. This in
turn led to the rapid growth of another segment of investors specialising in the
acquisition of these existing portfolios. Dedicated secondary funds concentrate
on acquiring all or part of the portfolios from other private equity funds. Within

6
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Chapter One: What is Private Equity?

this segment, secondary direct funds buy portfolios of direct investments. Many
large diversified funds include it in their activities. Finally, one can distinguish
between early and mature secondaries.

TOP 20 DIRECT PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS BY AuM IN EUROPE*

March 2008, €bn
(*Doesn’t include funds of funds)

90
86
80

70

60 Assets or commitments outside Europe

Assets allocated to European acquisitions

50

45
44

40
38
35 35
33
32
30 30

25
22
20 21
20
19

15

10 15 11 11 11 11
9 9 9 9 9 8.4 8 8 8
7
5 5.7 5 5 5 5

0
pin n
Pa rma

en
EQ e

PA ep hs
r e
ol C se
Pe ax
Te C ira

K s
ks s

st
Ind I Pa oint

D Ba A al
Ch C 3i

Br n S ital
Ap R

BC a Fi C

Ci T

H PE
gh lay E

Al nso
tri er
ac r
n

te lyl

ve
Bl rtne

AXapit
ou rc P
KK

G ain hou

idg ac
nv
to
rr V
rm

us rtn
ar ar

a p

ty s
a
dm a
B

Source: Candesic PE database

7
We also listed some of the major funds of funds in Europe. They simply invest in a
number of direct PE funds to diversify their risk.

Geographic segmentation: global, pan-European or regional players

in Europe

We also distinguish between major US funds attracted by the investment

opportunities in less mature European markets, pan-European funds that grew
beyond their country of origin and developed teams in major European cities,
and local funds that made the strategic decision to concentrate on their home
market or, like Canadian owned Sagard in France, on a geographic area of
common language. Most of the US funds, with the exception of Vestar, launched
their European operations out of London, and many still conduct them from
there.

Segmentation by financing: private vs. listed

We can roughly consider three forms of financing for private equity funds: internal
funding, for example through a parent company or a family office, limited
partnership with external institutional investors, and access to permanent capital
through public funding (3i, Blackstone, Eurazeo).

Other specific cases

A PIPE is a special type of private investment, where accredited investors are

privately invited to invest in a public company. The process has similar
characteristics to other forms of stock offerings, and is often used when a company
is having difficulty finding additional funding after an unconvincing IPO. The
securities sold can be common stock, convertible preferred stock or convertible notes,
and are normally sold at a discount due to their relative illiquidity.

Crossover funds are investment funds that attempt to fill the gap between private and
public equity investing. They combine private equity investing with strategic public
equity investing typically used by hedge funds, with a market risk somewhere in
between the two. There is a trend for hedge funds to allocate a portion of their fund
to private equity investments into “side pockets”, although typically this will only
make up around 10% and tends to be the money of the fund managers.

8
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Interval funds are somewhere between open and closed-end funds in that they do not

Chapter One: What is Private Equity?

provide daily liquidity, but have specified periods when shareholders are able to
redeem and distribute shares with the fund. During this time there will be an offer
to buy back a stated portion of shares from investors. Interval funds have proven
popular since being introduced in 1992 as they provide retail investors with access
to private equity investments with a degree of liquidity.

9
CHAPTER TWO: THE MARKET

rivate equity may well be the oldest form of financing. For a long time,

P merchant banks or early forms of family offices have been responsible for
organised venture capital. The major transformation, beginning in the 70s, has
been the adjunction of high yield (junk) debt to the financing of companies with
mature cash flows and the widespread use of leverage. In the last 30 years,
professional and mostly independent LBO firms have occupied a leading position in
the market. In the US as well as in the UK, the direct presence of investment and
commercial banks has been eroded as most internal funds have gained their
independence, often to reduce the risk of a conflict of interest with the increasingly
important clients of the banks. Today, banks are mostly present as General Partners
or co-investors and, with the notable exception of Goldman Sachs, the major players
are independent firms. The same process is happening now in the rest of Europe.

Industry statistics

In 2007, global private equity assets under management represented about $1.1
trillion, of which 700 billion were LBO funds (these figures, which seem rather
conservative, come from the McKinsey Global Institute’s “The New Power Brokers”,
which appeared in October 2007) . A year later, following a record fund raising of
more than $500 billion, research provider Private Equity Intelligence announced that,
with the sum of the undrawn money and portfolio company holdings, the private
equity industry had reached assets under management of $2 trillion and had the
firepower to acquire up to $2.4 trillion in enterprise value; despite the current
difficulties in the LBO segment, “[They] are predicting a $5 trillion industry over the
next five to seven years.”

The industry has experienced an average growth rate of 14 per cent since 2000. From
a demand perspective, the growth is fuelled by the strong and sustainable
performance of the best managers, by the ability of many institutional investors to
allocate a larger portion of their assets to the asset class and by the surge of new
investors like sovereign funds. From a supply perspective, there is more awareness
of the possibilities offered by private equity for companies in need of financing, and
a growing pool of experienced managers with the skills required to execute these
transactions.

Of course, as we publish this guide (late 2008), and after a year of depressed markets,
culminating in a financial crisis, that have halted the most visible transactions, it is
difficult to merely describe the boom of the past seven years. We may be in the midst
of a bust, but we don’t think the fundamental attractiveness of the private equity
model has changed, and would argue for a temporary correction of the recent excess.

10
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Chapter Two: The Market

EUROPE-PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS RAISED AND INVESTED
€bn, equity commitments to and worldwide investments by
European PE funds

100 100

90 90

80
72 71
70 70

60

50
48
47
45

40 40
Commitments raised
37
35 Funds invested
35
29 28
28 - The recent fast growth of
30 30
commitments has led to an
27 overhang with too many investors
25 25
24 chasing too few deals
20
20 20 - One of the consequences is a
20
19 rush towards bigger deals

15 15
- Another possible consequence
is a more relaxed approach to risk
10 10 15 11 11 and an expected decrease in the
8 9 9 9 9 9 overall performance
8.4
7
5

0
19 6

20 9
19 8

00

20 1

20 4
02

06
07
05
20 3
97
9

9
9

0
0
19

19

20

20
20
20

Source: EVCA; Perep & Preqin (2007); Candesic

Employment statistics

In terms of employment, PE remains a niche; the top 50 PE firms worldwide employed

less than 4,000 investment professionals in 2007. If we add the smaller firms, the venture
capital and the family offices, we may reach 20,000 investment professionals, of which

11
we estimate 7,000 are based in Europe. According to the Candesic database, the top
240 PE firms operating in Europe currently employ about 4,000 investment
professionals. These numbers look particularly low when compared to the millions of
people employed at the companies owned by the private equity funds.

EUROPEAN PRIVATE EQUITY FUND MANAGERS BY

COUNTRY OR REGION

European private equity fund managers by country

Other 2% Spain 6%

Eastern Europe 3% Nordic 7%

Switzerland 4% Germany 10%

Benelux 4% France 17%

Italy 5% UK 42%

Source: Candesic PE Database

Current trends and issues

After two decades of relative confidentiality, the private equity industry has come
under increased scrutiny from the media, politicians and the general public. Among
the major concerns, the excessive debt levels seem to be losing importance as debt
providers now refuse the extreme conditions demanded by PE investors before the
summer 2007. The public disclosure of the huge compensations that successful
partners can achieve (e.g., Blackstone) has raised questions and sometimes fierce
critics. Other concerns include the lack of transparency and accountability, as well as
a sometimes narrow sense of fiduciary duty. The industry regularly stands accused
of profiteering and asset-stripping. This seems to be an unfair accusation, as most
studies showed—at least until recently—that private equity backed companies create
more jobs than their public equivalents. A meta-review of 12 existing studies by A.T.
Kearney claimed that private equity created 600,000 jobs in the United States between
2000 and 2003. But critics point out that the report didn’t distinguish buyouts from
venture capital.

In France, a study made by accounting firm Constantin for the French Association of
Private Equity Investors (AFIC) on more than 100 French companies undergoing

12
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

LBOs showed that their headcount grew by 4.1 per cent per annum (with 78 per cent

Chapter Two: The Market

of it from new jobs and 22 per cent from external growth), whereas the national
average was only 0.6 per cent. This growth was partnered with salaries increasing by
3.3 per cent per annum vs. 2.9 per cent on average and other elements of
remuneration being on average better developed and more attractive for all LBO
employees.

Similar studies in Germany (“Economic Impact of private Equity in Germany”, F.A.Z

Institute, 2004) and in the UK (“Employment Contribution of Private Equity and
Venture Capital in Europe”, Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies in London, 2005) led
to similar findings. (The 2005 study by the Center for Entrepreneurial and Financial
Studies (CEFS) for the EVCA claims that more than 400,000 net jobs were created in
Europe by buyout-financed companies between 2000 and 2004. SEIU (Service
Employees International Union) warn that the study’s claims are based on self-
reported information from a small set of portfolio companies—just 99 out of more
than 1,400 companies that underwent a buyout during the period studied.)

In January 2008, by commission of the World Economic Forum, Josh Lerner from
Harvard and Steven Davis from Chicago published the most extensive study to date
regarding the issue. It is also unique in that it is not suspected of having any bias or
external influences. Reviewing 5,000 US transactions from 1980 through 2005, they
find that companies owned by private equity funds have a net reduction of their
workforce of 1 per cent over two years. This differs from the positive result of another
study commissioned by the Private Equity Council, a lobbyist group, which showed
that employment at privately acquired firms grew by more than 8 per cent, but was
later dismissed by many academics as biased. The World Economic Forum study
doesn’t examine what would have happened to the jobs had the transaction not
occurred. They also find that these firms default slightly more often than the average
public firm, but only half as much as those with similar leveraging.

In order to address the transparency and profiteering concerns, in 2007 the BVCA
announced the formation of “an independent working party under the
Chairmanship of Sir David Walker to draw up a voluntary code on a ‘comply or
explain’ basis to address the transparency of the industry and levels of disclosure”.
Twenty-three private equity firms operating in the UK issued a statement to support
this initiative, including Apax, BC Partners, Barclays Private Equity Ltd., The
Blackstone Group, Bridgepoint, Candover, The Carlyle Group, Charterhouse,
Cinven, CVC, Doughty Hanson, Exponent Private Equity, Hermes Private Equity,
HgCapital, ISIS EP LLP, KKR, Legal & General Ventures Ltd., Lyceum Capital,
Montagu Private Equity, Permira, Terra Firma Capital Partners Ltd., TPG and 3i.

13
 Main Private Equity Firms Are Giant Conglomerates
# of Companies Total
PE FIRM Employees AuM
in portfolio turnover

KKR 40 $102bn 560,000 $86bn

Blackstone 45 $72bn 350,000 $32+60bn*

Carlyle 200 $87bn 280,000 $75bn

Bain Capital 660,000 $50bn

Apax 180 $35bn

TPG $65bn 300,000 $30bn

Permira $30bn

GS Capital Partners 1,000,000 $30bn

CVC 53 $55bn 430,000 $29bn

Cerberus 360,000 $22bn

Providence Equity 86,000 $21bn

Thomas H. Lee Partners 390,000 $20bn

Apollo 100 300,000 $16bn

Warburg Pincus 50 375,000 $15bn

General Atlantic $14bn

* $60bn in other asset classes Source: press search; SEIU; Candesic analysis

The credit crunch

Leverage in the buyout industry reached an all time high in 2007, which led to an
increasingly lenient approach to risk, with a flourishing of so-called “covenant-lite”
debt financing. Debt providers finally started to object and refuse the conditions
dictated by the buyout funds. The situation may have arisen in the US but spread
immediately to Europe. In June 2007, banks were left sitting on £5bn of debt from the
financing of Alliance Boots, the UK pharmaceutical retailer acquired by KKR. This
signaled a severe correction of both leverage levels and the conditions associated
with the loans. This was further confirmed during the summer of 2007, when the
tightening of the world credit markets led to major collapses in the hedge fund
industry where the effect of this credit adjustment is more immediately visible.

14
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

In spite of a record first half year in 2007, the total value of buyouts between August

Chapter Two: The Market

and October 2007 was 60 per cent lower than during the same period in 2006. In the
months leading up to the second quarter of 2008, the situation has further
deteriorated and many insiders acknowledge that they don’t expect to close many
transactions during the year. One immediate consequence is the general impact on
the investment banking business. Before the credit crisis, investment banks could
earn up to 25 per cent of their fee income from advisory related to private equity
firms; this number has fallen to around 10 per cent with a direct impact on the banks’
profitability.

For private equity firms involved in major transactions that they cannot easily finance
anymore, it is tempting to try and renegotiate terms or simply withdraw their offer.
But invoking the “material adverse change” clause doesn’t work well and the break
up fee can be heavy.

One likely consequence will be that private equity funds will have more difficulty
competing against strategic investors as their access to cheap financing will be
limited. This in turn will contribute to lower returns. According to the McKinsey
Global Institute, “firms that have relied more on leverage than skill may shut down”.
This is more the case for mega buyouts which are more likely to rely on financial
engineering for value creation.

Regional differences
The private equity industry has historically grown first in Anglo-Saxon countries. In
Europe, the UK still represents about a third of the activity. While countries like
France or Spain have had substantial growth in the recent years, the economic,
regulatory and cultural environment remains more favourable in Northern Europe.
This hasn’t prevented funds from expanding throughout Europe, but they recognise
the strong cultural differences.

Even in the UK, supposedly the friendliest place in Europe, public perception about
private equity deteriorated in 2007 following widely publicised critics of the attractive
tax status General Partners enjoy. The subsequent reform of the tax system is more
likely to penalise entrepreneurs, for whom the system was originally designed, than
improve public perception.

This hostility has resonated elsewhere in Europe. The industry’s negative reputation
is relatively new and differs from country to country. In Germany, the term “locusts”
was famously used in 2005 by the leader of the Social Democrats and again by the
former CEO of Deutsche Boerse in his vitriolic book Invasion of the Locusts, after an
activist fund led to his departure. This has tainted the industry’s reputation ever

15
since. It is tempting for politicians to use private equity firms as scapegoats, and it is
all the more easily done when some players carry out transactions with an approach
that is considered too aggressive, in a country where social consensus has dominated
for fifty years. In spite of that, Apax still considers Germany a friendlier environment
for private equity than France, all of Southern Europe and even Norway.

PRIVATE EQUITY ENVIRONMENT RANKINGS IN EUROPE

2007 grades

5.0
4.8

4.5

4.0
3.8 3.8 3.8
3.5

3.0 3.1

2.5 2.6 2.6

2.0 1.9
1.8

1.5 1.5 1.4

1.0 1.1
Czech Rep.

Hungary
Portugal

Slovakia

Greece
Poland

0.5
Spain

Italy

0
Belgium
Ireland

Norway
Finland
UK

Germany
Denmark

NL
CH
Sweden

France
Austria

-0.3

-0.5
-1

-1.0

-1.5
-1.9
-2.1 -2.2
-2.0
-2.5
-2.7
-2.5
-3.0
-3.0

Source: Apax

16
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Costs and performance

"On balance, private equity increases efficiency," says economist Steven Kaplan of

Chapter Two: The Market

the University of Chicago.

According to a study he conducted in 2005 with Antoinette Schoare from MIT, large
buyouts consistently outperform public stocks. More precisely, they exceed those of
the S&P 500 gross of fees and equal them net of fees. However, this depends on the
sample and the period considered. There are a couple of limitations in the assessment
of the industry performance, starting with the access to sufficient data, the selection
bias between good and poor performers and the general accuracy of the valuation of
the assets still in the portfolio. Some other studies have shown more mixed results—
over the last ten years US buyouts could have outperformed the stock market (though
whether this can be proven is something of a grey area)—but buyouts seem to be an
attractive asset class for limited partners and individual investors through their pension
plans. They could also have a beneficial impact on the economy with net job creations.

When looking more closely at their results, Kaplan and Schoar find “a large degree of
heterogeneity among fund returns. Returns persist strongly across funds raised by individual
private equity partnerships. The returns also improve with partnership experience. They also
find that market entry in the private equity industry is cyclical. Funds [and partnerships]
started in boom times are less likely to raise follow-on funds, suggesting that these funds
subsequently perform worse. Aggregate industry returns are lower following a boom, but
most of this effect is driven by the poor performance of new entrants, while the returns of
established funds are much less affected by these industry cycles.” (This is from Kaplan and
Schoar’s 2004 “Private Equity Performance: Returns, Persistence and Capital Flows”.)

Nevertheless, a 2008 report by Thomson Financial for the EVCA shows that European
private equity firms achieved a 15.9 per cent five-year rolling IRR, against 14.5 per
cent for US buyout groups, and expects the short-term performance of private equity
funds to remain very strong.

Taxation

General partners in private equity funds have been increasingly criticised for paying
a very low amount of taxes on their revenue. Until 2008, carried interests were taxed
at the level of capital gains at 15 per cent in the US and at a special level of 10 per cent
in the UK. This is an unintended result of the original attempt to support the
financing of risky ventures by private equity, by the so-called venture capitalists.
Today, when 75% of the capital is invested in buyouts where, by definition, cash
flows are relatively stable and predictable, this tax treatment appears generous to

17
many. In October 2007, the UK government announced their decision to raise the rate
to 18 per cent, a measure that should be limited enough to prevent a massive exodus
of funds. In the US, major players have lobbied hard to kill a Senate bill and a measure
by the House of Representatives that would increase the taxation of carried interests
to 35 per cent or more instead of 15 per cent. They are now trying to at least double
the five year grace period contained in the draft proposal and to ensure that all private
equity firms will be treated equally, including those who went public.

The competition

• Cooperation and competition with hedge funds

Hedge funds are similar to private equity funds in many respects.

They have similar organisational and to an extent compensation structures,

they are often highly leveraged; they offer high performance and seemingly
lower correlation to other asset classes; they need to raise funds from
institutional investors, they attract top talent; and they are increasingly
accused of being too lightly regulated.

They differ mostly from each other in their time horizon and the liquidity
of their investments. PE funds invest primarily in very illiquid assets and
lock their investors for the entire term of the fund. This leads to differences
in the asset valuation, in the timing of performance compensation, in the
exit strategies and ultimately in the motivation of the management of the
target companies. But, while most hedge funds pursue absolute returns and
invest in very liquid assets, their search for new alpha leads them to build
their own PE funds where they can hold “side-pocket” investments. In 2007,
PE represented about 10% of hedge funds’ investments.

In the competition with PE, hedge funds tend to benefit from having a
variety of people with expertise in different places within the capital
markets chain.

Activist hedge funds make direct bets when they demand board seats after
building a position in a company. Many hedge funds have entered the
LBOmarket, first as mezzanine providers. At the same time, distressed
hedge funds compete with their PE counterparties, and the shorter
investment horizon becomes less obvious a difference.

Finally, in general, hedge funds are pushing into less liquid markets such
as mid-caps to compensate for the lower returns in their traditional fields.
Lately, hedge funds are starting to hire PE managers, and PE funds have to
18
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Chapter Two: The Market

increase the salaries of their mid-ranking managers. One difficulty PE
employers may face when retaining their managers is that they have to wait
many years for the realisation of their investment before they receive their
carry, while hedge fund managers get their performance every year.

While their core businesses remain quite distinct, hedge funds and private equity are
now experiencing a melt down in most periphery segments.

• Other competitors

Government-sponsored principal investors (Dubai, China) and large family

offices represent a further inflow of liquidity that targets the biggest assets,
sometimes competing with the biggest PE funds, sometimes partnering with
them in club deals, and lately buying stakes in the funds directly. Sovereign
funds can disturb the market as they don’t have the same performance
requirements or culture. Many of them need to find ways to invest the huge
amounts of money they manage and are less concerned with the risks they
are taking. Insiders mention that, on several occasions, some well-known
sovereign investors have started their due diligence after the acquisition!

The $100bn ticket

Since the buyout of RJR-Nabisco by KKR in 1989, mega LBOs remained rather rare.
But, since 2005, the major funds have multiplied their acquisitions of assets with an
enterprise value above $10bn. There were 27 of them in the period ending August
2007, of which four were in Europe, if we include infrastructure deals. In real dollars,
the previous RJR-Nabisco record was finally beaten in 2007 with the $44bn
acquisition of TXU by KKR and TPG. Shortly after, the $50bn mark was almost
reached with the buyout of BCE, a Canadian company. By June 2007, the major LBO
funds had accumulated so many commitments that a $100bn acquisition by a
consortium was ready to happen at any time. This is less likely in the medium term,
following the financial markets turmoil that started in the summer of 2007.

In Europe, after VNU in the Netherlands ($11bn), Wind in Italy ($13bn) and TDC in
Denmark ($14bn), the mega deals continued with the first buy-out of a FTSE100
company, when KKR bought Alliance Boots for $24bn in 2007. More mega deals
could well happen once the markets have settled, with targets like Sainsbury’s
regularly featuring in the media; in November 2007, Delta Two, which invests on
behalf on the Qatar Investment Authority, terminated discussions to buy the retailer
for £13.4bn.

19
 LBOs WITH EV>$10bn

50 BCE

45 TXU (KKR+TPG)

40
HCA (Bain + KKR + ML)

35

30 30
Hilton(Blackstone)
25 Alltel (TPG+GS)
Alliance Boots (KKR)

20

15 - Largest Deal in Europe

10 15 11 11
9 9 9 9 9 8.4

0
1

4
3

1
2

1
3

1
3
4
2
4

4
3
2

2
Q

Q
Q

Q
Q

Q
Q

Q
Q
Q
Q
Q

Q
Q
Q

2005 2006 2007 2008

Source: Candesic

Private goes public

Ironically, private equity funds have come to realise that public money offers several
advantages: it is a permanent source of capital and most small shareholders are
unlikely to be actively tracking the fund’s activities. In 2007, Blackstone made the
headlines when it went public and raised $4 billion through an IPO. They were not
the first ones but certainly the most publicised. Several other funds were planning a
similar move, starting with KKR, which will most likely IPO on the NYSE. The
degradation of the environment since the summer 2007 and the disastrous

20
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Chapter Two: The Market

performance of the Blackstone shares have halted most ambitious plans. Like
Blackstone, listed PE vehicles in Europe have been slammed by the market: shares
of 3i, Altamir (Apax France), Candover Investments, Eurazeo or KKR Amsterdam
have lost 25 to 50 per cent of their value in less than a year.

Overhang

In private equity jargon, overhang refers to unused (uncalled) capital commitments.

It is somewhat similar to “dry powder”, which refers more generally to the cash
reserves kept on hand to cover future obligations. In March 2008, Goldman Sachs
estimated at $400 billion the amount of uninvested capital raised by private equity
firms. With the tightening of the credit markets and the temporary death of mega
LBOs and club deals, it becomes difficult to invest. Putting the money to work is a
condition to charge the management fees on a continuous basis, which may explain
some of the recent appetite for buying stakes in public companies. Another issue is
the impact on the asset allocation plans of the institutional investors, if the capital
remains in cash for too long.

Exits

In their yearly report commissioned by the EVCA, Perep Analytics recognise seven
exit categories for private equity investments: trade sale, repayment of shares or
loans, secondary buyouts, initial public offerings, sale of quoted equity, write-offs
and sales to financial institutions. In 2007, secondary buyouts reached a record 30 per
cent of all exits and, for the first time since at least 1992, overtook trade sales by value
of total divestiments.

According to a fund manager in London, “Write-offs are kept artificially low for
reputation reasons; it it often tempting to merge a hopeless dog with a better run
company as long as there is limited risk to damage the better one”.

What’s next

So, what’s next? Prior to the September 2008 crisis, returns were already mixed, high
leverage ratios seemed out of the question, mega LBOs were delayed if not cancelled,
and still, the market was expected to continue to grow at a significant pace, albeit
slightly slower than previous predictions. In a September 2007 conference, Carlyle’s
David Rubinstein said that the average holding period is likely to rise from four to
six years. For a while, targets are going to be smaller as big groups are tempted into

21
the middle market. Firms like Blackstone, Cerberus and KKR with its Capstone unit
will leverage their strong restructuring experience and target more distressed assets.
However, ultimately, institutional investors are unlikely to lose their appetite for the
industry and the McKinsey Global Institute forecasts a further increase of global
private equity assets under management to $1.4bn by 2012, a doubling in five years.
Citigroup expects private equity to soon overtake property and hedge funds as the
most popular alternative investment for pension funds. In a keynote address at the
2008 Wharton conference, David Rubinstein, again, reckoned that Private Equity will
now spend a year or so in “purgatory” before entering the “platinum age”, an even
greater period of expansion than the “golden age” it went through in the last five
years. For Rubinstein, returns will remain strong and Private Equity will remain
attractive to investors “because the techniques used by sponsors to improve
companies have been proven to work, including giving management a stake in the
companies they run”. In the first half of 2008, the mid market showed its resilience.

22
GETTING HIRED

CHAPTER THREE: Is it the Right Job For Me?

CHAPTER FOUR: The Hiring Process
CHAPTER THREE: IS IT THE RIGHT JOB FOR ME?

P
rivate equity is a relatively new industry. While the activity has been around
for centuries, as long as wealthy investors have been able to acquire stakes in
private companies, it is only in the last few decades that it has become an
industry, with a typical organization and business model and the recruiting of
professionals at undergraduate, graduate and experienced levels. From our
interviews, private equity in Europe has clearly become more competitive as teams
compete directly within and across countries for the same assets. Because the
competition is more global, the recruiting tends to be more competitive and

PROFILES OF 4,000 PE FUND MANAGERS IN EUROPE (Higher Diploma)

Bachelor only 31%

Unknown or none 11%

PhD/JD/MD 5%

MBA 25%

Master 28%

Source: Candesic PE database, January 2008

PROFILES OF 4,000 PE FUND MANAGERS IN EUROPE

(Most significant previous job)

Asset management 3%
Strategy & management consulting 10%
PE 11%
Audit & transaction services 10%
Banking 11%
Investment Banking 24%
None 11%
Other 20%
Source: Candesic PE database, January 2008

26
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

international candidates with language skills are targeted.The industry has grown very

Chapter Three: Is it the Right Job For Me?

fast, but its attractiveness has grown even faster. Our database shows that more than
60 per cent of the investment professionals have an MBA, a PhD or another advanced
degree. Those who only have an undergraduate degree tend to be younger analysts,
especially in the UK where it is common to start working after a bachelor’s degree.
The institutions represented are—no surprise—the top universities in Europe (typically
top 5-10 universities in each country) and top 15 global programs for MBA graduates.
Globally, INSEAD, Harvard, Cambridge, HEC and Oxford are the most represented
academic institutions across all the professionals, accounting together for about 20 per
cent of them. Bocconi is the clear challenger to the group of five and sometimes seems
to be the sole local provider of managers in Italy. Other institutions that have
substantial amounts of graduates in the industry tend to be the best business and
economic schools in each big European country: Stockholm School of Economics,
London School of Economics, St. Gallen, ESCP-EAP, London Business School.

TOP UNIVERSITIES ATTENDED Number of professionals*

*Double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

250

210
204
200

177
170 168

150

104
100

72 72
69 66
62 61 59 57
50 49 49
44 42 42
38 37 37

0
n

ich
en
en
pe m
bia
AD

r
ris
ine
e

AP
i

rd
E
rd

te
rto

iqu
EC

on
idg

lyt BS
or

SS

Co urha
LS

all
SE

ag

Pa

un

fo
va

um

es
ph
-E
SE

cc
xf

ha
H

hn
L
br

G
nh
ES

an
ar

ch

M
CP

IEP
au
O

Bo
IN

l
W

D
m

ec
Co

St
H

St
an
D
Ca

ES

M
Po

Source: Candesic PE database, January 2008

27
However, the vast majority of graduates do not start their career in private equity:
they will first get their training in related areas of advisory or in top management
positions.

Most investment managers have started their career in another area: the Candesic
database shows that less than 20 per cent of private equity fund managers started
their career in private equity (11 per cent at their current employer and the rest at a
previous PE firm). Out of the other 80 per cent, half of them worked in investment
banking or other areas of banking, especially leveraged finance, and 20 per cent
worked outside of the finance industry. More than 10 per cent of all fund managers
had previous experience in strategy consulting, and the same percentage came from
audit and transaction services (note that the numbers don’t add up to 100 per cent
because many fund managers had several jobs previously). The most frequent
previous employers are PWC, McKinsey and the top tier US investment banks.

MOST FREQUENT FORMER EMPLOYERS

Number of professionals

150
Private equity

138
Investment banking

Strategy consulting
120

109 Audit & transaction services

95
93
90
86

77
74
71 70
65 64
60
57
53
51 51
46 46 45 44
41

30

0
up

Br se
Er P P e

ro
An an

N rs
s
n
in

ch
s

nk
G an S sey
an ley

he g
M Mc C

D S
Ci G
Ar JP M G

hm t i
t & ba
tt
ch

Le red 3
rse

AB the
UB
Ba

an Suis

Am
ur org
PW

ro
yn

BC
M

BN eloi

Ba
eu You
dm tan

ns ari
Sa
n

de

tig
KP
or Ki

lL

o
ril

i
tsc
er
g

C
ol

th

Source: Candesic PE database, January 2008

28
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Chapter Three: Is it the Right Job For Me?

Most fund managers tell us they like their job, the diversity of activities, the team of
like minded brilliant professionals, the opportunity to work closely with executives,
and the perks. They also tell us that they work harder than they did ten or twenty
years ago; low hanging fruits have disappeared in developed countries. New risks
appear and limited partners become more and more sophisticated. The industry is
also more likely to be hit by global economic downturns. The most recent example
is how the 2007 US subprime mortgage crisis has led to a sudden and complete halt
of all multi-billion dollar LBOs. Many mega funds have quickly dispatched their
fund managers to work on improving the existing portfolio companies. Part of the
stress is also linked to the performance dependant reward model; managers get their
share of the profits only after the PE fund sells the company, typically three to seven
years after the investment. A prolonged recession with limited exit opportunities can
destroy most of the expected remuneration. A recent BVCA report showed that only
50 per cent of the private equity firms in the UK paid out a carry to their managers.
In addition, the access to the carry is long and becoming longer at those firms that can
pay it: it takes an average of seven years to be promoted to partner, and another
seven years to gain full access to the carry. For all these reasons, one should expect
the staff turnover—so far extremely low—to increase in the private equity industry
like in any other maturing industry.

English is the common language, but in most European countries, fluency in the local
language is necessary to interact with the management team of a local private firm.
There are exceptions at both ends of the private equity spectrum, whether dealing
with high tech start-ups set up by highly educated PhDs or on the mega LBOs of
firms with global operations.

Finally, private equity doesn’t appear to be an “equal opportunity”area. Unlike in

many other areas of asset management, women represent only 10 per cent of
investment professionals and 11 per cent of all professionals (which includes CFOs,
COOs and those engaged in business development, fundraising and risk
management). In addition they are found proportionally less often in senior
positions. Pessimists will question their chances to get promoted against men.
Optimists will explain it by an improved access at junior level: women represent 15
per cent of the analysts and associates.

Comparison with other elite jobs

A significant proportion of private equity fund managers got their initial professional
experience in investment banking. They appreciate moving into jobs that give them
a better lifestyle and often better compensation. As one insider says, “now, I am the
client of my former colleagues and I feel like I can set the pace”. The IB background
is essential as fund managers end up developing their own valuation models that
they rarely share with their advisors.

29
Like management consulting, private equity offers the opportunity to work across
industries and geographies on various management issues, in direct contact with the
top management and other professionals. Numerous insiders coming from
management consulting see their move as a natural career progression, with the
advantage of being closer to the real operations of the companies in their portfolio,
and the opportunity to participate directly to the implementation or monitoring of
implementation of the strategy. Some consultants, especially those who didn’t have
prior significant line experience, become frustrated after years of advising top
executives and feel the need to “do things by themselves”.

The MD of a French mid cap fund states that “one of my great joys is to coordinate the
various advisors. It can be a lot of work, but they are generally the ones who keep
working late a long time after I left the office”. While this may be an extreme situation, it
is certain that the private equity fund manager doesn’t have to report to the limited
partners the way top executives in public companies report to their shareholders.

The skills required in most hedge funds are somewhat different. This is mainly due
to the timeframe of the investment: hedge funds get in and out of an investment
within months, weeks, sometimes days. Quantitative skills are often more developed
and required. One can say that, on average, private equity roles are more well
rounded and come with more variety in the day to day job. There are however many
common features: the small team of bright professionals, often with international
backgrounds, the exceptional remuneration opportunities and the high flexibility
being close to the top of the value chain.

Understanding the jobs: The investment process and the roles in

the private equity firm
Most private equity firms are small (roughly 10-20 people for each billion dollars
under management) and organised along the same lines, with a relatively heavy
senior investment team supported by a few juniors, an individual or a small team in
charge of fund raising, operating partners who can advise, second or take over the
management of the portfolio companies, and a very light support staff (as most non-
core activities are outsourced). Senior fund managers are likely to be involved in most
steps of the private equity investment process. In new or in smaller funds, they are
also likely to participate in fundraising.

The only job that varies significantly from one firm to the next is deal origination.
Some firms have a dedicated person or team and most will leverage the entire senior
team. In certain firms they have to develop their own network to identify early
investment opportunities. In any case, this is always encouraged as early
identification and exclusive access to deals is one of the main drivers of performance.

30
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Chapter Three: Is it the Right Job For Me?

INVESTMANT PROCESS OF PRIVATE EQUITY FIRMS

Fund raising Post- Exit

Deal sourcing Acquisition
acquisition Management

• Investment • Networking • Prioritsation of • Portfolio • Vendor due

strategy • Identification opportunities Monitoring dilligence
• Investors of investment • Due diligence • Portfolio and • Valuation
hunting opportunities • Set up of company • Partial or total
• Set up funds • Preliminary financial management divestment
investigation structure - Optimisation through
• Valuation of operations - IPO
• GP agreement - Reorganisation - Trade sale
• Investment - M&A - Secondary sale
Committee - Strategic - Write-off
decision review
• Contract
preparation
Source: Candesic

• Deal sourcing. Fund managers will assess the various opportunities brought by
investment bankers, brokers and other contacts in their networks. Typically, no
more than 25 per cent of the deals are proprietary—the rest comes from the bankers
(50 per cent) and from affiliated funds or advisors (25 per cent). Some firms have
a thorough process of monitoring thousands of public and private companies to
identify underperformers or companies with non-core assets and excess costs. Most
big firms will have to analyse hundreds of targets.

• Due diligence. During the due diligence, they will select and monitor their various
advisors (investment bankers, lawyers, accountants, management consultants and
other specialised advisors), often leaving the investment bankers with the
responsibility of coordinating the team.

In a fund of funds, the due diligence will be more targeted at the financial
performance and investment process of the fund. Managers will conduct most of the
diligence themselves.

• Financial structure. The fund manager will discuss the financial structure and the
use of leverage with the debt and mezzanine finance providers. They may have to
get approval from the General Partners.

31
• Investment Committee. Often working within a team, the fund manager will put
together the various elements of the investment case and will submit it to the
investment committee, composed of the senior partners and some of their advisors.

• Acquisition. Once the case is agreed upon internally, the team can make a binding
offer to the vendor. If it is accepted, the acquisition proceeds, and may last three to
six months, with the due diligence likely to continue in the background.

• Post-acquisition. The performance of the companies in the portfolio is constantly

monitored and actions are taken if the results deviate from the tight plan that was
agreed upon with the management. Some firms will just have a fund manager
sitting on the board of the company; some will delegate one of their employees to
work with the executive team; others will put entire teams of operational
consultants to work.

• Exit. After a period of three to seven years, the portfolio company should have
repaid a substantial part of its debt. Hopefully, the new company has a reasonable
leverage ratio and can be sold with a handsome profit to the public through an
IPO, to another PE firm, or to a strategic investor through a trade sale. In recent
years, numerous secondary and tertiary transactions have occurred, when further
growth in the ownership of a bigger private equity firm is considered the best
option, i.e., the option that maximises the current value of the portfolio company.

The firm will hire an investment bank to manage the sale process and prepare an
Information Memorandum (IM). It will generally hire accountants to prepare the
Vendor Financial Due Diligence document, and sometimes consultants for the Vendor
Commercial Due Diligence document.

Lifestyle

Private equity can be demanding. Like other high-paying jobs, it comes with a lot of
stress. One French Managing Director observes that the globalisation of the business
makes life more difficult than it was 20 years ago, when nobody knew what private
equity was. “We were a small club of professionals and had plenty of opportunities.
Now we compete against the world for every asset”. However, since most of the fund
managers have had a previous experience in consulting, leveraged finance or
investment banking, the transition to private equity is generally very satisfying: “You
have fewer hours, less hierarchy, you work more for yourself, and you direct the
work of others”, remarks a former M&A banker.

32
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Chapter Three: Is it the Right Job For Me?

Interview of a London director at 3i

– What do you like most about PE?

PE work is a daily challenge. I love being an entrepreneur.

– What do you dislike about PE?

The time pressure can be pretty intense!

– What recommendations would you give to a graduate interested in PE?

It is important to have previously worked in a different environment. There are basically three
options. I believe experience in transactions services (Big 4 accounting) is great you gain excellent
analytical financial skills. People who worked in investment banking have great technical skills
(What is a good/bad investment?) but regarding their entrepreneurial mind-set, they can sometimes
have difficulties. I believe that the most important skills are the soft skills—hard skills can be learnt,
but PE is a people business. My main role is communicating with the management. We need to build
personal relationships in order to influence the decision-making process from an informal
perspective. These types of skills are best learnt at a strategy consultancy.

– What does the team structure look like?

3i, for example, has small teams of 3-4 PE fund managers and boosts the teams during project
phases with external legal, tax, strategy and finance consultants. But companies like Permira
or Cinven staff their teams with up to 10 people.

– How do you work together with the management of acquired companies?

First of all I sit on the board of the company. There is always a formal and an informal role.
The formal role includes that we are a part of the organisation. We are not consultants, we are
shareholders. The informal role includes personal relationships with the management. These
relationships are often the key to making a good decision together.

– What role does pressure play in the daily work of PE fund managers? Please explain
from an internal (teamwork) and external (work with management of acquired
companies) point of view.

The pressure is positive as long as the projects are going well. If the fund is losing money
from that investment then the pressure increases significantly. It is even worse than for an
entrepreneur. It is the money of the partnership and they are all alpha-people who do not like
to lose money. Fortunately, in my ten years in PE I have never had that situation.

33
– What are the exit strategies?

Normally you do not want to exit unless you want to retire. Some people leave PE after a
major mistake. The few that do leave have a lot of opportunities though, for example as a CEO
or CFO. Our PE firm offers fund managers the possibility to move into one of our portfolio
companies which can be interesting. However it is always a psychological problem for senior
PE fund managers to work again as employees. The mindset is different and the change is
often very difficult.

Interview with a former senior partner at London-based mid-cap fund

– What do you like most about PE?

PE is a hectic industry with lots of eagerness. Throughout the three steps of the private equity
investment process (fundraising, transforming company, selling) there are a lot more areas
involved: legal side, financial side, strategic side…

– What recommendations would you give to a graduate interested in PE?

The corporate finance area of a bank is a good way of starting with PE because mainly the same
tasks are involved. When you work as a management consultant, it is always the same as one
aspect of PE you will experience: the commercial due diligence.

It would be good if consultancies could put their PE guys to work for a while within private
equity companies so that they would get the whole picture.

The best way to go into PE is to begin with a start-up PE firm. That way you grow into the
process. Working in PE should be at least for 15 years. Normally it takes up to 10 years to
fundraise and to build the portfolio and, basically, in the last 5 years you will make the
money.

Fundraising for our company meant 25 people working 5 years until we had 200 million
pounds together.

– What are the exit strategies?

It is difficult to leave a private equity firm because your incentives are always paid off a couple of
years later. By leaving you accept that you don’t receive your full shares of all the deals you did.

I quit private equity at 45 but everybody in my company was very surprised because it was
an unusual move.

34
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

People who work in PE have to be very clear about the fact that the work is very intense and

Chapter Three: Is it the Right Job For Me?

the cultural pressure is often very strong. We had to get rid of people during the last few years
because they became too ambitious about their shares. It did not serve the company anymore.

Days in the life: Senior investment manager in London for major

pan-European LBO fund

7.30 am: I’m on my way to work checking my emails via BlackBerry.

8.00 am: Breakfast meeting regarding a potential target company with experts.

9.00 am: Today, I attend a management presentation. When we have a project

running I normally participate in contract negotiations with the company owners or
the financing banks which last late into the evening.

13:00 pm: I use lunch time to review my synthesis of market studies. I make sure that
the consulting teams we hired for commercial due diligence are working in the right
direction. We feel we have to challenge them by asking for updates or for more
information regularly.

On another day I would have lunch with colleagues or advisors and discuss potential
projects.

Afternoon: Today, we don’t have contracts to negotiate and have organised a

financial due diligence presentation by a Big Four accounting firm at our office.

Dinner: If we had negotiations in the signing phase of the project I would stay at the
office for a long night. Shortly before the final offer I will occasionally need to pull
an all-nighter, but that is something I can expect and am prepared for. Today, as we
are still discussing potential targets I can leave the office at 8pm for a dinner meeting.

I like to use meal times for meetings, although usually only have one of these
meetings a day.

Day in the life: Business school student, junior analyst role as intern
in France for pan-European multibillion mid-cap LBO fund
9.00 am: I get into the office and glance over the finance section of the daily paper and
a dedicated private equity newspaper we get delivered.

9.30 am: Team meeting. We normally talk about any issues and news relating to a
deal in process, a company in our portfolio, or a new investment opportunity.

35
10.30 am: I start work on an IM (investment memorandum) which must be finished
within three weeks as we made an indicative offer last week. I start reading the
commercial and financial due diligences; I have a quick discussion with the director
in charge of the investment to talk about what points from the diligences he wants
me to focus on.

13.00 pm: Lunch.

14.00 pm: I keep working on the IM.

15.00 pm: Presentation with the management team to a large bank to get an idea of
how much debt they would be willing to provide, and at what rates.

17.00 pm: In the wake of the previous meeting, we have a rough idea of the leverage
level and interest rate for the deal and I update the financial model to check how the
internal rate of return (IRR) evolves with the new conditions.

17.30 pm: Call with an alternative potential debt provider for the same deal.
Apparently they are not as interested as the first bank in this particular deal, but gave
us an idea of what benchmark levels we could expect.

18.00 pm: I have to find some peer comparables and make some research slides on
investment opportunities. During my research, I come across some other companies
which may interest the team, so I gather some key figures on each one.

19.30 pm: I start preparing a presentation for investors for the new fund which is
being raised.

20.30 pm: Leave the office.

Day in the life: Investment manager in Spanish local fund

8.00 am: Breakfast with a potential business partner and a representative of an

investment bank. We discuss the possibility of partnering to acquire an asset that is
for sale. The potential business partner operates in the same sector and the
combination of our skills and experience could be beneficial in this particular deal.

9.30 am: Return to the office and catch-up on e-mail and news.

9.45 am: Review and sign a non-binding letter of interest for the potential acquisition
of a target company. We have been working hard on the analysis of this
opportunity—today we submit our indicative offer.

36
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

10.15 am: Review a pack of due diligence reports on a potential investment we are

Chapter Three: Is it the Right Job For Me?

considering. The pack includes the main findings on the financial, fiscal, commercial
and legal areas, produced by a team of advisors assisting us in this transaction. We
have an investment committee meeting later on and need to be well prepared for the
discussion.

11.45 am: Review Investment Memorandum (IM) prepared by internal deal team on
the same transaction.

13.00 pm: Interview a candidate for an analyst position in our fund.

14.00 pm: Lunch with the former manager of a large company. At this stage of his
career he would like to lead a management buyout. We discuss a couple of potential
investment opportunities and agree next steps.

16.00 pm: Investment committee meeting. We have a lively discussion around a

potential investment that we are considering, its merits and risks. We are in
exclusivity and getting close to a final commitment.

18.30 pm: Internal meeting to discuss overall status of projects we are working on.

19.30 pm: Meeting with a consulting firm. They have come here to present their
thoughts and views on the healthcare sector at our request. We discuss trends and
opportunities.

20.45 pm: Go home.

Day in the life: Junior associate at a small fund in Milan, Italy

9.00 am: I start the day with research on the logistic market for an IM in process.
When working on a new sector, it is necessary to understand exactly how it works
and be able to explain it to others. I discuss with other analysts who have more
exposure to the sector and conduct my own research on the internet, as well as in
internal documents and databases.

11.00 am: Briefing conducted by the boss to prepare the next meeting.

11.30 am: Meeting with two directors of a German real-estate group willing to
participate in an investment in Russia. Two senior associates and I are present to
listen to their objectives, explain our offer and answer questions.

13.00 pm: Lunch with our guests.

37
14.00 pm: Conclusion of the meeting, signature of documents. I go back to my IM on
logistics.

15.30 pm: I call the initiator of the logistic project to ask for technical details that will
be included in the IM.

16.30 pm: I set up the prospective profit & loss and compute returns for the logistic
venture.

18.00 pm: Meeting with an Italian entrepreneur looking for financing of a new
venture. Entrepreneurs typically want to share a lot of the details of their ideas,
because they want to be really really sure we understand. We often run into political
aspects (it can be difficult to stop them!) so the meeting is quite long.

20.30 pm: Debriefing with the boss, we share our first impressions and decide if we
should carry on discussions further.

21.00 pm: Evaluation of the progress on the logistic IM.

21.20 pm: End of the working day.

Day in the life: Partner at German mezzanine fund (€500m AuM)

9.00 am: Arrive at the office. 15-minute daily briefing with the office manager
(agenda of the day, overview of the mail) followed by a 15-minute daily briefing
with investment team (main tasks for the day).

9.30 am: Marketing calls with business partners: M&A advisors, lawyers, accountants
and PE firms regarding marketing plan (6-10 calls). Some fundraising calls too.

10.30 am: Meeting in our office with CEO and CFO of a German mid-size company
looking for expansion capital to acquire a competitor.

12.00 pm: Lunch with the two visitors.

14.00 pm: Reading a new information memorandum (IM) describing a fashion

retailer for sale.

16.00 pm: Reading the financial due diligence by PWC on our most promising deals
(construction industry); summary of the main points.

18.00 pm: Progress review on construction deal with investment manager (Research,
financial model, etc) and distribution of tasks for the new deal.

38
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Chapter Three: Is it the Right Job For Me?

19.00 pm: Conference call with English lawyers to discuss progress on fundraising for
new fund.

20.00 pm: Debriefing with the team.

20.30 pm: Dinner with lawyer.

Career paths

Maybe because it is such a young industry, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of life after
private equity. Not that there wouldn’t be opportunities, but as most of our
interviewees observed, “Why move if I get everything I want here?” While we don’t
have the most precise statistics, most people leave private equity to go into … private
equity! This can be moving into a larger fund, creating one’s own fund or sometimes
moving into an operational or interim management position in the portfolio.

There are a few cases of fund managers who transferred to a top executive position
in the industry, but a more natural development is to spend increasing time in non-
executive director positions until full retirement. If not in the portfolio, even a CEO
role proves to be difficult as managers typically have five to 10 years of carry that they
risk losing if they leave the fund. Only hedge funds have deep enough pockets to
buy out private equity fund managers.

39
CHAPTER FOUR: THE HIRING PROCESS

M
ost private equity funds don’t have a very formal recruitment process. The
firms are small, the turnover is low, and so are the recruitment needs, unless
one has an aggressive international expansion. There are however a couple
of exceptions, like 3i, Bain Capital, Blackstone, Carlyle or Goldman Sachs PIA. The
key success factors for entering the industry are the academic pedigree and the
networking skills. For experienced candidates, an excellent track record is of course
another requirement.

Many firms don’t have a recruiting or HR person but a recruiting committee chaired
by one of the fund’s managers. Other HR responsibilities can be outsourced. After an
internal or external screening, a couple of candidates will be invited to a set of three or
four rounds of interviews. Even for internships, the average seems to be two rounds.
While this is based on anecdotal evidence, many interviews are one on one. The fit
with the individual fund managers is a key component in a small transaction team.

Campus recruiting

Because most firms don't have a very formal recruitment process, they often don't
recruit on campus. In recent years, the big ones like Alpinvest, Blackstone, Alliaz,
Axa or Goldman Sachs PIA may have appeared on selected MBA campuses like
INSEAD or LBS for graduate recruiting, but this used to be the exception. It is
changing fast: according to Sandra Schwarzer, who heads career services at INSEAD,
at least nine PE firms participated in 2007 in company presentations or Career Fairs.
While in 2006 a record 26 students declared joining a PE/VC firm straight after
INSEAD, this has gone up to 39 in 2007. We expect the number of schools visited to
grow once the current credit crisis softens. It is also encouraging that an increasing
number of the top MBA students have a summer internship in PE firms (20 at
INSEAD in 2007). And there are a couple of opportunities for internships at other
schools: in France, for example, Axa PE and Barclays PE advertise on the Intranet of
top Parisian business schools to recruit interns.

Indeed, a growing number of funds now value the opportunity to recruit a couple of
young analysts for a gap year. They warn however that only a tiny percentage of
interns may receive an offer afterwards as the firms often don't have the need for
more permanent staff.

40
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Chapter Four: The Hiring Process

Networking

• All top business schools now offer a private equity elective. This often gives
students an opportunity to start networking very early, sometimes with a summer
internship or even a gap year working as an analyst. Some of them, like Chicago
GSB in London, also provide a private equity club where students can meet with
alumni in the industry.

• Several European business schools are developing dedicated research focusing on

private equity issues. The Nottingham University Business School created the
Centre for Management Buy-out Research (CMBOR) in 1986 in partnership with
Barclays Private Equity and Deloitte to monitor and analyse management buy-
outs. ESSEC in France launched a private equity chair in 2006, sponsored by
Barclays Private Equity. At London Business School, the Private Equity Institute
has been established to advance the understanding and practice of private equity.
The Munich-based Centre for Private Equity Research (CEPRES) is managed

HEADHUNTERS TARGETING PRIVATE EQUITY

In the UK
• Blackwood Group
• Kinsey Allen Consulting
• Marks Sattin Private Equity
• Parker Linton Associates Ltd
• Private Equity Recruitment (more for juniors with a couple of years experience
• Stevenson James Search & Selection
• Walker Hamill
• Wood Hamill

In France
• CT Partners
• Alvedis Conseil
• Boyden
• Egon Zender

In Germany
• PER (out of London)
• Grip (Frankfurt)

In Spain
• Korn Ferry
• Heydrick & Struggles

Source: Candesic interviews

41
 academically by Goethe Business School in Frankfurt and Technical University
Munich. Cass Business School is currently launching the Cass Private Equity Centre
(CPEC) which will promote understanding and provide evidence of the key issues
and challenges in the industry. EDHEC in France is the exclusive provider of
preparatory courses in Europe for the CAIA exams that cover all alternative asset
classes. Their research currently focuses more on hedge funds but could soon
extend to private equity.

Search firms

Headhunters are mostly involved in looking for specialist skills. The typical mandate
is to replace a senior manager or fill new senior positions following an expansion
plan. While the major executive search firms all claim to be involved, our
interviewees directed us to local specialist firms.

Website

Firm websites are often disappointing for candidates applying to small or mid-size
funds. Most company websites won’t even mention the name of a recruiting person
or give specific contact details. It is understood that the right candidate is already
part of the club or will be personally introduced. But strongly motivated candidates
should not hesitate to try their chance through the switchboard.

Preparing for the interview

The type of questions depends a lot on the background of the managers. One
experienced candidate for a position in a London-based mid cap fund told us that
“each former consultant asked me to draw a value driver tree and conducted a typical
consulting case interview while each former investment banker tested my negotiation
skills and my knowledge of valuation models”.

42
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Chapter Four: The Hiring Process

General questions

– Why PE?
– Why this firm?
– What makes a good deal?
– How would you find deals, how do you know what to buy?
– How would you do it?
– Which deal can you describe and what do you think of it?
– If you had that amount of money, what would you buy in this country?

Behavioural questions

– What do you do in your spare time?

– Tell me about yourself.

Finance questions
– IRR vs. multiple
– How to motivate management
– How do you value a company? What is a P/E ratio?
– LBO model: candidates are expected to be familiar with LBO models. They are
likely to be asked to comment on a simple valuation model that may contain a
relatively obvious miscalculation. In some cases, the candidate has to build a simple
model on paper. Knowing the definitions and differences between free cash flows
to equity and free cash flows to the firm, how to choose the appropriate discount
rate and calculate it, and how average EBIT or EBITDA multiples have been doing
lately may be a deciding factor. At a major London-based firm, candidates are given
a laptop and asked to build an LBO model.
– What are the pros and cons of using mezzanine to finance a transaction? In which
cases will you consider it? What should you be aware of?

43
Industry questions

– How many transactions can an analyst work on simultaneously? In a year?

– Give an example of an industry with high Capex, with no Capex.

Case studies

– For a given EBITDA in a given industry, how much leverage can you afford? How
do you find out?
– Full case study including analysis of the growth drivers in an industry, major risks
and competitive positioning of an asset. One Associate candidate in London reports
being sent all the case study material 24 hours prior to the interview with the
request to prepare a presentation to the Investment Committee.

44
Profiles of

37 REPRESENTATIVE
PE firms in Europe

US-ORIGINATED GLOBAL FUNDS with direct presence in Europe

PAN-EUROPEAN FUNDS

OTHER FUNDS with more regional focus

MEZZANINE FUNDS

FUND-OF-FUNDS
 ADVENT INTERNATIONAL

UK Regional Headquarters EUROPEAN LOCATIONS

Advent International plc
111 Buckingham Palace Road London (HQ) • Amsterdam • Bucharest
London SW1W 0SR •Frankfurt • Kiev • Madrid • Milan •
UK Paris • Prague • Warsaw • Bratislava
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800 (affiliate) • Oslo (affiliate)

www.adventinternational.com
REST OF THE WORLD
Boston (HQ) • Tokyo • Singapore
THE STATS (affiliate) • Buenos Aires • Sao Paulo •
Chairman: Peter A. Brooke Mexico • Further affiliates in five other
Employer Type: Independent Private countries
Company
Total private equity funds under manage-
ment: about €11bn (2008) KEY COMPETITORS
Employees: 130 investment professionals, 3i • Apax • Barclays Private Equity •
of which 65 are in Europe (2008) Cinven • Montagu
No. of Offices: 15

EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
COMPANY FOCUS
In the US: [email protected]
Sectors: For other offices, see "contact us" at
Business Services & Financial Services www.adventinternational.com
Retail & Consumer
Technology, Media & Telecoms
Healthcare & Life Sciences
Industrial

Financial stages:
International buyouts, recapitalization and
growth equity investments (up to €500m
equity), some venture capital

Types of financing:
Majority equity

48
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Advent international
THE SCOOP

International investment
London and Boston-based Advent International is truly an international private
equity firm. While most of the big names in private equity have outposts in Europe
and Asia, Advent takes "international" to another level, with 15 offices around the
world, from Argentina to Southeast Asia. In the last two years alone, it has opened
new offices in Amsterdam, Prague and Kiev. Advent is also responsible for a number
of firsts in the global private equity landscape; they put together the first leveraged
buyout in Hungary and Poland; the first private equity-backed public-to-private deal
in Central Europe and Spain; the first global private equity fund, in 1987; and the
largest-ever private equity fund dedicated to Latin America. Founded in 1985 as a
spin-off of TA Associate’s international operations, the firm has backed more than 500
companies in some 35 countries.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

Advent International GPE VI 2008 €6.6bn

LAPEF IV (Latin America) 2007 $1.3bn

Advent International GPE V 2005 €2.5bn

ACEE III (Central Europe) 2005 €330m

Advent International GPE IV 2002 €2.0bn

Middle of the road

Advent invests in middle-market companies in five core sectors: business and
financial services, retail and consumer, health care, industrial and technology, media
and telecom. In North America and Europe, the typical Advent investment is $20
million to $200 million; in Central Europe and Latin America, the average outlay is
on the smaller end of the range, between $20 million and $60 million. Advent also
manages venture capital funds focused on start-up to revenue-stage companies in
Health Care & Life Sciences, primarily in North America, not to be confused with
UK-based Advent Venture Partners. The firm's venture investments usually run from
$5 million to $20 million.

49
In December 2006, the firm won an impressive and unprecedented four industry
awards at the fourth annual European Private Equity Awards organised by EVCA.
The list included the European Private Equity House of the Year as well as the
European Mid-Market Deal of the Year, for Moeller in Germany, and the Emerging
European Deal of the Year, for Terapia in Romania.

Deal-making
Advent has been on a shopping spree as of late with a clear acceleration in the last
three years. In early 2005, the firm brought in the new year with the acquisition of
Proservvi, the leading provider of back-office processing services to financial
institutions in Brazil. Then in April, Advent bought a stake in Fat Face, the active
casual wear market leader in the U.K. One month later, across the Atlantic, the
private equity group picked up Making Memories, the Utah-based provider of
scrapbook and card-making products. In June, Advent invested in the drilling
services and equipment company Boart Longyear and Italian vending machine
operator Gruppo Argenta. In August, the global private equity group acquired five
different companies, ranging from a Romanian paints business to a technology
company in the U.K. In September 2005, Advent bought a majority stake in Casa
Reha, a German private nursing home group. It pursued a buildup strategy and, in
2007, doubled the size of the company with the acquisition of competitor
SozialKonzept, catapulting Casa Reha into the top five of German private nursing
home groups. In December of the same year, Advent announced the sale of the group
to HgCapital.

Advent had already shown its skills in Germany with the 2006 turnaround and sale
for €1.1bn, in an auction to Doughty Hanson, of global electronics manufacturer
Moeller Group, which was on the verge of bankruptcy when acquired in December
2003. This highly successful restructuring attracted the praise of the judges who saw
the deal as “an outstanding example of a traditional private equity house taking on
a difficult asset and turning it around”.

In 2007, Advent headed again to Germany, this time to buy a €770m majority stake
in German fashion discount chain Takko from Permira. The same year in the UK,
Advent International acquired Worthing, a share registration business they renamed
Equiniti, for £550m from Lloyds TSB Registrars. In December, Advent announced
the first fully-financed public-to-private transaction since the summer’s turbulence in
the credit markets with the £524m acquisition of Domestic & General Group plc
(D&G), the UK’s leading specialist provider of extended warranty plans for domestic
electrical goods. In France, it took a majority stake in Stokomani, the French discount
retailer, from Alpha Group.

50
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Advent international
The firm is also active all over Eastern Europe. In April 2007, it opened an office in
Prague and, in September, it announced the first members of its Kiev team in
Ukraine. In December 2007, within two days, it acquired a 70 per cent stake in KAI
Group, Bulgaria’s largest manufacturer of interior and exterior floor, wall and
decorative ceramic tiles, and a 70 per cent stake in Bucharest-listed Ceramica Iasi,
one of Romania’s leading ceramic bricks and clay roof tiles producers.

GETTING HIRED

Advent International has around 130 investment professionals working out of 15

offices around the world. About half of them are based in Europe.

As a firm “half” headquartered in the US, the firm has its share of American MBAs.
But the European team is not different, with almost half of the professionals holding
an MBA, and Harvard by far the most represented school in the team.

Higher Diploma

Master’s (23%)

Bachelor’s only (30%)

Unknown (1%)

PhD/JD/MD (5%)

MBA (41%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Strategy consulting (13%)

Audit & transaction services (7%)

Banks (35%)

Other (45%)

Source: Candesic

51
 Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)
**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

20

15
Wharton (4)
10 Oxford (5)
Cambridge (6)
5
INSEAD (10)
Harvard (18)
0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

8
7
6
5
Merrill Lynch (3)
4 ING (3)
3 UBS (5)
2
Dresdner (6)
1
McKinsey (8)
0

Source: Candesic

While the most represented former employer, McKinsey, accounts for 12 per cent of the
European professional staff, employees have relatively diverse backgrounds. Former
bankers represent 35 per cent of the team, slightly below the industry average.

Although the firm does not offer employment information on its web site, it does
provide contact details for each of its outposts. Candidates interested in working for
Advent International should get in touch with the appropriate office (see "contact
us" at www.adventinternational.com).

52
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
BAIN CAPITAL

111 Huntington Avenue Financial stages:

Boston, MA 02199 Venture, expansion and growth capital
USA for private & public companies; Manage-
Tel: (617) 516-2000 ment buyouts; Industry consolidations

London Office: Types of financing:

Bain Capital LTD Majority equity, participation, mezzanine,
Devonshire House 6th flr, Mayfair Place high yield debt
London, W1J 8AJ
UK
Tel: +44 20 7514 5252 EUROPEAN LOCATIONS

www.baincapital.com; London (HQ)• Munich

www.baincapital.co.uk

REST OF THE WORLD

THE STATS Boston (HQ) • New York • Honh Kong
Managing Director, Bain Capital: Joshua • Shanghai • Tokyo
Bekenstein and 25 other partners
Managing Director, Bain Capital Europe:
Stuart Gent KEY COMPETITORS
Employer Type: Private Company Blackstone • KKR • TPG
Total private equity funds under manage-
ment: $50 bn in 2008
Employees: 650, with 270 investment EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
professionals, 175 in private equity
No. of Offices: 7 www.baincapital.com/careers

COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Information Technology
Communications
Healthcare
Industrial & Manufacturing
Retail & Consumer Products
Financial Services Investments

53
THE SCOOP

Dealmakers
Bain Capital traces its roots back to 1984, when Bain & Company partners Mitt
Romney (a former Governor of Massachusetts and presidential candidate), T.
Coleman Andrews and Eric Kriss decided to leverage their private equity know-how
by forming their own leveraged buyout and venture capital firm. According to
Fortune magazine, Bain Capital charges a 30 per cent fee to its limited partners,
instead of the standard 20 per cent. It also differs from its peers in that it raises funds
mostly from university endowments, instead of pension funds. That doesn’t seem to
have been much of an issue so far; today the Boston-based private equity firm has
invested in more than 240 companies with an aggregate transaction value in excess
of $100 billion. The firm raised $13bn in 2006, at least $4bn more than was originally
anticipated, adding to a total of over $40bn currently under management. Notable
deals include Burger King, Toys R Us, Burlington Coat Factory, Brookstone,
Domino's Pizza and Duane Reade. Bain was also part of a consortium of private
equity firms led by Silver Lake Partners to acquire SunGard Data Systems. The deal,
completed in August 2005, was valued at $11.4 billion, making it the largest
technology privatization and the second largest leveraged buyout ever completed—
a record that lasted for only a few months. Bain Capital would go on to more than
double its transaction size the next year, thanks in part to a longstanding habit of
joining club deals.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

Bain Capital Fund XI 2008 $20bn (target)

Bain Capital Europe III 2008 €3.5bn

Bain Capital Fund X 2006 $10bn

Bain Capital Fund IX 2005 $6bn

Bain Capital Fund VIII 2004 $5bn

54
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Bain Capital
Another clubber
Between 2000 and 2002 Bain Capital went over a year without completing a deal.
This simmering of transactions was not a case of taking it easy, but merely running
their companies in tough market conditions instead of buying new ones. In the
following years, Bain Capital made four times its 2002 initial investment in Burger
King over five years, according to The Deal, and the 2003 acquisition of Warner Music
Group made $3.2bn on a $1.25bn investment in just a little over a year, as reported
in Forbes. The floodgates truly opened in 2006, when Bain completed an historic
twelve transactions with a total value of $85bn (when including the $26.7bn Clear
Channel transaction with Thomas Lee, which took another ten months to get
shareholder approval). The major transaction of 2006 was the acquisition of HCA
hospitals with KKR and Merrill Lynch for $33bn. In 2007, while not matching the
2006 success, Bain Capital has nonetheless been busy, paying $1.9bn for Guitar
Center, $1.76bn for American Standard's bath and kitchen unit and $2.2bn for 3Com.

In Europe the firm doesn’t make the headlines as often as it does in the US. It is
however an active investor, in particular in Germany, with current or past
investments in companies including ProSiebenSat.1 Media, Jack Wolfskin and
Süddekor. In 2004 Bain Capital, whose European deals have been a mix of mid-
market and large, was able to buy Brenntag, a global distributor of industrial and
specialty chemicals, from Deutsche Bahn for around €1.5bn. It sold the company to
BC Partners only two years later for around €3.1bn including debts. In October 2007
Bain Capital accepted an offer by paint and stain maker PPG Industries for coatings
producer SigmaKalon at a price of around €2.2bn. Overall, about a third of its last
fund, Bain Capital Fund X, was invested in Europe.

The one, the many

Bain Capital has offices in Boston, New York, London and Munich, to which it
recently added Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. It employs 175 deal professionals
in the private equity division, of which only 16 are based in Europe. Although the
majority of Bain's efforts are geared toward private equity (through Bain Capital
Private Equity and its European affiliate Bain Capital Limited), the company also
dabbles in venture capital, public equity and leverage debt assets. Absolute Return
Capital (ARC) manages $600 million of capital in fixed income, equity and
commodity markets; Bain Capital Ventures, the venture capital arm, focuses on seed
through late-growth equity investments in technology companies; Brookside Capital
is Bain's public equity affiliate, targeting publicly traded companies with long-term
growth potential; and Sankaty Advisors invests in high-yield securities.

55
Value-added
With its close ties to Bain & Company, it should come as no surprise that Bain
Capital's investment approach draws on its partners' consulting expertise. According
to the firm, its investment professionals evaluate companies on a "people-intensive,
consulting-based due diligence process" that looks at "financial performance, market
potential, industry attractiveness and competitive position." Once Bain invests in a
company, it takes an active role in improving the business.

GETTING HIRED

According to Dwight Poler, a managing director at Bain Capital in London, “Some

firms franchised by hiring a local team, which may have lacked the credibility on the
investment committee at home”. Others only sent people from the US to make sure
they had the experience and the trust back home, but found they lacked the reach and
experience locally. Bain Capital seeks professionals with a combination of deep local
expertise and international credibility. That may explain why half of the London
senior team graduated from Harvard Business School, with their first degree often
obtained at top French engineering schools.

Bain Capital doesn’t disclose the profiles of the rest of the team, maybe to protect
themselves against competitors, maybe because the names change slightly faster than
usual in the industry, but some research shows the same top pedigrees as with the
senior team. To complement its investment team, the firm has been using operating
partners for more than fifteen years and currently has more than thirty of them
helping to improve the operations in the portfolio.

Unlike many private equity groups, Bain Capital has both a web site and a career
page ("careers" at www.baincapital.com). Candidates interested in working for the
buyout firm can learn more about current job openings—and apply—online. For
example, the company offers a two-year associate program in any of its offices, which
starts off with a multi-week training program designed to introduce newcomers to
Bain's "value-added" investment approach.

56
ADVENT
THE INTERNATIONAL
BLACKSTONE GROUP

345 Park Avenue investments, corporate partnerships and

New York, NY 10154 industry consolidations
Phone: +1 (212) 583-5000
Types of financing:
London office: Main: Majority equity
The Blackstone Group International Lim- Other: Minority equity, Debt, Investment
ited in third party fund, Mezzanine, Share-
40 Berkeley Square holder loans
London, W1J 5AL
U.K.
Phone: +44 (0)20 7451 4000 EUROPEAN LOCATIONS

www.blackstone.com London (HQ) • Paris

THE STATS REST OF THE WORLD

Chairman and CEO: Stephen A. New York (HQ) • Atlanta • Boston •

Schwarzman Los Angeles • Hong Kong • Mumbai •
Employer Type: Listed company (NYSE) Tokyo
Ticker Symbol: BX
Total private equity funds under manage-
ment: €32.7bn (As of October 2007) KEY COMPETITORS
2007 Revenue: >$3bn Bain Capital • Goldman Sachs • KKR •
Employees: 500+ (of the 400 profes- Permira • TPG
sionals, 98 work in private equity)
No. of Offices: 9
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
COMPANY FOCUS www.blackstone.com/careers

Sectors:
All, with a preference for out-of-favour,
under-appreciated industries

Financial stages:
Leveraged buyout acquisitions of sea-
soned companies but also transactions
involving start-up businesses in estab-
lished industries, turnarounds, minority

57
THE SCOOP

B is for Big
The Blackstone Group got started in 1985 as an M&A advisory boutique with a staff
of four and a balance sheet of $400,000. Today, Blackstone controls or has a stake in
45 companies totaling $72 billion in revenue with 350,000 employees, making it one
of the four or five biggest private equity funds in the world. While the firm managed
a record $92 billion in 2007, a healthy $32 billion came from corporate private equity.
The group boasts expertise in a number of areas—including corporate debt, real
estate, hedge funds, other asset management and advisory services—but its private
equity business has become its bread and butter. Blackstone's first buyout fund
closed in 1987 at $950 million, making it the largest first-time fund ever. Twenty
years later, in August 2007, Blackstone set another record when it established its $21.7
billion Blackstone Capital Partners V fund.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

Blackstone Capital Partners VI 2008 $20bn (target)

Blackstone Credit Liquidity Partners 2007 $2.1bn

Blackstone Capital Partners V 2007 $21.7bn

Blackstone Real Estate Partners V 2006 $5.25bn

Blackstone Capital Partners IV 2002 $6.45bn

In total, the firm has raised more than $36 billion across six private equity funds, and
as Blackstone's funds get larger, so do the deals. The $38.7 billion buyout of US real
estate firm Equity Office Properties Trust, completed in February 2007, was the
largest private equity transaction until the $45 billion acquisition in October 2007 of
TXU by KKR and TPG, itself followed by the announcement of a $51.7 billion
acquisition of BCE by Teachers’ a few months later.

In total, Blackstone has invested in over 114 companies worth more than $200 billion.
Its sheer size exposes it to the scrutiny of the public and the media. In July 2007,
Blackstone publicly denounced a front page article in The New York Times “filled

58
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

The Blackstone Group

with inaccuracies, myths, and misrepresentations that give a false impression of
Blackstone’s tax situation and that of its partners”.

In May 2007, China's government announced it had agreed to make a $3bn

investment in the Blackstone Group in the form of non-voting common units, giving
it close to 10 per cent of the shares. It was the first time Beijing has invested its foreign
reserve in a commercial transaction. In addition, it is understood that China’s foreign
reserve agency has agreed not to invest in rival private equity groups for 12 months.
It is widely believed that by having China as a partner, Blackstone will receive
preferential access to China's market. For China, it may be a way to bypass the
restrictions that prevent it from making sensitive investments in Western countries.

Shortly after, Blackstone raised $4.1bn in one of the largest IPOs in history. However,
nine months after being issued to the public, shares in Blackstone languished at 35 per
cent below the $31 issuing price. In early 2008, Blackstone announced a $500 million
unit repurchase programme, explaining, “We believe our common units are
undervalued”. While the share price didn’t recover, Blackstone reportedly sent, in the
first quarter of 2008, a fundraising prospectus to some investors for the new
Blackstone Capital Partners VI fund, with an unofficial target of $20 billion.

B-list industry investing

Blackstone invests in what it calls "out of favor" industries. Ignoring swings in
conventional wisdom about the attractiveness of certain sectors, Blackstone puts its
money in "B-list" industries such as cable television, rural cellular, refining and
automotive parts. The company's investment approach also includes partnerships
with leading corporations, such as AOL Time Warner, AT&T and Sony, rigorous due
diligence and an active role in monitoring portfolio companies. The firm has a
dedicated senior operating partner who is responsible for overseeing the strategic,
operational and financial performance of its investments, and employs former C-
level executives who act as advisors and board members.

Building blocks
In 2005, Blackstone completed the acquisition of Merlin Entertainment, an operator
of branded visitor attractions, for £102.5 million. The transaction indicated the firm's
seriousness about the leisure sector and, more specifically, European attractions and
theme parks. Two years later, the firm announced the deal with the Tussauds Group
to create the world’s second biggest visitor attractions operator after Disney. Merlin
now employs 13,000 people in 12 countries and across three continents and manages
a balanced portfolio of 51 attractions that includes iconic brands LEGOLAND,

59
Madame Tussauds, British Airways London Eye, Sea Life, Dungeons, Gardaland and
Alton Towers.

In December 2006, Blackstone acquired Tragus Holdings, one of the largest mid-
market restaurant chain operators in the UK, from Legal & General Ventures for
£267m. In 2007, Tragus grew by acquisitions, first with the MA Potters sites followed
by the Strada pizza chain in a £140m deal. Despite missing the La Tasca tapas bar
auction, the enlarged Tragus now has over 230 outlets and is the leading player in the
French and Italian restaurant sectors.

In July 2007, six months after selling the Extended Stay Hotels to the Lightstone
Group for $8bn, Blackstone re-entered the hotel sector and took Hilton Hotels private
for $26bn in an all-cash transaction. Hilton Hotels Corporation is the leading global
hospitality company, with 2,896 properties totaling approximately 490,000 rooms in
76 countries and territories.

In Europe, the firm is also active in manufacturing. In December 2006, it paired with
PAI to acquire United Biscuits for €2.3bn. In May 2007, it bought Kloeckner
Pentaplast, the world’s leading manufacturer of rigid plastic films from Cinven for
€1.3bn. It also partnered with the other buyout giants KKR, Goldman Sachs and TPG
to acquire Biomet in Poland in September 2007.

Another sector of interest to Blackstone is energy. In 2005, the private equity group
acquired an 80 percent stake in Sithe Global Power. Previous energy investments
include Premcor, Inc., a U.S. refiner of petroleum products (acquired by Valero in
2005); Texas Genco, a Houston-based wholesale electric power generating company;
Foundation Coal, a U.S. coal mining company; and Kosmos Energy, an oil
exploration company.

Going global
While Blackstone's primary market is North America, the New York-based firm has
increased its focus on Europe and Asia in recent years. The group opened an office
in London in August 2000, an outpost in Hamburg in September 2003, an office in
Mumbai in May 2005 and an outpost in Hong Kong in January 2007. To cover
Europe, the group also entered into a strategic alliance with Roland Berger Strategy
Consultants in February 2001. The partnership gave Blackstone access to intellectual
capital and local knowledge of key European markets. The firm is also expanding
into Eastern Europe and in 2007 invested a reported $178 million, as part of a $575
million MBO, for a 51 per cent stake in Lattelecom, the Latvian telecommunications
company majority-owned by the Latvian government.

60
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

The Blackstone Group

More than just private equity
Although Blackstone's private equity group has earned the firm an elite status, its
other divisions should not be discounted. The firm's M&A group, for example, has
had its hands in several high-profile transactions over the years, including two big
financial services deals. In 2000, Blackstone advised PaineWebber on its $10.8 billion
sale to UBS, and Alliance Capital Management on its $3.5 billion purchase of Sanford
C. Bernstein. In 2005, the firm advised Comcast on its $18 billion acquisition of
Adelphia Communications. In 2006, they opened an office in London to expand their
advisory service offerings beyond their U.S. base. And, in July 2007, Blackstone
advised China Development Bank on its plan to invest $14 billion for a stake in
Barclays PLC.

Mostly active in the U.S., Blackstone's restructuring department has advised

companies and creditors in more than 150 situations, involving $350 billion of total
liabilities. In an attempt to cut costs to avoid bankruptcy, Delta Air Lines hired
Blackstone to assist with its restructuring efforts. RCN Corporation switched from
Merrill Lynch to Blackstone for its financial restructuring negotiations with its senior
secured lenders. Blackstone also acted as lead advisor in the restructurings of both
Enron and Global Crossing.

A few years ago, the real estate group, operating out of the New York, London and
Paris offices, boasted that it owned more than 13 million square feet of real estate in
Boston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. With the recent inclusion of
Hilton, Equity Office and Trizec Properties, this number is now significantly
bolstered and the unit may have the largest real estate portfolio on the Street. The
total enterprise value of the 223 transactions effected by the real estate operations
from 1992 through September 30, 2007, was over $103 billion.

The marketable alternative asset management segment manages more than $40 billion
as of September 30, 2007. It includes funds of hedge funds, mezzanine funds, senior
debt vehicles, proprietary hedge funds and publicly-traded closed-end mutual funds.

Blackstone's corporate debt group is actually two businesses: Blackstone Mezzanine

Advisors and Blackstone Debt Advisors (BDA). These various vehicles have
aggregate capital commitments of over $11 billion. Blackstone's mezzanine funds of
$2.1 billion are among the largest of their kind and have investments in firms such
as Colt Defense LLC. BDA is a relatively new group (created in 2002) and manages
several CDO (Collateralised Debt Obligation) funds for investment predominantly in
senior secured loans. They include seven US CDOs ($4.7 billion) and four European
CDOs ($2.9 billion). And, to capitalise on the recent dislocations in the credit markets,
in December 2007 Blackstone closed a new Credit Liquidity Fund on $1.3 billion to

61
invest globally in a broad range of debt and debt-related instruments, including
securities issued by CDOs.

Last but definitely not least is the Blackstone Alternative Asset Management unit
(headed by BAAM president and CEO J. Tomilson Hill), which had a staggering $27
billion of assets under management in funds of hedge funds as of November 2007.

In January 2008, Blackstone announced the acquisition of GSO Capital Partners, an

alternative asset manager that will bring its $10 billion under management in
mezzanine, credit, senior debt and CLO funds, as well as 120 professionals, for $1 billion.

GETTING HIRED

Most senior investment professionals had a career before joining Blackstone. While
a third of them went to investment banking, the recruiting is much more diversified,
with a significant proportion coming from industrial sectors. The main difference
with other players is the absence of accountants.

Half of the senior private equity team holds an MBA, predominantly from Harvard
and the other top US universities, as most of the team is still located in the US.

62
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

The Blackstone Group

Higher Diploma

Master’s (5%)

Bachelor’s only (40%)

PhD/JD/MD (2%)

MBA (53%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Strategy consulting (7%)

Banks (33%)

Other (60%)

Source: Candesic

Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)

**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

15

12

Georgetown (3)
9
Columbia (3)
6
Stanford (4)
3 U-Penn (8)
Harvard (13)
0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

3.0

2.5

2.0 Goldman Sachs (2)

1.5 JP Morgan Chase (2)

1.0 Citigroup (2)

0.5
Morgan Stanley (2)
Credit Suisse (3)
0.0

Source: Candesic

63
To learn more about job opportunities with Blackstone, check out the careers section
of the company web site. There, the firm provides information on summer
internships and campus recruiting, as well as experienced and international hiring.
The group hires recent undergraduates as analysts and recent MBAs as associates.
Recruiting typically takes place in the fall for full-time programs and in January for
internships.

US schools on Blackstone's campus schedule include Harvard, University of

Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas at Austin and University
of Virginia. Students whose schools Blackstone does not visit can apply for these
programs online. The recruiting process typically involves an on-campus interview
followed by one or two rounds at the firm's New York office. Experienced hires can
contact the firm via an online application.

In Europe, recruitment is handled on a case-by-case basis. However, for those who

have relevant experience and local language skills where appropriate, or have
significant experience working in the relevant geographic region, they should contact
the London Human Resources department at [email protected] or
visit the How To Apply section for more information on submitting an application
online. While Blackstone currently has nine offices in six countries, its private equity
group operates in London, New York, Hong Kong and Mumbai.

64
ADVENT
THE INTERNATIONAL
CARLYLE GROUP

1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20004-2505 Financial stages:
Tel +1 (202) 729-5626 Buyouts, venture capital, real estate, in-
frastructure
London office:
Lansdowne House Types of financing:
57 Berkeley Square Majority equity, participation, mezzanine,
London W1J 6ER leveraged finance
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7894 1200
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
www.thecarlylegroup.com
Barcelona • Frankfurt • London •
Luxembourg • Milan • Munich • Paris •
Stockholm
THE STATS
Chairman: Louis V. Gerstner Jr.
Managing partners: William E. Conway REST OF THE WORLD
Jr., David M. Rubenstein, Daniel A.
D'Aniello Washington DC (HQ) • Charlotte •
Employer Type: Private Company Denver • Los Angeles • New York •
Total private equity funds under manage- Newport Beach • San Francisco • Mex-
ment: $58bn in 2007 (€9bn in Europe) ico City • Sao Paolo
No. of Employees: 995 (560 investment Beijing • Hong Kong • Mumbai • Seoul •
professionals) Shanghai • Singapore • Sydney • Tokyo
No. of Offices: 29 in 21 countries • Beirut • Cairo • Dubai • Istanbul

COMPANY FOCUS KEY COMPETITORS IN EUROPE

Sectors: Bain Capital • Blackstone • CVC • KKR

Aerospace & Defense • Permira • TPG
Automotive & Transportation
Consumer & Retail
Energy & Power EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Healthcare Europe: [email protected]
Industrial United States: [email protected]
Real Estate Asia: [email protected]
Technology & Business Services Japan: [email protected]
Telecommunications & Media

65
THE SCOOP

Carlyle talks baseball

With nearly $58 billion under management before the demise of Carlyle Capital Corp,
the Carlyle Group is one of the world's largest private equity firms. It was founded
in 1987 by David Rubenstein, William Conway, Jr., Daniel D'Aniello, Stephen Norris
and Greg Rosenbaum and named after the New York City hotel. Since then, the
group has invested around $20 billion of equity in more than 600 transactions. But
the Washington D.C. based company is quick to tell you that it doesn't "swing for
the fences"—that is, go for home-runs. Instead, the group pursues a conservative
investment approach, preferring to hit more singles (and doubles and triples) with
fewer strikeouts. Indeed, Carlyle points to its caution as a trait that sets it apart from
competitors—that, and its team of 560 investment professionals, with about 50 per
cent holding an MBA, and 15 per cent a JD, MD or PhD.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

Carlyle Partners V 2008 $15bn (target)

Carlyle Infrastructure Partners I 2007 $1.15bn

Carlyle European Partners III 2007 €5.35bn

Carlyle Realty Partners V 2007 $3.00bn

Carlyle Partners IV 2005 $7.85bn

Carlyle European Partners II 2005 €1.80bn

Carlyle Asia Partners II 2005 $1.80bn

Carlyle/Riverstone Energy III 2005 $3.80bn

Carlyle/Riverstone Renewable Energy I 2005 $0.68bn

Carlyle Mezzanine Partners I 2004 $0.44bn

Well connected
Carlyle has historically been famous for its political connections. Senior advisors have
included former US President George Bush Sr. and former UK Prime Minister John
Major. The controversy around its access to funds and government contracts led

66
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

The Carlyle Group

Carlyle to review its portfolio and reduce its exposure to companies too dependent
on government contracts. It still boasts renowned advisors like Lou Gerstner, the
former CEO of IBM, and Arthur Levitt, the former Chairman of the SEC. Among its
investors, Carlyle counts CalPERS, which owns about 5.5 per cent since 2001, and,
since 2007, the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund, which took a 7.5 per cent stake that valued
the group at $20 billion.

Join the club

Although the group considers investments in a wide range of industries, it focuses
on a few key sectors, including telecom and media, real estate, aerospace, information
technology, energy and industrial. The firm dabbles in venture capital, leveraged
finance and real-estate, but the majority of its deals are management-led buyouts. In
the last three years, the group has increased the size of its investments to focus on
jumbo multi-billion dollar club deals with the likes of Blackstone and Kohlberg
Kravis Roberts (KKR). In September 2005, for example, the private equity group
joined forces with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity
to acquire Hertz, the world's largest vehicle rental group, from Ford Motor Company
for $15 billion—beating out other private equity groups vying for the investment.

Just a month earlier, in August 2005, the firm exited an investment in satellite
operator PanAmSat, which was sold to competitor Intelsat. Back in 2004, the Carlyle
Group, together with KKR and Providence Equity Partners, acquired PanAmSat for
$2.6 billion. The $3.2 billion price tag paid by Intelsat represents a $600 million gain
for the private equity consortium. What's more, the investors had already made
millions off the investment by taking 42 percent of PanAmSat public in an IPO that
raised $2.9 billion.

Recently, club deals have increased in size, as evidenced by the acquisitions in 2006
of energy infrastructure provider Kinder Morgan for $22 billion, with Riverstone
Holdings LLC, and Freescale Semiconductor with TPG, Blackstone and Permira for
$17.6 billion.

Carlyle is currently raising its biggest fund ever with a target of $15 billion for U.S.
buyouts. In 2007, it already raised a new €5 billion fund for European buyouts as
well as its first infrastructure fund. Geographically, the Carlyle Group is a global
company with 29 offices in 21 countries, and its European and Asian investments
already account for a third of its assets. According to Fortune, the buyout activities
boast an average annual return of 34 per cent. While private equity remains its focus,
Carlyle also manages various mezzanine and high yield funds. In 2007 the group
hired a variety of traders from defunct Amaranth Advisors and launched the Multi-

67
Strategy Master Fund, its first hedge fund, with an opening value of $700 million.
The timing wasn’t ideal and the performance in the second half of 2007 wasn’t
impressive. In 2008, Carlyle was more deeply hit by the bankruptcy of Carlyle Capital
Corporation, its $22bn Euronext-listed credit (i.e., mortgage-backed securities) fund.
Carlyle’s CEO had been one of the first public figures to raise the alarm bell on the
exess levels of leverage, and the news came as a shock.

Eastern outlook
In 2005, the Carlyle Group announced a significant expansion of its pan-Asian
investment activities, with the opening of new offices in Beijing, Mumbai and Sydney.
In total, the Carlyle Asia buyout group has eight offices. In addition, it set up in 2006
the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) group with four offices.

The private equity group first got involved in Asia in 1998 when the firm acquired a
controlling stake in Korea's KorAm Bank for $450 million. In April 2004, KorAm was
sold to Citigroup for $2.7 billion, representing a $650 million profit for Carlyle and a
250 percent return on investment for the group's investors. So what is the group's
recipe for success? Combine a new CEO and management team with streamlined
operations, wait three to five years, then sell.

Old Europe
Carlyle is able to leverage its expertise in the defense & aerospace sector
internationally. In February 2003, it acquired a 30 per cent stake in British defence
research company QinetiQ for £150m, becoming a strategic partner with the U.K.
Ministry of Defence, the main shareholder. In 2006, QinetiQ was successfully floated
on the London Stock Exchange. In 2007 Carlyle sold its remaining 10 per cent stake
for £140m, contributing to a total profit of at least £240m from its four-year
investment in the company.

With 125 investment professionals, fifty of them dedicated to buyouts, the European
team is one of the largest among all private equity firms. While Carlyle’s European
transactions tend to be smaller than in the US, the group has been involved in several
landmark deals in Europe. In particular, in 2006, Carlyle partnered with Blackstone,
KKR, Thomas H. Lee Partners, Hellman & Friedman and AlpInvest Partners to
acquire Dutch publisher and market research giant VNU Group (Nielsen) for $10bn.
That same year Bayer sold H.C. Starck to Advent International and The Carlyle
Group for €1.2bn.

68
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

The Carlyle Group

In 2007, Carlyle took a participation of 35 per cent in Numericable and Completel,
alongside Cinven. It also acquired Arsys, the Spanish provider of web hosting and
domain registration services, with Mercapital for €160m, and the Spanish
Certification Group Applus+ for an enterprise value of €1.48bn in the second largest
investment undertaken by a Private Equity Fund in Spain to date.

In 2007, Carlyle’s global portfolio included 200 companies across all activities, which
in turn employ more than 280,000 workers and have $87 billion in sales.

GETTING HIRED

The Carlyle Group offers opportunities for investment professionals, support

professionals, associates and senior associates. Investment professionals are involved
in the analysis, execution, monitoring and exit of private equity investments. Support
professionals are part of the investor services team, which encompasses accounting,
administration, corporate communications, human resources, information
technology, investor relations and legal. Associates are typically recent
undergraduates with a strong GPA and two years of investment banking or
consulting experience. Associates at the Carlyle Group go through a formal two-
year program. Senior associates generally hold an MBA and have three to four years
of private equity, investment banking or consulting experience. Typical former
employers are McKinsey and BCG in consulting, and JP Morgan and Lazard in
investment banking. Candidates interested in applying for a position at the Carlyle
Group should send a resume and cover letter to the appropriate region (U.S., Europe,
Asia or Japan).

69
 Higher Diploma

Bachelor’s only (48%)

Unknown (3%)

PhD/JD/MD (6%)

MBA (23%)

Master’s (20%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Strategy consulting (9%)

Audit & transaction services (5%)

Banks (36%)

Other (50%)

Source: Candesic

Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)

**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

8
7
6
5 ESCP-EAP (4)
4 HEC (5)
3 Cambridge (5)
2
INSEAD (6)
1
Harvard (7)
0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

8
7
6
5 BCG (4)
4 Lazard (5)
3 JPMorgan (5)
2
McKinsey (5)
1
LaSalle Bank (7)
0

Source: Candesic

70
GENERAL ATLANTIC

Head office: Types of financing:

3 Pickwick Plaza Minority to majority equity in private and
Greenwich, CT 06830 public firms
Tel: +1 (203) 629-8600

UK office: EUROPEAN LOCATIONS

83 Pall Mall, Fourth Floor
London SW1Y 5ES, UK London • Düsseldorf
Tel: +44 20 7484-3200

www.generalatlantic.com OTHER LOCATIONS

Greenwich (HQ) • New York • Palo
Alto • Washington, D.C. (Portfolio sup-
THE STATS port office) • Hong Kong • Mumbai •
Chairman: Steve A. Denning Sao Paulo (Portfolio support office)
Employer Type: Private Company
2007 Revenue: $6.9bn
2008 Assets under management: $17bn KEY COMPETITORS IN EUROPE
No. of Employees: 150 Permira • Summit Partners • TA Associ-
No. of Offices: 9 ates • TPG

COMPANY FOCUS MOST IMPORTANT FUNDS

Sectors: GA operates with an “evergreen” fund
Financial Services structure in which its partners make stag-
Media & Consumer gered long-term commitments.
Healthcare
Enterprise Solutions
Communications & Electronics EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Energy & Resources
Phone: +1 (203) 629-8600
Financial stages: For additional contact information, check
Investments range from $50m to $500m the company website at www.generalat-
in equity for growth, expansions, buy- lantic.com
outs, consolidations and build-ups

71
THE SCOOP

The Atlantic and beyond

Connecticut-based General Atlantic is a global private equity group with an exclusive
focus on information technology, process outsourcing and communications
investments. They invest not only in providers of information technology but also in
those companies for which technology is a key competitive differentiator. Founded
in 1980, the firm first began to seek investments outside the U.S. in the 1990s. Since
then, it has established offices in London, Dusseldorf, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Sao
Paulo and Singapore and has invested in more than 160 companies. Today, nearly
half of the firm's portfolio investments are foreign companies. General Atlantic
generally invests in eight to 12 companies per year, for an annual investment target
of $1 billion, and currently boasts over 50 companies in its portfolio. Its portfolio
includes holdings in Hewitt Associates, NYSE Euronext and Lenovo. All in, the tech
private equity group has around $15 billion in capital under management. The firm
distinguishes itself with its evergreen funding structure and its long-term investment
horizon. They only make investments where they believe that they can help the
management team build a market leader over five to 10 years.

Succession plans
In February 2005, co-founder and chairman of the firm's executive committee Steven
A. Denning was named chairman, and William E. Ford, a managing director and
chairman of the firm's investment committee, was named president. The two newly-
created positions reflect the company's succession plans—Denning continues to
oversee strategy and capital raising, while Ford assumes responsibility for the group's
operations, continuing to manage its investment activities. Before joining General
Atlantic in 1991, Denning was a consultant with McKinsey & Co and Ford was an
investment banker with Morgan Stanley. They both received their MBAs from
Stanford.In the same month, General Atlantic announced a name change. The
company, previously known as General Atlantic Partners, dropped the "partners" to
reflect the fact that it is a limited liability company, not a partnership.

72
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

General Atlantic
In the pits
In February 2007, General Atlantic invested a rumored $800 million for Network
Solutions, the original domain name registrar that was part of Verisign before being
spun off in 2003. Since that time, they’ve lost significant market share to discount
operations like eNom or GoDaddy. They now have about 6.6 million domain names
under management.

In May 2007, General Atlantic took a minority equity share in GETCO, a leading
electronic liquidity provider and trading firm. Two months later, it acquired Dutch
company GlobalCollect, the world’s premier full-service international e-payment service
provider, from Waterland Private Equity Investments and Prime Technology Ventures.

In Germany, in December 2005, the firm took a minority stake in Navigon, one of
Europe's leading suppliers of mobile navigation systems. It had also invested in
CompuGroup AG, LHS AG and TDS AG. General Atlantic, which had been a strategic
TDS partner since its 1998 IPO, increased its equity holding from 27 per cent to 71 per
cent in 2003 at €2.35 per share. In December 2006, it sold its stake to Fujitsu Services,
the European IT services arm of the Fujitsu Group, for a price of €2.80 per share.

The firm has also been active in the UK; they acquired a third of Torex Retail
Holdings Limited, the world’s leading provider of retail systems solutions with 2,100
staff across 19 countries, from Cerberus in August 2007. Torex provides software,
hardware and services to major UK retailers like Tesco, Selfridges and Argos. While
the terms of the transaction were not disclosed, Cerberus had bought it out of
administration in June for £204.4 million.

In 2006, the media reported that UK-based Northgate Information Solutions had
received several acquisition offers, one of which was believed to be a £600m offer
from General Atlantic, a minority shareholder. Shortly after, Northgate formally
terminated “any discussions with a third party that may have led to its acquisition”.
In December 2007, GA agreed to sell its stake to KKR, who paid £593m for the whole
of Northgate, a 40 per cent premium to the company’s share price even after it
announced it was in bid talks again.

Altogether, in 2007 General Atlantic acquired twelve new companies for total capital
of $2.1 billion.

73
GETTING HIRED

While General Atlantic offers a few internships in the US, the European operations
with only thirteen investment professionals are too small to justify it.

The global team is heavily weighted with former investment bankers, mainly from
Morgan Stanley, and consultants, mainly from McKinsey, these two happening to
be the former employers of the Chairman and of the President.

General Atlantic does not provide information about job opportunities on its web
site. Interested individuals should contact the firm's offices directly.

Higher Diploma

PhD/JD/MD (1%)
Bachelor’s only (34%)
Unknown (7%)
MBA (46%)
Master’s (12%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Strategy consulting (14%)

Audit & transaction services (8%)
Banks (41%)
Other (37%)

Source: Candesic

74
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

General Atlantic
Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)
**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0 Stanford (2)
1.5 ESCP-EAP (3)
1.0
Oxford (3)
0.5
Harvard (4)
0.0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

15

12

Deloitte (5)
9
Citigroup (5)
6
Goldman Sachs (5)
3 McKinsey (8)
Morgan Stanley (15)
0

Source: Candesic

75
 GOLDMAN SACHS
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT
AREA
UK Regional Headquarters
European Locations
Advent International plc
London (HQ)
111 Buckingham Palace Road
London SW1W 0SR Amsterdam • Bucharest •Frankfurt •
10-15
UK Newgate Street, Christchurch Kiev •Replacement,
vate, Madrid • Milan • Paris
Seed, Small• buyout
Prague •
Court
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800 Warsaw equity),
(<$15m • Bratislava (affiliate)
Start-up, • Oslo –
Turnaround
London (affiliate)
restructuring, Infrastructure, Funds of
EC1A 7HD
www.adventinternational.com funds
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7774 1000 Types of financing:
Main:
Rest Majority Equity, Minority Equity,
of the World
www.goldman-sachs.ro/services/invest- Mezzanine
The Stats Boston (HQ)
ing/private-equity
Chairman: Peter A. Brooke Tokyo • Singapore (affiliate) • Buenos
Employer Type: Independent Private Aires • Sao Paulo • Mexico • Further
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Company affiliates in five other countries
THE STATS
Total private equity funds under London
Co-heads
management: of PIA Europe:
about €11bn Sanjay Patel
(2008)
and Hughes Lepic
Employees: 130 investment professionals,
Head of European
of which Private
65 in Europe Equity Group
(2008) Key Competitors
REST OF THE WORLD
Europe: Mark Boheim
No. of Offices: 15
Employer Type: Division of publicly listed 3i • Apax
New York •(HQ)
Barclays Private
• San Equity• •Hong
Francisco
Goldman Sachs (NYSE) Cinven
Kong • Montagu
• Tokyo
Ticker Symbol: GS
Total private equity funds under manage-
Company Focus Employment
KEY Contact IN EUROPE
COMPETITORS
ment: About $50bn (globally)
Employees:
Sectors: 85 (PIA in 2007) In theCapital
Bain US: [email protected]
• Blackstone • Carlyle •
No. of Offices:
Business 5 & Financial Services
Services For other
KKR offices,
• Permira see "contact us" at
• TPG
Retail & Consumer www.adventinternational.com
Technology, Media & Telecoms
Healthcare & Life
COMPANY Sciences
FOCUS
Industrial CAREERS CONTACT AND WEBSITE
Sectors:
All sectorsstages: [email protected] (Private Equity Group)
Financial
http://www2.goldmansachs.com/careers/
International buyouts, recapitalization and
Financial stages:investments (up to €500m
growth equity
Bridge,
equity),Expansion
some venture- development,
capital Large
buyout ($150m-$300m equity), Mega
buyout
Types of(>$300m
financing:equity), Mid market
buyout
Majority($15m-$150m
equity equity), Other
early stage, Privatisation, Public to pri-

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Goldman Sachs Principal Investment Area

THE SCOOP

Goldman Sachs, the pre-eminent investment bank, has been an active private equity
investor for more than twenty years. Since 1986, Goldman Sachs' Principal
Investment Area has formed 13 investment vehicles aggregating $56 billion of capital
and investing in over 600 companies. The firm’s Principal Investment Area has over
125 professionals split across offices in New York, San Francisco, London, Hong Kong
and Tokyo, with separate divisions handling different classes of investments, namely:

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

GS Capital Partners VI 2007 $20.3bn

GS Mezzanine Partners 2006 2006 $9bn

GS Infrastructure Partners I 2006 $6.5bn

GS Capital Partners V 2005 $8.5bn

GS Mezzanine Partners III 2003 $3.5bn

• Goldman Sachs Capital Partners is the private equity arm of Goldman

Sachs, dealing with privately negotiated equity investments
• Infrastructure Investment Group manages Goldman’s infrastructure fund,
aimed at making direct investments in infrastructure or infrastructure
related assets
• Goldman Sachs Mezzanine Partners manages the largest dedicated
mezzanine fund in the world, and looks to provide mezzanine finance to
large complex deals
• Real Estate Principal Investment Area, through the Whitehall Funds, has
raised around $24 billion to invest alongside partners in real estate assets
• Real Estate Alternatives currently manages a single fund with $650 million
allocated to identifying interesting real estate investments

77
 • Technology Principal Investment Area invests from various funds,
including GS Capital Partners VI, targeting technology companies in all
stages, investing anywhere from $2 million in early stage ventures to $250
million in mature private equity situations
• Urban Investment Group is the primary investment vehicle for Goldman
Sachs to invest in companies owned or operated by ethnic minorities, or
real estate developments targeting urban areas
• Goldman Sachs Private Equity Group mainly manages funds of private
equity funds, although also makes secondary and direct co-investments

Rise of the traders

Established in 1991, the GS Capital Partners Funds are part of the firm's Principal
Investment Area in the Merchant Banking Division. Goldman Sachs Capital Partners
is the direct private equity arm of Goldman Sachs, having invested $17 billion in the
twenty years from 1986 to 2006.

In 2005, GS Capital Partners closed their fifth fund at $8.5 billion, with 30 per cent
coming from Goldman, in line with their proprietary investment approach. Shortly
after, the fund teamed up with Cinven to acquire Ahlsell AB, the Nordic distribution
business, in a deal that is estimated to have valued the company at €1.4 billion. It
also bought wind generation company Zilkha Renewable Energy and sold it two
years later as Horizon Wind Energy to Portugal’s largest utility, EDP, for more than
$2.1 billion, with a profit of $900m.

That same year, Richard Sharp, then European head of the principal investment area,
was nominated as one of the 100 most influential people in European capital markets
by The Financial News. In the UK, Sharp and his team had been aggressively targeting
companies such as BAA, ITV, AB Ports, London & Continental Railways and
Mitchells & Butlers pubs, threatening them with takeovers. In the case of ITV,
Goldman, together with Blackstone and Apax, intended to replace the chief executive
with their own candidate. When the ITV board rejected the consortium’s offer, they
appealed directly to shareholders. At one point, Goldman’s top management realised
the danger of too aggressive a move, especially when competing with and upsetting
its investment banking and private equity clients. In 2006 former CEO Paulson called
off the “London dogs” and Sharp stood down as chairman for Private Equity.

Members only
Invariably, Goldman's success raises questions about conflicts of interest. Will the
firm be tempted to keep the sexiest deals for itself? The management argues that they

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Goldman Sachs Principal Investment Area

rarely pursue deals on their own but rather in club deals. Moreover, they demonstrate
their commitment to the clients in investing alongside them while helping them raise
the funding for their acquisitions.

Goldman doesn’t always hunt in herds. In 2005 for example it snapped up the cable
company Pirelli, now renamed Prysmian Cables & Systems, for €1.3 billion,
outbidding Bain Capital and Texas Pacific. But most of the significant transactions are
club deals. Back in 2002, a consortium made up of Texas Pacific, Bain Capital and
Goldman Sachs bought Burger King from Diageo, the British drinks company, for
$1.5 billion. After bringing in new management and streamlining the operations, the
three firms raised $393 million through an IPO in 2006, retaining a majority stake in
the company.

Other recent club deals include: the 2005 privatisation, along with EQT, of ISS, a
Denmark-based integrated service company, for DKK 22.1 billion (€2.97 billion); the
2006 take private of Kinder Morgan, a pipeline company, with the Carlyle Group
and Riverstone Holdings for $22 billion; and that same year, the acquisition of Linde’s
forklift division KION Group together with KKR for €4 billion. In 2007, GS Capital
Partners teamed up with TPG Capital in an offer to buy telecommunications giant
ALLTEL for nearly $25 billion in the largest ever leveraged buyout at that time.

Also in 2007, Goldman and KKR agreed to the $8 billion buyout of upscale audio
equipment maker Harman International Industries. In a sign of the changing times
and amid tightening global credit conditions, the two bidders decided later that year
to pull out, invoking a clause regarding "a material adverse change in Harman's
business”. In October they agreed with Harman to end their buyout and instead buy
$400 million of the company’s bonds.

In 2007, GS Capital Partners closed its sixth fund, GS Capital Partners VI, at a cool $20
billion, $9 billion of which came from within Goldman itself. GS Capital Partners
does not focus on specific sectors, but has traditionally targeted the $1 billion plus
mega-deals. In September of 2007, Goldman announced that the new VI fund would
see a shift in strategy, moving away from the blockbuster deals that the credit crunch
has all but halted and towards smaller investments, ideally Private Investments in
Public Entities (PIPEs). The change in deal size will not slow the pace of investment
though, with the $20 billion pool of money expected to last only two to three years.

Universal soldier
The firm is also a leading player in the mezzanine area. In 2006, GS Mezzanine
Partners closed their fourth fund, GSMP 2006, with a staggering $9 billion of

79
committed capital, making it the largest mezzanine fund in the world. The fund will
target the Americas and Europe, making large mezzanine investments from $40
million to $500 million. The firm invests in leading companies with enterprise values
ranging from $500 million to $10 billion, aimed at partnering with sizeable equity
investors to structure complex transactions.

Goldman Sachs Private Equity Group (PEG) is a leading investor in private equity
funds, while also retaining the capacity to act as a co-investor for particular direct
investments. The PEG manages over €16 billion, with over 85 professionals, and
primarily invests in PE funds from the US, Europe, Latin America and Asia, with a
variety of strategies and sector focuses. The PEG is subdivided into three separate
programmes: GS Private Equity Partners is the global primary fund of funds; GS
Vintage funds participate in secondary market transactions and portfolios of direct
investments; GS Distressed Opportunities focuses on distressed debt and equity
investments in private equity partnerships.

GETTING HIRED

The Merchant Bank division offers 10-week summer analyst and associate internships
in its locations worldwide. This represents a couple of positions in the London PIA.
Interns get an opportunity to learn about principal investing activities and increase
their chances to get invited to interview upon graduation.

The division recruits undergraduates as analysts, graduates as associates and some

experienced hires. Their background and previous academic and professional
achievements tend to be stellar. Analysts go through a two- to three-year program
while associates start with a five-week trainee program to refresh the theory and
familiarise them with the tools and the working environment. Analysts and
associates are assigned a mentor to assist in their professional development.

Goldman Sachs is universally famous for the quality of its recruiting services. It’s no
different in merchant banking. They hire the best of the best, after a long process
where candidates meet a number of employees proportional to their prior experience.
Strong achievers from any background have their chance but somehow, they tend to
be Oxbridge or Harvard graduates with a stint at Bain or McKinsey. Candidates
interested in joining the private equity area will find all information at
www.goldman-sachs.ro/careers/our-firm/divisions/mbd/index.html

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ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
KOHLBERG KRAVIS ROBERTS
& CO. (KKR)
Head office: Consumer Products
9 West 57th Street Energy & Natural Resources
Suite 4200 Financial Services
New York, NY 10019 Health Care
Phone: +1 (212) 750-8300 Industrial
Fax: +1 (212) 750-0003 Media & Communications
Retail
London office: Technology.
Stirling Square
7 Carlton Gardens Financial stages:
London SW1Y 5AD Leveraged buyouts
+44 (0)20 7839 9800
Types of financing:
Paris office: Majority equity, co-investment in major-
24 rue Jean Goujon ity equity, debt
75008 Paris
+33 (0)1 53 53 96 00
www.kkr.com EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
London • Paris
THE STATS
Founding Partners: Henry Kravis & REST OF THE WORLD
George Roberts (Jerome Kohlberg left in
1987 and founded Kohlberg & Co.) New York • Menlo Park • Hong Kong •
Chief executive: Johannes Huth Tokyo
Employer Type: Private Company
Total equity assets: €86bn (As of Octo-
ber 2007) KEY COMPETITORS IN EUROPE
No. of Employees: 400 Bain Capital • Blackstone • Goldman
No. of Offices: 6 Sachs • Permira • TPG

COMPANY FOCUS EMPLOYMENT CONTACT

Sectors: London: +44 207 839 9800
(Organised into nine primary industry New York: +1 212 750 8300
groups globally) Menlo Park: +1 650 233 6560
Chemicals

81
THE SCOOP

Head honcho
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., commonly known as KKR, is a recognised leader in
the private equity world. Founded in 1976, the firm quickly built a reputation for
itself as both innovator and head honcho. Its achievements include the first billion-
dollar buyout transaction, the largest buyout transaction over two decades and still
the largest ever in real dollars (RJR Nabisco for $31.4 billion in 1987), the largest
buyout in Europe and two of the largest Canadian buyouts. All in, KKR has
completed more than 160 transactions worth $410bn. The private equity guru
employs 100 professionals based in New York, Menlo Park, London, Paris, Hong
Kong and Tokyo. Of these, 26 are what the firm calls "members," who have an
average of 16 years with the firm. In 2007, the firm owned 40 companies that
generated more then $100 billion revenue with 560,000 employees. The firm is very
strong in Europe where it controls or owns stakes in 18 companies with about $50
billion in total revenue.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

KKR European fund III 2008 €8 (target)bn

KKR Millennium II 2007 $16.6bn

KKR PE Investors (Euronext Amst.: KPE) 2006 $5.3 (NAV)bn

KKR European Fund II 2005 €4.5bn

KKR Financial (NYSE: KFN) 2004 $18 (NAV)bn

The KKR way

So what's the secret behind KKR's success? For one, the firm has a long-standing
reputation that works to its advantage when going after deals. KKR also boasts a
network of key relationships in "Main Street" industries, as well as throughout Wall
Street. Diversification is another key factor for the private equity group, which has
invested in both fledgling start-ups and established corporations, traditional
industries and less conventional sectors. The firm's industry experience includes
chemicals, communications, consumer products, energy, financial services, health
care, homebuilding, hospitality and leisure, industrial and manufacturing, media

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Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR)

and retail. KKR dealmakers are divided into these 11 industry groups, which focus
on 100-day plans. Yet another reason for KKR's success is its long-term view: the
firm's average investment period is seven years, although the firm has held a handful
of companies for more than 10 years. Finally, KKR brings a certain level of expertise
to the table in terms of managing its portfolio companies. This know-how includes
the ability to attract strong management, "incentivise" management and employees,
pursue acquisitions and divestitures, arrange financings, provide effective oversight
and maximise value when exiting investments. Most importantly, the firm boasts an
annual rate of return of roughly 27 per cent according to Fortune. In 2000, KKR
launched Capstone, a consulting firm that works exclusively for them and helps with
improving operations and measuring company performance.

The next frontier

The private equity firm's European division has been busy in recent years. The
London-based team led by Johannes Huth added a new record with the biggest
private equity transaction ever in Europe, an £11 bn ($22bn) acquisition of Alliance-
Boots in 2007, the leading pharmacy network in the UK. However, the majority of
KKR’s eighteen European acquisitions have been outside of the UK, with current
portfolio companies in several countries: Legrand, an electrical device manufacturer,
Tarkett, a flooring products company, and PagesJaunes, the French directory
provider, were all acquired through the Paris office, which was only established in
2005; in the Netherlands, KKR owns five companies including NXP, Maxeda and
Nielsen; in Germany, KKR owns another five companies including Kion Group and
the ProSeibenSat1 media company; in addition, the firm owns TDC, the Danish
telecom operator.

One of the group's earliest acquisitions, banking information systems specialist Wincor
Nixdorf, has staged a remarkable turnaround. Wincor more than doubled its worker
force after KKR took over in 1999, and the company recently ranked No. 8 in German
job creation between 2000 and 2005. Since going public in 2004, Wincor posted an
annualised return above 50 per cent. Still, KKR would do well to proceed with caution
in Germany, as the current attitude toward foreign buyout firms is none too friendly.
Franz Muntefering, chairman of the Social Democrats, likened private equity firms
such as KKR to "swarms of locusts sucking the substance" from German companies.

Asia is one arena in which KKR is not a top dog. While competitors like the Carlyle
Group have been in Asia since the late 1990s, KKR has been late to get into the mix.
That has changed in the last two years with the opening of offices in Hong Kong and
Tokyo, and several recent investments in Asia.

83
On the selling block
Specialty publishing and targeted media company Primedia is one of KKR's longest
running investments. The private equity group has made a number of investments,
dating back to 1989 when Primedia was first getting its feet on the ground. In fact,
the media company was originally known as K-III Communications, reflecting the
start-up's financial backers (KKR). As of late, Primedia has been engaged in a fair
amount of buying and selling, beefing up its portfolio of magazines while selling off
key assets. A major sale came in 2005, when Primedia sold its About.com web site
to The New York Times Company. Other transactions that year include the sale of
Bankers Training & Consulting Company to BAI, the acquisition of the Auto Interiors
Exposition & Conference from VNU, and the purchase of NHU Publishing. The next
year, it sold Gems Group to Aspire Media's Interweave Press. It also announced the
discontinuation of its Education Segment and retained Goldman Sachs and Lehman
Brothers to explore the sale of its Enthusiast Media segment (PEM), the No. 1 special
interest magazine publisher in the U.S. In 2007, it had already sold its hunting,
shooting and fishing titles to InterMedia Partners and Films Media Group (FMG) to
Infobase Publishing Co. In August, PEM was finally sold to Source Interlink
Companies for close to $1.2bn.

Toy story
KKR may not have competitors. Lately, it has been partnering with the other buyout
giants, for example the joint acquisition with Blackstone, Goldman Sachs and TPG of
Biomet in Poland in September 2007, or with Permira in December 2006 to acquire
ProSiebenSat1 in Germany. KKR is not new to partnering: in 2005 for example, the
private equity group teamed up with Silver Lake Partners to acquire Agilent's
semiconductor business for $2.65 billion and with Permira to buy SBS Broadcasting
S.A. for approximately $2.55 billion. That year also marked the completion of the $6.6
billion acquisition of Toys “R” Us. Originally, KKR had planned to go it alone,
targeting the retailer’s toy business by itself, but later joined forces with Bain Capital
Partners and Vornado Realty Trust to buy the whole company (including its baby-
products stores). Experts say part of the retailer's appeal was its real estate, which
includes 1,500 stores around the world, with 681 in the U.S.

While stockholders clearly had faith that the takeover was a good thing for the
company (the stock increased dramatically prior to the completion of the deal), others
remain skeptical about the investors' ability to turn things around. For one, Toys R
Us faces increasing competition from the likes of Wal-Mart and Target. Furthermore,
the bricks and mortar retailer has yet to find an online strategy that works. A new
issue came in 2007 as the company, as well as the rest of the U.S. toy industry, faced

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR)

intense scrutiny after global recalls of millions of toys made in China over excessive
lead paint levels that sparked safety concerns.

The year of the mega deals

In 2007, KKR partnered with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice to complete the acquisition of
U.S. Foodservice from Ahold in a $7.1bn transaction, and with Goldman Sachs and
Citigroup to acquire Dollar General for $7.3bn. It also partnered with TPG for a new
record with the acquisition of Dallas-based energy company TXU Corp. in a
transaction valued at $45bn. The company, previously listed on the New York Stock
Exchange and the Chicago Stock Exchange, was renamed Energy Future Holdings
Corp., a holding company with three separate and distinct business units with
separate boards, management teams and headquarters: TXU Energy, a competitive
electricity retailer; Luminant, a competitive power generation business; and Oncor,
a regulated electric distribution and transmission business. With this operation, KKR
regained the crown for the largest buyout from arch-rival Blackstone before losing it
again a few months later following the announcement of the $51.7 billion acquisition
of Canadian Telco BCE by Teachers’ (the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan).

Gate closed
After the credit crunch of 2007, business had to slow down. The difficulty to finance
or refinance the debt led to the sudden death of multi-billion dollar LBOs. No one
knows how long it may last, but firms like KKR are forced to pursue smaller targets
or focus on their existing portfolio. The day before Christmas, KKR announced the
acquisition of Northgate Information Solutions, a provider of specialist software,
outsourcing and information technology services, and a market leader in human
resource and payroll processing, for approximately £593 million. This ends a long
saga that commenced a year earlier with the termination of takeover discussions with
its largest shareholder, General Atlantic, for a rumoured £600 million. Northgate
works on one in three UK workers' salaries and fields most 999 calls made to the
police; its long-term contracts, recurring revenue and high levels of cash flow were
particularly attractive to private equity companies.

Defectors at the gate

KKR prides itself on a low turnover rate among its employees, which is why the firm
was not very happy to lose many of its original partners, including Saul Fox, Ted
Ammon, Ned Gilhuly, Mike Tokarz and Scott Stuart who were instrumental in
establishing KKR's reputation and track record in the 1980s. Scott Stuart and Edward
Gilhuly left the firm in September 2005 in order to start their own investment fund.

85
Insiders suspect that the move may have been triggered by the founding generation's
reluctance to give up the reins. KKR is run by Henry Kravis and George Roberts,
both 63 with no plans to retire, and is considered one of the most closely controlled
private equity firms in the business. Stuart and Gilhuly, roommates at Stanford
Business School, told The Wall Street Journal that their departure had nothing to do
with the founding partners, describing Kravis and Roberts as "fully engaged and the
right guys to run KKR". Two years later, some people still wonder if KKR has spent
sufficient time dealing directly with succession.

What next? Over the years, KKR has expanded beyond equity financing for buyouts
and has launched several credit vehicles, including KKR Financial, listed on the
NYSE. In 2006, it successfully raised more than €4 billion with the public listing of a
fund on Euronext Amsterdam. In June 2007, KKR filed a registration statement with
the SEC for a proposed $1.25bn IPO of its “common units representing limited
partner interests in its partnership”. The firm intended to apply to list its common
units on the NYSE under the symbol “KKR”. While the firm filed an amended
prospectus six months later in November, following the bad performance of
Blackstone’s IPO, the credit crunch and the losses in the mortgage holdings of KKR
Financial, KKR's publicly traded affiliate, it is still yet to happen.

GETTING HIRED

KKR does not provide employment information on its web site. Its staff in Europe are
typically former employees from the likes of Goldman Sachs and McKinsey (the latter
at Capstone in particular), most with an INSEAD or Harvard MBA. Candidates
interested in working for the private equity firm in Europe should contact the firm
directly at its offices in London and Paris.

86
TPG

301 Commerce Street, Suite 3300 Growth and TPG Biotechnology add
Fort Worth, TX 76102 value to companies in their early and
United States growth stages.
Tel +1 (817) 871-4000
Types of financing:
London office: Private equity, venture capital, public eq-
2nd Floor, Stirling Square uity and debt investing
5-7 Carlton Gardens
London, SW1Y 5AD
United Kingdom EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Tel +44 (0) 20 7544 6500
London • Luxembourg • Paris •
www.tpg.com Moscow

THE STATS REST OF THE WORLD

Managing Partners: David Bonderman, Fort Worth (HQ) • Menlo Park • Min-
Jim Coulter & Bill Price neapolis • New York • San Francisco •
Employer Type: Private Company Washington, D.C. • Beijing • Hong
Private equity assets under management: Kong • Mumbai • Shanghai • Singapore
$50bn • Tokyo • Melbourne
No. of Employees: 150+ investment pro-
fessionals
No. of Offices: 17 KEY COMPETITORS IN EUROPE
Bain Capital • Blackstone • Goldman
Sachs • KKR • Permira • Apax
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Industries undergoing change created by EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
industry trends, economic cycles or spe- Phone: +44 (0) 20 7544 6500
cific company circumstances

Financial stages:
Through TPG Capital, global public and
private investments executed through
leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, spin-
outs, joint ventures and restructurings.
The firm’s growth platforms, TPG

87
THE SCOOP

On a roll
Founded in 1993, TPG is a leading private equity firm with some $50 billion in assets
under management and more than 120 transactions under its belt. The companies in
its portfolio represent a total of about 500,000 employees. These days, say insiders, the
firm is bigger and busier than ever. Of late, TPG has partnered with other firms to
buy luxury retailer Neiman Marcus; a stake in Lenovo Group, China’s largest
computer maker; SunGard Data Systems and, together with KKR, TXU, which was
shortly the largest LBO since the RJR Nabisco buyout in 1989. The firm also invested
in Washington Mutual, purchased Midwest Airlines and Canadian pharmaceutical
company Axcan. In 2006, the company closed its fifth fund at $15 billion of capital
commitments, a significant landmark for TPG considering it launched its first fund
in 1993 with $720 million. It was also the most active private equity player in 2006
as it struck deals worth about $101 billion.

Buyout funds
FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

TPG Partners V 2006 $15bn

TPG Partners IV 2003 $5.8bn

In the past, TPG has pursued distressed companies, the ones other investors wouldn't
get anywhere near—think Burger King. These days TPG is also focusing on
distressed investing now that take private transactions are very difficult in the current
credit environment. Up until recently, more than half of the group's capital had gone
toward high-quality, low-risk investments such as SunGard, Neiman Marcus and
Petco Animal Supplies. Investments have included technology (Seagate Technology),
consumer products (Ducati), retail (J. Crew), airlines (Continental), media
(Univision), entertainment (Harrah’s) and energy (Energy Future Holdings—
formerly TXU, Texas Genco Holdings). Its previous experience in the utility sector
was less fortunate as it failed to buy Portland General Electric in 2005 because of a
pushback from the Oregon Public Utility Commission.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

TPG
Evolution
From the very beginning, TPG showed a distinctive ability to identify lucrative
investment opportunities, which started with Continental Airlines in 1993. With a
new management team focusing on lucrative business and a better aircraft utilization,
TPG generated an 81 per cent gross IRR. TPG's total return on its $64 million
investment was nearly $700 million. TPG’s interest in airlines has been a constant
feature over the last 15 years. The firm also invested in America West Airlines and
Singapore airline Tiger Airways Pte and, in 2007, TPG acquired Midwest Air Group
in a $451 million transaction backed financially by Northwest Airlines.

Outside of the US, airlines have been more difficult to acquire. In 2007, TPG was
unable to get the necessary shareholder approval and failed to acquire Australian
airline Qantas. In May 2007, it was said to be bidding for at least 39.9 per cent of
Italy’s state-controlled airline Alitalia along with MatlinPatterson and Mediobanca
for a reported €5bn. It has finally thrown in the towel in November, after failing to
put together a consortium with a majority of Italian investors. In 2007, TPG led
another consortium including British Airways to acquire Spanish airline Iberia for a
reported €3.4bn, but officially withdrew in December.

Go Europe
TPG is based in the Lone Star State, although the private equity group is no ingénue
when it comes to the rest of the world. Out of its 17 offices, four are in Europe and
seven in Australasia, most of them opened in the last three years. In fact, TPG was
one of the first major U.S. private equity firms to establish a European business; past
transactions include Ducati Motor, Punch Taverns, Scottish & Newcastle Retail and
Findexa. In 2003 and 2005, TPG won Thomson's European buyout deal of the year
for its acquisitions of UK retailer Debenhams for £1.7 billion, and the first buyout in
Greece with the acquisition of 81 per cent of TIM Hellas for €1.1 billion. Debenhams
was floated on the London Stock Exchange in June 2006 and TPG remains the
company’s largest shareholder. TPG realised strong gains on its investment in TIM
Hellas when the company was sold to Weather Investments in February 2007. Finally,
in October 2006, TPG took a 42 per cent stake in French television firm TDF.

And that was it. According to FinancialNews, TPG has failed to win the €40bn worth
of European deals it bid for in 2007. Still, 2007 was a good year for TPG. In spite of
all the turmoil in the market, the company managed to close the largest buyout ever
at the time—TXU (now called Energy Future Holdings). It also finalised several
billion plus in other deals: the acquisition of Sabre Holdings with Silver Lake for $5.4
billion; the acquisition of Harrah's Entertainment with Apollo for $31 billion; the

89
acquisition of business communications specialist Avaya, again with Silver Lake, for
about $8.3 billion; and finally, the privatization of Alltel for $27 billion, together with
GS Capital Partners.

More hits than misses

When you take a gamble on down-and-out companies, you're bound to have some
misses from time to time. Some of TPG’s lower-returning investments include Gate
Gourmet Group, Bally and Ducati Motor, but these have still proven to be quite
profitable for the firm. In 2004, TPG and another private equity group sold off Petco
for a gain of nearly six times their initial investment of $190 million just four years
earlier. And Burger King, bought in 2002, looks like a success story. By mid-2005, the
franchise had already earned more money than it had in all of 2004. In May 2006, the
IPO was a success and in February 2007 TPG recovered its initial investment by
selling some shares. TPG’s third fund is one of its most successful.

Rumor has it that, like other major private equity firms, TPG has been scrutinizing
the Blackstone $4bn IPO and is exploring the sale of a minority stake in the firm or
even a public offering. In a December 2007 interview with Reuters, managing partner
David Bonderman stated that, while he has no immediate plans to take his firm
public, he expects that most major private equity firms will probably be public
companies within five years. "Being public is not my favorite thing," Bonderman said,
“and I hope that TPG will be one of the last ones.” In the meantime, as of April 2008,
TPG is nearing a deal to buy a $5 billion stake in a public company: troubled
mortgage lender Washington Mutual.

GETTING HIRED

TPG doesn’t disclose the profiles of its team. Insiders tell us that the London team is
diverse, with a majority of investment managers hired from other private equity
firms or from investment banks.
Candidates interested in learning more about job opportunities with TPG should
contact the office of their choice at www.tpg.com/contact.

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3I
ADVENT
GROUPINTERNATIONAL

16 Palace Street Types of financing:

London SW1E 5JD Main: Majority Equity
United Kingdom Other: Minority Equity, Debt, Investment
Tel: +44 (0)20 79 28 3131 in third party fund, Mezzanine, Share-
holders loans
www.3i.com

EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
THE STATS
Amsterdam • Barcelona • Copenhagen
CEO: Philip Yea • Frankfurt • Helsinki • London • Lyon •
Employer Type: Public listed company Madrid • Milan • Munich • Paris • Stock-
(LSE) holm • Stuttgart • Zurich
Ticker Symbol: III
Total private equity funds under manage-
ment: €10.7bn (As of March 2007) REST OF THE WORLD
2006 Revenue: €4.15bn
2005 Revenue: €4.18bn New York • Menlo Park • Beijing •
Employees: 750 investment professionals Hong Kong • Mumbai • Shanghai • Sin-
in 2008 gapore
No. of Offices: 24 in 14 countries

KEY COMPETITORS
COMPANY FOCUS Advent International • Apax • Barclays
Sectors: Private Equity • Bridgepoint • Montagu
All sectors, with specialist global teams in
Oil
Gas & Power EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Technology www.3i.com/careers/current-opportuni-
Media ties.html
Business Services
Financial Services
Healthcare and Consumer.

Financial stages:
Mid-market buyout up to €1 bn equity),
Growth Capital, Infrastructure and
Quoted Private Equity.

91
THE SCOOP

With 750 professionals, 3i is one of the largest European private equity companies by
assets under management and the largest by number of transactions. In 2006, the
company had €10.7 billion under management and in the last five years has
completed 400 trade sales and 46 public offerings. The firm is a true generalist and
along with being one of the oldest British firms, it is probably the most diversified.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

3i eurofund V 2006 €5bn

3i eurofund IV 2004 €3.3bn

3i eurofund II 1999 €2bn

A brief look into the past

In 1945 the demand for risk capital for growing independent businesses in the United
Kingdom was quite high. Back then, William Piercy was the first to lead the 3i Group
in England.

In 1967, the firm made its first venture capital investment by buying a share of Oxford
Industries for £90,000, which it went on to sell for £4.7 million. In the following years,
3i invested mainly in Europe, the US and Japan and was listed on the London Stock
Exchange in 1991 with a market capitalisation of £1.5 billion. Shortly after, the
company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and at its current value of £6.5
billion is the only private equity firm included in the FTSE 100.

In 1999 the company raised €2 billion for its second European fund. 3i was badly hit
by the technology bubble burst of 2000 and in 2001 restructured its organisation
towards a three sector strategy, in order to efficiently develop each business unit:
Buyouts, Growth Capital and Venture Capital. In 2005, 3i sold the world’s largest
foreign exchange specialist – Travelex – for £1 billion to Apax, generating a 10 times
return on investment. It had bought the company on 30 December 1998—just days
from the formal introduction of the Euro that many thought would destroy the
business. Recently, 3i launched its fifth and largest European fund, with €5 billion of
committed capital.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

3i Group
Presence in all stages of private equity
The venture capital unit operates in Europe and the United States, investing between
€1 million and €75 million per transaction. Its main focus is on start-up and early-
stage operations.

Today, the rest of the private equity business is divided into Growth Capital and
Buyouts, with the newly formed Infrastructure and QPE groups completing the picture.

• Growth Capital focuses on minority holdings in emerging markets such as

Asia. The team normally invests between €10 million and €150 million per
transaction and is currently the fastest growing division of 3i.
• Buyouts is the largest team with 90 professionals. It takes controlling
positions in European mid-market companies and has achieved an
impressive 40 per cent yearly IRR since 2001.
• The Infrastructure team invests amounts of €70 to €400 millions in
infrastructure assets, defined as asset-intensive businesses that provide
essential services over the long term, often regulated or with significant
long-term contracts
• The newly formed QPE team or quoted private equity unit will invest in
majority holdings of mid sized companies with enterprise value of €100
million to €2 billion. The infrastructure unit is truly global whereas the QPE
team operates in Europe only.

93
While growing in size and reach, the company remains committed to the mid-markets
and won the Private Equity News’ mid-market firm of the year award in 2006.

There is also an SMI team of 17 professionals that manages minority holdings, with
a combined market value of €600m, in more than 250 British and German small
companies.

Thanks to its long existence and to the diversity of its geographic, sector and
financing experience, 3i offers a rare access to the widest range of local business
communities, entrepreneurs, experts and multinationals.

Expansion plans
3i expanded early throughout Europe, and for the last 10 years, the focus has been on
developing their presence in Asian and Nordic markets. The company expanded its
target acquisition regions to Finland, Sweden and Denmark as well as Greater China.
In addition, 3i opened a new office for its Growth Capital unit in New York.

In 2007, 3i sold its shares in Nordic Modular to Kungsleden AB, a Stockholm-listed

real estate company, for about €100 million, making ten times its initial investment
of 2005. Eastern Europe is another area that private equity firms, 3i in particular, are
trying to break into. In 2007, 3i formed a CEE team and acquired EDS, the leading
web-offset printer in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. A few months later,
the team was reinforced with a first appointment in Warsaw.

In 2007, 3i has conducted business in 20 regions and various growth sectors. Since
its creation in the United Kingdom in 1945, it has expanded to 14 countries across
the world. 3i understands the potential of growing markets around the world but
still remains strong in its traditional European regions.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

3i Group
Infrastructure fund
In 2007, 3i established an infrastructure fund which made its first public investment
of €305 million, when it bought three oil tanking businesses, one being Oil Tanking,
a German business in which 3i acquired a 45 per cent stake. The 3i Infrastructure
fund has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since March 2007, and has so far
raised €1 billion.

GETTING HIRED

3i wants to attract “people with an international mindset, people who thrive in a

multidisciplinary and challenging environment and people with a highly focused
and ambitious mindset”. Candidates are expected to demonstrate an ability to work
together across business lines and national boundaries. 3i has a varied European
culture which makes flexibility and cultural openness particularly important.
Compared to other global players, its employees tended to study predominantly in
Europe rather than in the US.

Due to the strong UK presence, over 10 per cent of all employees studied at
Cambridge or Oxford. In France most employees studied business at HEC, and in the
Nordic region, at the Helsinki University and the Stockholm School of Economics.
3i’s percentage of graduate degrees is relatively high compared to other private
equity companies. INSEAD and London Business School account for more than 25
per cent of all MBAs at the firm.

95
 Higher Diploma

Bachelor’s only 32%

Unknown 7%

PhD/JD/MD 6%

MBA 28%

Master’s 27%

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Strategy consulting 11%

Audit & transaction services 17%

Banks 21%

Other 51%

Source: Candesic

Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)

**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

20

15
HEC (9)
10 LBS (10)
Cambridge (16)
5
Oxford (17)
INSEAD (18)
0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

20

15
JPMorgan (6)
10 Deloitte (9)
McKinsey (11)
5
Anderson (16)
PWC (17)
0

Source: Candesic

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

3i Group
3i is composed of a diverse group of 250 professionals. Only half of them had their
previous jobs in professional services (mostly consulting and transactions services)
or investment banking. Almost a quarter come from the industry. The main previous
employers are the Big Five and McKinsey.

The largest team is based in London, where it recently moved to new premises next
to Buckingham Palace, closer to the traditional private equity establishment in St
James. The new office is designed to favour the interaction between managers and
entrepreneurs and has achieved the desired mix of startup and professional
environment.

Candidates will find that 3i provides plenty of information on recruitment and

careers on their website.

97
 ADVENT
ALLIANZ INTERNATIONAL
CAPITAL PARTNERS/
ALLIANZ PRIVATE EQUITY PARTNERS/
ALLIANZ AGF PRIVATE EQUITY
Königinstraße 19 Types of financing:
80539 Munich Majority equity, co-investment, mezzanine
Germany
Tel: +49 (0)89 38 00 19900
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
www.acp.allianz.com
www.apep.allianz.com Munich (HQ) • Paris (Allianz AGF Pri-
www.agfpe.com vate Equity) • London

THE STATS REST OF THE WORLD

Managing directors: Mr. Stefan Sanne New York • Singapore

(ACP), Mr. Jonny Maxwell (APEP)
Employer Type: Subsidaries of Allianz
AG KEY COMPETITORS
Total private equity funds under man- 3i • Apax • AXA Private Equity
agement: €2bn (direct), €7bn (funds of
funds) and €2bn (AGF PE)
Employees: 200 in 2004 (Allianz Private
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Equity Holding)
No. of Offices: 4 Tel: +49 (0)89 38 00 70 10

COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Automotive
Specialty Chemicals
Renewable Energy
Healthcare

Financial stages:
ACP: Private Equity direct investments
(MBO, expansion, financial restructur-
ing)
APEP: Funds of funds
AGF PE: Funds of funds and VC

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Allianz Capital Partners/ Allianz Private Equity Partners/ Allianz AGF Private Equity
THE SCOOP

In 2002, Allianz Private Equity Holding was formed to integrate the various private
equity activities of the Allianz Group and of its banking arm Dresdner. It included
Allianz Capital Partners (ACP) for direct investments, Allianz Private Equity Partners
(APEP), the funds of funds and some venture capital activities.

Allianz Capital Partners

ACP manages only its parent’s own funds, with €2bn spread across 20 investments
in the last 10 years. ACP has an edge over independent PE firms in that it can tap the
full resources of the Allianz Group to enhance their portfolio companies’ value where
other firms may have struggled.

ACP was established in 1998 and has since grown to include 40 professionals based
in Munich, who occasionally partner with colleagues in London on select
investments. The team invests in European assets in the realm of €30 million-€350
million, but only in certain asset classes. While it presents itself as generalist, the team
typically does not make direct equity investments in real estate, insurance, banking
or content media.

They will consider conglomerate restructuring, developing German middle-market

companies, privatizations and public-to-private MBOs relying on equity or
mezzanine financing; however, they shy away from start-up financing and
operational restructuring.

Thomas Pueter
As Germany’s most senior private equity investor, Thomas Pueter is seen as a
charming and eloquent spokesman of the industry. Along with running ACP he is
also head of Allianz Alernative Asset Holding, a business unit created in 2005 to tie
together the group’s alternative assets ranging from private equity to real estate to
alternative energy. In the debate that is currenlty shaping the German economic
outlook, he is seen as a calm voice that carries a measure of influence.

99
Team power
ACP conducts only a few key transactions every year. In 2004, together with Lufthansa
and Apax, ACP sold Tank and Rast, the German motorway service operator that had
been privatised in 1998, to Terra Firma. In 2006, it sold Four Seasons Healthcare, a
leading UK nursing homes operator, for £1.4bn to Three Delta, representing 14 times
EBITDA, having bought it for £1.15bn from Alchemy in 2004. In May 2007, ACP bought
Selecta, the European vending business of Compass Group, for a consideration of
£772.5m. Selecta operates as many as 150,000 vending machines.

Like most other major buyout players, ACP is increasingly teaming up to win
transactions; in 2007, it partnered with ABN AMRO Capital to acquire Sdu, a leading
publishing and security identification group, from the Dutch State for €415m, and with
3i and a strategic investor, Deutsche Seereederei, to purchase ferryshipping company
Scandlines Group. To convince the previous state owners, the consortium has agreed
not to lay-off any employees for operational reasons until December 31, 2010.

Allianz Private Equity Partners

Allianz Group investors who wish to invest indirectly into the private equity sector
are channelled through Allianz Private Equity Partners. As a ‘fund of funds’ their
main responsibility is to efficiently invest a pool of funds in various PE firms; this
involves conducting due diligence of PE partnerships, valuations of unrealised PE
portfolios, research on the private equity market and presenting their ideas to an
investment committee.

A little bit of history

APEP was formed in 1996 when Allianz started its private equity program, with the
expansion of a New York office and an acquisition of Dresdner’s private equity funds
portfolio following in 2002 and 2003, respectively. With 48 professionals spread
across offices in Munich, New York, Singapore and AGF Private Equity in Paris, the
team has a truly global investor base.

In July 2007 Allianz announced that they were forming an indirect PE investment
business group in London, headed by the controversial former head of Standard Life
PE Jonny Maxwell. The then CEO Wanching Ang was appointed to the management
team, and subsequently resigned from Allianz in November to ‘pursue personal
interests’, leaving Mr. Maxwell to take over her duties.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Top of the Deutsche league

Allianz Capital Partners/ Allianz Private Equity Partners/ Allianz AGF Private Equity
The current assets under management are in the region of c. €7 billion with an annual
commitment rate around c. €1.3 billion, which is spread across 10-20 investments per
year. In February 2007 APEP announced it was closing its first fund of funds to
investors at €823 million, making it the most successful German fund of funds to
date. Allianz Group companies invested about €200 million, with the remainder
coming from institutional and private investors.

Allianz AGF Private Equity

Since Allianz bought French Insurance company AGF, French operations had kept
their name while being slowly integrated. In 2008, AGF Private Equity becomes
officially Allianz AGF Private Equity and brings its private equity activities in funds
of funds, secondaries, co-investments and venture capital to the group.

GETTING IN

Allianz Capital Partner’s investment team consists of specialists from seven countries
who provide extensive knowledge of local markets. The firm doesn’t disclose the
profiles of the team. However, out of 40 ACP employees in Munich, there are five
INSEAD graduates (with another five in the other PE divisions of the group).

APEP is divided into four teams: Management Team, Investment Team, Clients and
Products team, and Business Operations team. They are located in Munich, New York
and Singapore, with a diversified sector experience in private equity, industrial
corporations, investment banking, and professional services. There is a large
proportion of employees who joined with prior private equity experience. The same
applies to the smaller French team of eight in the funds of funds and secondary
investments of AGF Private Equity.

Allianz’s top graduate university is Munich University, which is to be expected since

their only true office in Europe so far is in Munich. The team is becoming more
international as both ACP and APEP pursue more European investments. With the
opening of the London office and the integration of AGF Private Equity, Allianz could
soon become a true pan-European player and catch up with its dynamic archrival Axa
Private Equity.

101
ADVENT
APAX PARTNERS
INTERNATIONAL

33 Jermyn
UK Regional
Street
Headquarters European Locations
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Advent International
London SW1Y 6DN plc
111 Buckingham
United Kingdom Palace Road London (HQ) • Madrid • Milan • Mu-
London
Tel: +44SW1W
(0)20 780SR
72 6300 Amsterdam
nich • Stockholm
• Bucharest
• Paris•Frankfurt
(Apax Partners
•
UK Kiev • Madrid • Milan • Paris • Prague •
France)
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800
www.apax.com Warsaw • Bratislava (affiliate) • Oslo
(affiliate)
www.adventinternational.com REST OF THE WORLD
THE STATS New York • Hong Kong • Mumbai • Tel
CEO: Dr. Martin Halusa Aviv
Rest of the World
Employee Type: Independent Private
The Stats Boston (HQ)
Company
Chairman:
Total Peter
private A. Brooke
equity funds under manage- TokyoCOMPETITORS
KEY • Singapore (affiliate) • Buenos
Employer
ment: Type:
$35bn Independent Private
in 2008 Aires • Sao Paulo • Mexico • Further
Warburg
affiliates inPincus • Carlyle
five other • TPG • Prov-
countries
Company 132 investment professionals
Employees: idence • KKR • Blackstone • Advent In-
Total
in private equity funds under
2008 ternational • BC Partners • Cinven •
management:
No. of Offices:about
10 €11bn (2008) CVC • Permira
Employees: 130 investment professionals,
of which 65 in Europe (2008) Key Competitors
No. of Offices:FOCUS
COMPANY 15 3i • Apax • Barclays Private Equity •
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Sectors: Cinven • Montagu
Email: [email protected]
Tech & Telecom
Media
Company Focus Employment Contact
Retail & Consumer
Sectors:
Healthcare In the US: [email protected]
Business Services
Financial & Business & Financial
Services Services For other offices, see "contact us" at
Retail & Consumer www.adventinternational.com
Technology,
Financial Media & Telecoms
stages:
Healthcare
Mega buyout & (>€300m
Life Sciences
equity), Large
Industrial(€150m-€300m equity), Mid
buyout
market buyout (€15m-€150m), Privatisa-
Financial
tion, stages:
Public to private, Small buyout
International
(<€15m buyouts, recapitalization and
equity)
growth equity investments (up to €500m
equity),ofsome
Types venture capital
financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Types ofMinority
Others: financing:
Equity, Shareholders loans
Majority equity

103
THE SCOOP

Apax Partners is one of the few European private equity firms that has global
ambitions. Based in the UK with European offices in Munich, Milan, Stockholm and
Madrid, the firm also has a large presence in the U.S. as well as offices in Hong Kong
and Mumbai. The firm was co-founded in 1972 by Sir Ronald Cohen, the “father of
British venture capital” and high profile Labour supporter, Maurice Tchenio,
currently the French office Chairman and CEO, and Alan Patricof, an early investor
in Apple and AOL.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

Apax Europe VII 2007 €11.2bn

Apax US VII 2007 $0.8bn

Apax Europe VI 2005 €4.3bn

Apax Europe V 2002 €4.4bn

Over the last three decades the firm has raised in excess of $35bn and has invested
in almost 400 companies, 275 of which are currently in their portfolio, including well
known names like Tommy Hilfiger, Somerfield and Travelex. After closing the most
recent Europe VII fund at €11.2bn Apax overtook Permira as the largest European PE
firm, leaving CVC in third. Until the acquisition of Alliance Boots by KKR in 2007,
Apax also had the distinction of leading the consortium that pulled off the largest
LBO in Europe: a $15.3 billion deal in 2006 for Denmark’s incumbent telecom
operator TDC. In the last twelve years Apax has listed over 65 companies on global
stock markets, with a total value of $35bn at initial offering.

Still kicking
Apax Partners is a veteran in the private equity biz, tracing its roots back to 1969
when the investment firm was known as Alan Patricof Associates. In 1977 the
French/British venture known as Multinational Management Group merged with
Alan Patricof’s American Investment Company, forming the basis of Apax Partners

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

as we know it. As with many international mergers the offices initially operated as

Apax Partners
relatively separate entities until the late 1990s. In 2002 the global assimilation was
made official when the firm changed its name to Apax Partners Worldwide LLP. In
2005 the company looked to enhance its expertise in fast buyouts, and acquired the
specialist firm Saunders, Karp & Megrue.

French exception
Under the leadership of Maurice Tchenio the French office has always had a large
degree of independence, and, in its current form of Apax Partners SA, is fully owned
by its 10 French partners and 28 investment professionals. The decision making is
completely centralised in Paris, and their focus is shifted towards growth companies
and mid-market buyouts. Funds managed by the French office exceed €2bn, with
over 40 companies currently under management. The firm has always been one of
France’s pioneering private equity firms, creating the first ‘Fonds Commun de
Placement a Risque’ (FCPR) and co-founding the French Private Equity Association
(AFIC). In 2007 it merged two of its investment vehicles, Altamir & Cie and Amboise
Investissement, to create a Euronext-listed vehicle with a market capitalisation of
about €250m. The French office can invest alongside the other funds of the firm, but
insiders claim that the lack of integration can be an issue when competing on pan-
European transactions against more thoroughly integrated competitors.

Global powerhouse
If you ask John Megrue, co-CEO of Apax Partners' U.S. operations, the private equity
industry is undergoing a polarization of sorts. On the one hand, there are firms that
want to become global leaders; on the other, there are those that want to become
niche specialists. Apax Partners, says Megrue, wants to be in the first group. With
10 offices spread across the U.S., Europe and Asia and a strong history to build on,
the private equity group is well-positioned. Funds advised by Apax Partners invest
globally in large businesses with an enterprise value of between $1 billion and $5
billion. As a whole, Apax targets deals in five sectors: tech and telecom, consumer
and retail, media, healthcare and financial services.

The times they are a-changin'

Although many private equity firms have struggled with the transition from one
generation to the next, Apax Partners is an exception. Sir Ronald and other partners
were already discussing succession back in the late 1990s, ultimately agreeing to a
retirement age ceiling of 60. So in January 2004, less than two years from his 60th

105
birthday, co-founder Sir Ronald Cohen stepped down as chief executive, naming
Martin Halusa as his successor. Sir Ronald stayed on as chairman, maintaining a
leadership position but giving Halusa significant breathing room, and retired from
that office in August 2005. While some wondered how the firm would fare with Sir
Ronald gone, Halusa wasn't exactly a newbie; he had been with Apax Partners for 15
years and described the management changes at Apax as "organic, rather than
revolutionary”.

The private equity group's merger with SKM in the US is another sign of changing
times. In the past, the firm's US division has been focused on smaller venture-capital
style investing—think first/second-stage and mezzanine financing to high-tech, retail
and communications companies such as America Online, Apple Computers and
Office Depot. The combination with Connecticut-based SKM allows Apax to handle
bigger buyout deals in the U.S. In June 2005, Halusa told Real Deals, "You have to
be at the venture capital stages to be able to do a large deal because that is where a
lot of the industry knowledge comes from”. In 2007 however, after raising its new
fund, Halusa shut Apax's Silicon Valley office in California, resigned from the
National Venture Capital Association and announced, as reported by Bloomberg,
“Our next fund will be 100 per cent buyouts. Our venture results have been very
volatile, and our focus is on the more stable end of the business''. Now the company
employs the same investment strategy across its global platform: investing in large
stable businesses with the capacity to expand.

Apax keeps an interest in VC though. In 2005, it set up the Apax Foundation to

support “entrepreneurial, social investment and educational initiatives that work
towards the alleviation of poverty in deprived communities worldwide”. One of the
foundation’s key investments is in Bridges Community Ventures, a venture capital
company with a social mission co-founded by Apax Partners in 2002 and chaired by
Sir Ronald Cohen.

Killer deals
Apax history has its count of killer deals. Alan Patricof was involved in the very early
financing of Apple Computers and extracted significant value when the company
expanded. In 1998, Apax turned a $3 million investment in Autonomy Corporation
into a $900 million payout, one of the largest returns in European Venture Capital
history.

In 2007, the firm made 40 times its investment on the sale of UK Healthcare at Home
to mezzanine provider Hutton Collins. In the same year it also realised a profit on
Swedish medical product company Mölnlycke Health Care Group, when it was sold

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

to Investor AB and Morgan Stanley Principal Investments for €2.85bn, raising about

Apax Partners
ten times the initial investment.

Compulsive shopper
Apax is organised along five sector areas and closes 12-15 acquisitions a year, many
of them being take-privates. Its main sector of activity is technology and telecom with
more than 70 companies in the portfolio. Lately it has been particularly busy in the
media and healthcare sectors.

In August 2006 Apax joined the private equity consortium headed by KKR to acquire
an 80.1 per cent stake in the Semiconductor Division of Royal Philips Electronics,
now known as NXP Semiconductors. It was also a co-investor in Greek mobile
telecom group TIM Hellas, which sold to Weather Investments for €3.4bn.

Apax has recently increased its focus on media assets in Europe. It took UK toy and
media firm HIT Entertainment private in June 2006. In December 2006 it completed
the de-listing of British specialist business information provider Incisive Media
alongside management. In March 2007 it acquired a 49.9 per cent stake in Trader
Media Group from Guardian Media Group and, in December, partnered with
Guardian Media Group to acquire publisher Emap for £2bn.

After acquiring Swedish healthcare operator Capio in 2006 and delisting it from the
Stockholm Stock Exchange, it took control of Unilabs of Switzerland and intends to
delist it from the SWX Swiss Exchange. The combined group is a European leader in
medical diagnostic and several other areas of healthcare services. Because it already
owned GHG, the largest private hospitals operator in the UK, Apax had to divest the
Capio hospitals in the UK. In November 2007 it completed the acquisition of Qualitest
and Vintage Pharmaceuticals, a leading distributor and manufacturer of generic
pharmaceuticals in the US.

Looking East
Surprisingly for a firm this size, Apax doesn’t have a strong track record in Eastern
Europe. Part of the explanation may be in the “Private Equity in the Public Eye”
report it published with the Economist Intelligence Unit in July 2007. The report
reviews the private equity operating environment for 33 countries and underlines
the difficulty of operating in the region.

In 2006, though, Apax invested $190m to acquire an interest in CME, a TV

broadcasting company traded on the NASDAQ and the Prague Stock Exchange with

107
leading television stations located in Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia,
Slovenia and Ukraine and reaching an estimated 82 million people Eastern and
Central Europe.

In 2005, the company opened an office in Hong Kong, headed up by senior partner
Max Burger-Calderon. The next year, it opened its second Asian office in Mumbai,
headed by Neeraj Bharadwaj. In 2007, it teamed up with Prathap Reddy, one of
India's most prominent entrepreneurs, to give it a stake in India’s fast-growing
healthcare industry. Newspaper reports also announced a plan to take a stake in
India's Patni Computer Systems, together with TPG.

GETTING HIRED

Apax staff is organised in in-house knowledge centres and fund managers organised
in sector teams. Unlike many competitors, managers don’t get to work across
industries. This organisation shows Apax’s focus on knowledge-based business, and
allows the private equity firm access to exclusive information.

Apax investment professionals were educated at the very best universities, mostly in
the US, the UK and France. MBAs from Harvard Business School alone represent a
striking 22 per cent of this workforce. In Paris, HEC is the most frequent graduate
diploma, often complemented with an MBA. However they tend to join Apax after
several years of experience, mostly in investment banking, strategy consulting or
both. Strategy consulting has an unusually high presence, with McKinsey the largest
previous employer (15 per cent of the professionals) and pretty much every top 10
strategy consultancy represented.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Apax Partners
Higher Diploma

Bachelor’s only (13%)

Unknown (2%)

PhD/JD/MD (8%)

MBA (54%)

Master’s (23%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Audit & transaction services (4%)

Banks (32%)

Other (28%)

Strategy consulting (36%)

Source: Candesic

Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)

**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

30

25

20 Oxford (9)
15 Wharton (13)

10 Cambridge (13)

5 INSEAD (14)
Harvard (29)
0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

20

15
Deutsche Bank (5)

10 Morgan Stanley (5)

Goldman Sachs (8)
5
BCG (8)
McKinsey (29)
0
Source: Candesic

109
Candidates can contact the Apax human resource department to read their HR inside
report on the private equity industry. Apax warns however that “due to volumes of
emails [they] are only able to respond to those invited for interview”.

110
ADVENT
AXA PRIVATE
INTERNATIONAL
EQUITY

20 Place
UK Regional
Vendome
Headquarters European Locations
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
AdventParis
75001 International plc
111 Buckingham Palace Road
France Paris (HQ)
London (HQ)
• Frankfurt • Milan • London
London
Tel: +33SW1W
1 44 450SR
9200 Amsterdam • Bucharest
(infrastructure, fund of funds)
•Frankfurt •
UK Kiev • Madrid • Milan • Paris • Prague •
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800
www.AXAprivateequity.fr Warsaw • Bratislava (affiliate) • Oslo
(affiliate)
REST OF THE WORLD
www.adventinternational.com New York • Singapore
THE STATS
Chairman & CEO: Dominique Senequier Rest of the World
Employer Type: Subsidiary of AXA KEY COMPETITORS
The Stats Boston (HQ)
Total private equity funds under manage- 3i • Advent • Barclays Private• Equity
Chairman:
ment: Peter(2008)
€15.7bn A. Brooke
of which €5bn is Tokyo • Singapore (affiliate) Buenos•
Montagu • PAI • Sagard
Aires • Sao Paulo • Mexico • Further
Employer
in Type: Independent Private
direct funds
Company almost 200
Employees: affiliates in five other countries
Totalofprivate
No. Offices:equity
6 funds under CONTACT FOR RECRUITMENT
management: about €11bn (2008)
Employees: 130 investment professionals, Anne Marion-Delpont, Head of Human
of which 65 in FOCUS
COMPANY Europe (2008) Key Competitors
Resources
No. of Offices: 15 [email protected]
3i • Apax • Barclays Private Equity •
Sectors: Tel. +33• (1) 44 45 93 10
All Cinven Montagu

Financial stages:
Company Focus Employment Contact
Mega buyout (>€300m equity), large
Sectors:(€150m-€300m equity), mid
buyout In the US: [email protected]
Businessbuyout
market Services
(€15m-€150m
& Financial Services
equity), For other offices, see "contact us" at
Retail &toConsumer
public private, infrastructure. Expan- www.adventinternational.com
Technology,
sion capital, small
Mediabuyout
& Telecoms
(<€15m eq-
Healthcare
uity), seed and
& Life
other
Sciences
early stage. Primary,
Industrial
early secondary and secondary funds of
funds.
Financial stages:
International
Types of financing:
buyouts, recapitalization and
growth
Majorityequity
equity,investments (up mezzanine
co-investments, to €500m
equity), some venture capital

Types of financing:
Majority equity

111
THE SCOOP

AXA Private Equity is a subsidiary of AXA, one of the major global insurance
companies. It was founded in 1996 after Claude Bebear, then powerful CEO of AXA,
handpicked Dominique Senequier to build a private equity arm. She had started her
career in the civil service and quickly rose to become one of the most powerful
women in the industry. She grew the business into one of the major buyout firms in
continental Europe. In 2007, the firm raised $7 billion in all its business activities, up
45 per cent since December 2006. The bulk of it is for direct investments and the firm
now manages $22 billion out of its main office, a magnificent “hotel particulier” on
the Place Vendome in the centre of Paris.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

AXA LBO Fund IV 2007 € ~1.60 (estimate)bn

AXA Co-Investment Fund III 2007 €~1.50 (estimate)bn

AXA Expansion Fund II 2007 €0.35bn

AXA Secondary Fund IV 2007 €2.10 ($2.9)bn

AXA Mezzanine Fund I 2006 €0.72bn

AXA Secondary Fund IV 2007 €2.10 ($2.9)bn

AXA Mezzanine Fund I 2006 €0.72bn

AXA Co-Investment Fund II 2006 €0.55bn

AXA LBO Fund III 2005 €0.50bn

The strategy and goals are clearly set

Today, AXA PE has six relatively independent offices across the globe. The majority
of the business is conducted through the French office in Paris, but the firm is trying
hard to expand internationally and break into the top ten buyout firms globally. Over
the last ten years, AXA has been one of the most active continental European players,
with 40 buyout transactions mostly in France; however, 30 per cent of the previous
fund was allocated to Germany, where the firm opened an office in 2001. The firm is
now building up its Italian team to allow for a more pan-European approach to

112
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

opportunities on the basis that private equity has an important role to play in making

AXA Private Equity

European business more competitive.

In 2004, AXA PE decided to enhance its global reach by opening an office in

Singapore. The Asian office has three functions: providing a platform for the Funds
of Funds activity in Asia, growing the Venture activity in Asia by backing innovative
companies already in the firm’s portfolio, and supporting some Euro zone companies
in the Buyout funds which are either involved in joint ventures in China or are
delocalising their activities there. The internationalisation of the business is on the
right track with 42 per cent of direct investments in 2007 coming from outside France.

AXA PE’s funds span all financial stages, from VC to relatively large buyouts (“upper
middle”), through mezzanine and funds of funds. The firm also focuses on large
secondary fund transactions and has become one of the major players in that
segment.

AXA PE is committed to achieving an excellent return on investment for all investors.

According to internal AXA information, the funds achieve top quartile performance,
with a net IRR ranging from 30 per cent to 35 per cent in the first three generations
of LBO funds and from 30 per cent to 85 per cent in the first three generations of
secondary funds of funds.

Its strategy, which consistently produces sustainable returns and a confidential

loyalty towards the investors, has won AXA PE some of the world’s most important
investors for its various funds. It is said to have successfully developed a fine tuned
valuation measurement system based on its pool of experts and its experience, in
order to allocate and evaluate the right investments. AXA was one of the five
nominated firms for the 2007 Financial News award of French Private Equity Firm of
the Year, but lost to PAI Partners.

Strong firm values

Much of the success of the firm may be traced to Senequier’s forthrightness that is
said to often make men uncomfortable. She is a tough and no-nonsense manager,
afraid of no-one and nothing, and she doesn’t hesitate to refuse to sign off on
investments when in doubt. She traces part of her success to her previous experience,
saying: “whoever understands the balance sheet of an insurance company can
quickly understand the balance sheet of any company”.

113
She has also championed the four company values: performance, expertise,
international experience and transparency. These values are part of the internal
structures, but are also reflected in the way the firm relates to investors, portfolio
companies and funds. The firm benefits from its diversified activities; the small caps
team may have historical knowledge of a target analysed by the mid cap team, the
large cap team can leverage the infrastructure one, fund of funds and co-investments
may pass leads to each other.

All in the family

The relationship between AXA PE and its parent company, AXA Group, has always
been very strong; AXA Group insurance companies are the lead investors in AXA
PE’s funds, with an average stake between 20 per cent and 33 per cent of each fund.
AXA PE benefits from this strong relationship, gaining access to a wider range of
deals and improved fundraising opportunities. This link means that AXA Group is
exposed to the reputational risks associated with large private equity firms, which
means a particular emphasis is placed on transparency at AXA PE. In their public
presentations, they emphasise that they differentiate themselves “via a policy of
ethical and responsible investments”.

AXA PE gained recognition for this transparent approach, being the first French
capital investment company to conform to the Global Investment Performance
Standards (GIPS). The standards represent international ethical norms for an
objective presentation of performances, with a particular focus placed on
transparency within the investment industry.

Playing with the big guys

The firm is now an established player and doesn’t hesitate to partner with the major
international private equity firms, taking part in the biggest auctions. In 2006, AXA
PE initially teamed up with KKR, who later joined the rival consortium formed by
Eurazeo and Goldman Sachs, in an effort to acquire a 52 per cent stake in France
Telecom directories subsidiary PagesJaunes. It subsequently withdrew from the deal.
However, in the autumn of 2006 the firm made the headlines with its €4.9 billion
acquisition, together with TPG, of TDF (formerly Télédiffusion de France), the largest
owner of broadcast and telecoms infrastructure in continental Europe.

Recently, the firm has been particularly active in the chemical and related industries.
The final acquisition of CABB GmbH, one of the world's leading suppliers of
chemical building blocks and specialty intermediates, kicked off 2007. Later in the
year, CABB acquired the Swiss specialty chemicals firm SF-Chem AG. Since 2006,

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

AXA PE has owned Eliokem, a specialty chemical company it bought for €130m.

AXA Private Equity

Eliokem followed through the next year with the acquisition of the Polymer Division
of Indian-based Apar Industries. The same year, AXA PE completed the acquisitions
of Diana Ingredients, a major natural ingredients producer for €710m, and Synerlab,
one of the leading French pharmaceutical sub-contractors.

Construction is another industry of particular expertise with recent transactions

including Champeau/Gau (divested in 2004, reinvestment in 2006), Gerflor (bought
in 2006) and Larivieres (sold for €300m in 2007).

Today, AXA PE offers its international expertise to help European companies

develop realistic expansion strategies to Asian or American markets, bringing
international market knowledge into management board decisions to create stability
and security in portfolio companies.

GETTING HIRED

AXA PE has about 200 employees with a diverse range of backgrounds and regional
expertise. Support functions account for half of the headcount of the company.

The recruitment seems to be more diverse than at most competitors. Among the
employees, one can find a medical doctor and a jetfighter pilot and there is no strong
majority of investment bankers, strategy consultants or transaction services advisors.
Insiders confirm that all profiles are likely to be considered as long as they can
demonstrate strong achievements. Women represent almost half of the workforce, a
much higher proportion than the industry average.

115
 Higher Diploma

Bachelor’s only (2%)

Unknown (3%)

PhD/JD/MD (10%)

MBA (15%)

Master’s (70%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Insurance (8%)

Audit & transaction services (5%)

Banks (33%)

Other (54%)

Source: Candesic

Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)

**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

8
7
6
5 Bocconi (4)
4 ESCP-EAP (4)
3 Dauphine (6)
2
HEC (6)
1
ESSEC (8)
0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

4 ABN Amro (2)

3 HSBC (2)

2 Axa Group (3)

1
Credit Agricole (4)
BNP Paribas (6)
0

Source: Candesic

116
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

AXA PE regularly employs interns for periods of up to one year. They tend to be

AXA Private Equity

master’s students from the top business schools in Paris, with a preference for
international backgrounds, and are often recruited after their internship. In 2007,
interns represented over 13 per cent of the total workforce.

The international factor is rated highly within AXA PE´s application measurements.
Because of their various foreign offices and the international strategy, the company
focuses on employees that are able to build on specific geographical market
knowledge from the very beginning.

Because AXA PE has many separate activities, it is possible for a candidate to end up
being interviewed by a completely different product team depending on the current
recruiting needs.

117
 BARCLAYS
ADVENT PRIVATE EQUITY
INTERNATIONAL

5 North
UK Colonnade,
Regional 8th Floor
Headquarters EUROPEAN
European LOCATIONS
Locations
London International
Advent E14 4BB plc
United
111 Kingdom Palace Road
Buckingham London (HQ) • Birmingham • Manches-
Tel: +44SW1W
London (0)20 750SR
12 9900 ter • Milan ••Munich
Amsterdam • Paris
Bucharest • Reading
•Frankfurt • •
UK Zurich
Kiev • Madrid • Milan • Paris • Prague •
www.barclays-private-equity.com
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800 Warsaw • Bratislava (affiliate) • Oslo
(affiliate)
www.adventinternational.com KEY COMPETITORS
THE STATS 3i • Advent International • Apax • Axa
Co-Heads: Tom Lamb, Gonzague De PE • Bridgepoint • European Capital •
Rest of the World
Blignières and Peter Hammermann HgCapital • Montagu • Sagard
The Stats Boston (HQ)
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Barclays
Bank
Chairman: Peter A. Brooke Tokyo • Singapore (affiliate) • Buenos
Total private
Employer equity
Type: funds under
Independent manage-
Private Aires • Sao Paulo •CONTACT
EMPLOYMENT Mexico • Further
ment: about €5bn (2008)
Company affiliates in five other countries
Tel: +44 (0)20 75 12 9900
Employees:
Total private59equity
investment professionals
funds under
in 2008 (including
management: about12€11bn
in infrastructure)
(2008)
No. of Offices:
Employees: 130 8investment professionals,
of which 65 in Europe (2008) Key Competitors
No. of Offices: 15 3i • Apax • Barclays Private Equity •
COMPANY FOCUS Cinven • Montagu
Sectors:
All sectors
Company Focus Employment Contact
Financial stages:
Sectors: In the US: [email protected]
Mid market
Business buyout
Services & (€15m-€150m
Financial Serviceseq- For other offices, see "contact us" at
uity), expansion
Retail & Consumer capital, privatisation, re- www.adventinternational.com
placement, infrastructure
Technology, Media & Telecoms
Healthcare & Life Sciences
Types of financing:
Industrial
Majority equity, equity co-investment
Financial stages:
International buyouts, recapitalization and
growth equity investments (up to €500m
equity), some venture capital

Types of financing:
Majority equity

118
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Barclays Private Equity

THE SCOOP

Barclays Private Equity, a subsidiary of Barclays bank, is a leading pan-European

firm that focuses on lower mid-market transactions. With offices spread throughout
the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, investments are typically from these
local markets. The firm is headquartered in the UK but has a strong presence in
France and is technically run by co-heads from the UK, French and German offices.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

BPE European Fund III + Barclays PLC 2007 €2.4bn

Barclays European Infrastructure Fund II 2006 $0.417bn

BPE European Fund II + Barclays PLC 2005 €1.65bn

BPE European Fund I + Barclays PLC 2002 €1.25bn

The investment strategy is mid-market (under £500 million). Since their first
investment in 1982 the firm’s 45 professionals have invested in over 350 transactions,
with an average of 10-15 per year. The firm also has an Infrastructure team of 12
investment professionals based in London and, in addition to its own UK and
European infrastructure funds, has established a £450 million Infrastructure Investors
(I2) Fund in partnership with Societe Generale and 3i.

Third time lucky

BPE’s most recent fund, the Europe III fund, raised its target €2.4bn (of which €1.7
billion comes from blue chip investors) earlier than anticipated, possibly reflecting
the shift towards mid-market deals in the ongoing credit crisis. But insiders reckon
that BPE’s excellent track record made it very easy to reach its target. The fund is
structured in a “semi-captive” way, meaning the remaining €650 million investment
came from the parent company, Barclays plc.

In line with previous funds, Barclays PE will invest Europe III predominantly in the
UK, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. The UK investments focus on core
strengths that have been developed in the Financial Services, Healthcare, Support
Services and Consumer & Travel; whereas the continental offices take a more
generalist approach when evaluating potential investments.

119
Nottingham leads the way
In a pioneering move back in 1986 Barclays, along with Deloitte, set up the first
European MBO think-tank at Nottingham University. The Centre for Management
Buy-Out Research, or CMBOR for short, is a data collection and analysis pool to track
the proliferation of Management Buy-Outs throughout Europe, with records covering
over 25,000 companies. The centre is a leading commentator on private equity activity
throughout Europe, and recently released statistics highlighting the detrimental effect
of the credit crisis on private equity deal flow.

The rise and rise of buy-and-build

Barclays Private Equity has a long and successful track record of pursuing rapid buy-
and-build strategies across Europe:

In France, since 2005, it has owned Médi-Partenaires, the third largest player in the
French private hospital market with 18 clinics and 2,370 beds. Four clinics were
already acquired in 2005/2006, and four in the first half of 2007.

In September 2006, the firm acquired a majority stake of Euro Fiditalia, a market
leader in the provision of secured personal loans in Italy. Since then the company
has made six acquisitions in the same sector.

In February 2007, it acquired Belgo-Italian company Desmet Ballestra, the world

leader in the fields of engineering and supply of plant and machinery to the edible
oil, chemical and biodiesel industries, with a turnover of €430m. A first post-deal
acquisition was completed in France in June 2007 and a second one is expected
abroad in the coming months.

In Germany, it sold HR services firm TUJA Group to Adecco in June 2007 for €800
million after only 15 months. It had acquired 90 per cent of TUJA in March 2006 from
Berlin-based Odewald & Compagnie and supported the company through an
aggressive buy-and-build strategy in which headcount increased by 12,000 in 12
months. At the time of the sale, TUJA was one of Germany's leading temporary
employment agencies and operated a network of 127 branches in Germany,
Switzerland and Austria.

A smaller but typical transaction is the sale in December 2007 of UK retailer The
Original Factory Shop via a £68.5 million secondary MBO led by Duke Street Capital.
Barclays Private Equity had invested £18.42 million in the BIMBO of the business in

120
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

November 2004 and doubled the warehousing capacity of the retailer in three years.

Barclays Private Equity

In October 2007, BPE announced an acquisition in Switzerland, its fourth country of
operation. PREMIUM communications is a provider of multilingual services for
technical support, user helpdesks & services for SMEs. BPE sees the investment as a
base on which to build significant growth through acquisitions in Switzerland and
other German speaking countries.

Other highlights include the buyout of Converteam from ALSTOM in November

2005—Converteam is a world leader in power conversion engineering, developing
systems and equipment which convert electrical energy into mechanical energy,
including drives, controls, motors and generators. The acquisition was performed in a
post recovery situation and has been followed by a successful phase of both organic and
external growth. Another landmark deal is the successful listing of LSL Property
Services plc (UK) on the London Stock Exchange in November 2006. The market
capitalisation at listing was £211 million. LSL is one of the UK’s leading estate
agency/surveying companies. Barclays Private Equity arranged the £60 million MBO
in July 2004, and its managed funds retained a 29 per cent stake at the time of listing.

Awards
One of Barclays Private Equity's most publicised exits is that of Admiral—the direct
motor insurer. The company went public on the LSE in a €1 billion flotation in
September 2004. Barclays Private Equity achieved a total return of 15 times its original
investment and an IRR of 87 per cent over nearly five years. In recognition of this and
other divestments, such as Hobbs, Salter Houswares, Edotech and GLS Educational
Supplies, the firm was named “UK Private Equity Firm of the Year,” and “European
Private Equity Firm of the Year” at the Financial News Awards for Excellence in Private
Equity, Europe 2005 where it also claimed a third award—“European Disposal of the
Year”—for Admiral. Barclays Private Equity was also awarded “Private Equity House
of the Year” by Real Deals/BVCA in 2005 and “Exit of the Year” for Admiral by
Acquisitions Monthly, the M&A and buyouts publication. In 2006 Barclays Private
Equity was voted “Fund of the Year” by the Real Deals/BVCA Private Equity Awards.

121
GETTING HIRED

While Barclays PE managers were educated at top schools in Europe (Cambridge

and ESSEC are the most represented, with the MBA as rather an exception), they
generally join the firm with significant experience. There is some diversity in the
team, with four PhDs and one lawyer in a buyout team of 47 professionals.

In line with other private equity firms Barclays recruits primarily from Investment
Banking and Big 4 accountancies (PWC, the late Arthur Andersen and KPMG are the
most prominent former employers). The team is very stable, which limits
opportunities for experienced hires. However there are opportunities for analysts:
in Paris for example, there is a rolling 6-month intern position that allows business
students to get a serious introduction to the sector at a renowned firm, and may lead
to a full time position.

Higher Diploma

Bachelor’s only (25%)

PhD/JD/MD (10%)

Unknown (23%)

MBA (8%)

Master’s (34%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Audit and transaction services (21%)

Strategy consulting (11%)

Other (26%)

Banks (42%)

Source: Candesic

122
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Barclays Private Equity

Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)
**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

3.0

2.5

2.0 Oxford (2)

1.5 EM Lyon (2)

1.0 St.Gallen (2)

0.5 ESSEC (3)

Cambridge (3)
0.0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5 BNP Paribas (2)
2.0 Barclays (3)
1.5 KPMG (3)
1.0
Arthur Anderson (3)
0.5
PWC (4)
0.0

Source: Candesic

Being a subsidiary of a UK firm, Barclays PE obviously has more staff in the UK, with
growing teams in continental Europe. The Paris and Munich offices have their own
websites with contact details for potential candidates.

123
 ADVENT
BC PARTNERS
INTERNATIONAL

43-45
UK Regional
PortmanHeadquarters
Square European
REST OF THE
Locations
WORLD
Advent International
London W1H 6DA plc
111 Buckingham
United Kingdom Palace Road New York
London (HQ)
London
Tel: +44SW1W
(0)20 7009
0SR 4800 Amsterdam • Bucharest •Frankfurt •
UK Kiev • Madrid • Milan • Paris • Prague •
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800
www.bcpartners.com Warsaw • Bratislava (affiliate) • Oslo
KEY COMPETITORS
(affiliate)
Apax • Permira • Cinven • CVC • KKR
www.adventinternational.com • Bain Capital • Blackstone
THE STATS
Managing partner: 9 managing partners Rest of the World
Employer Type: Private Company EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
The Stats Boston (HQ)
Total private equity funds under manage- [email protected]
Chairman:
ment: €11bnPeter A. Brooke
in 2008 Tokyo • Singapore (affiliate) • Buenos
Employer Type:
Employees: Independent
45 investment Private
professionals Aires • Sao Paulo • Mexico • Further
Company
in 2008 affiliates in five other countries
Totalofprivate
No. Offices:equity
6 funds under
management: about €11bn (2008)
Employees: 130 investment professionals,
of which 65 in FOCUS
COMPANY Europe (2008) Key Competitors
No. of Offices: 15 3i • Apax • Barclays Private Equity •
Sectors:
All sectors Cinven • Montagu

Financial stages:
Company Focus Employment Contact
Large buy-out, Secondary purchase/re-
Sectors: capital, MBO, MBI, Institu-
placement In the US: [email protected]
Business
tional BO,Services & Financial
Leveraged Services
build up, Public to For other offices, see "contact us" at
Retail & Purchase
private, Consumer of quoted shares www.adventinternational.com
Technology, Media & Telecoms
Healthcare
Types & Life Sciences
of financing:
Industrial
Main: Majority equity

Financial stages:
International buyouts,
EUROPEAN recapitalization and
LOCATIONS
growth equity investments (up to €500m
London (HQ) venture
equity), some • Geneva • Hamburg •
capital
Milan • Paris • Milan
Types of financing:
Majority equity

124
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

BC Partners
THE SCOOP

The firm was founded as Baring Capital Investors in 1986. In 1995, at about the time
of the collapse of Barings Bank that was famously documented in the movie “Rogue
Trader”, it became independent through its own MBO and renamed itself BC
Partners. It is worth noting that BC Partners has no link with Baring Private Equity
Partners (BPEP), which finalised its MBO from parent company and Baring’s owner
ING Group in 2004 and invests via four regional fund groups in Russia, Asia, India
and Spain.

Funds
FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

BC European Capital VIII 2005 €5.9bn

BC European Capital VII 2000 €4.3bn

Since 1986, BC Partners has invested in 66 companies with a total enterprise value of
over €54bn. While they target only two or three acquisitions every year, they can
commit over €2bn of equity to any given one and are ready to contribute significant
additional capital to grow it. Over the next five years, they plan to acquire fifteen to
twenty businesses, with enterprise values typically in the range of €300m to €4bn.

NHS gold
In 2000, BC Partners recognised the opportunity for the private sector to become
more involved in the treatment of NHS patients in the UK. Attractive changes in
healthcare policy further underlined potential growth prospects. To take advantage
of this opportunity, it bought General Healthcare Group from Cinven for €2.2 billion.
GHG was the largest acute care hospital provider and leading independent provider
of specialist psychiatric care services in the UK. Over the next six years, the new
owner supported considerable organic growth and made two significant hospital
acquisitions to optimise national coverage.

In 2005, it sold separately the health screening and occupational health operation
BMI Healthcare services to The Capita Group Plc, and the Partnerships in Care
psychiatric operation back to Cinven for about £560m, allowing management to focus

125
on its core business. In 2006, it sold the acute care hospitals for £2.35 billion to a
consortium led by Netcare, a leading South African hospitals group. At that time,
the transaction was the largest ever deal in the European healthcare services sector.

Contrarian outlook
In 2007, BC Partners acquired two corporate companies: Bureau van Dijk Electronic
Publishing from Candover for a rumoured €700m, and a combination of leading
London estate agency Foxtons, also comprising mortgage broker Alexander Hall, for
an estimated £390m. Amid fears of a slowdown in the UK real estate market, the
decision to acquire the business may show BC Partners’ bet that the long-term
fundamentals of the market remain good. It may also be a sign that there will be
opportunities to streamline and consolidate a sector built on a 15 year growth wave.
One thing is for certain though, everyone will be scrutinising how the new owner
will adapt to a fast changing environment.

Well established on the continent

BC Partners has a strong foothold in Germany, where they are invested in Brenntag,
which at €3bn was the second largest LBO in Germany to date. They also hold a 38
per cent stake in Unity Media, which acquired exclusive pay-TV broadcasting rights
for Bundesliga football.

Another landmark transaction was the joint acquisition with Cinven of Amadeus in
2005 for €4.3bn, the largest LBO in Spain to date. Amadeus is a leading global
distribution system and technology provider for the travel and tourism industries.

In France, the firm operates Medica, the third largest operator of nursing homes and
rehabilitation clinics, and Picard, the leading frozen food distributor and a former
success story in the French PE landscape, bought from Candover in 2004 for €1.3bn.

In Greece, it owns Regency Entertainment, the leading casino operator in

Southeastern Europe—which was the largest public to private LBO in Greece. In
Turkey, it recently announced the acquisition of a majority interest in Migros, the
country’s largest food retailer.

In 2008, funds advised by BC Partners completed the acquisition of Intelsat, a world

leader in fixed satellite services, for US$16.5bn despite the turmoil in the credit markets.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

BC Partners
GETTING HIRED

BC Partners investment managers work as one team across its six country offices.
Teamwork skills, international exposure and the ability to operate in several
languages are therefore highly valued. Investment managers are not recruited
straight from school. They must accumulate significant experience before joining,
mostly in strategy consulting and investment banking.

BC Partners doesn’t advertise for recruiting.

Higher Diploma

Bachelor’s only (49%)

PhD/JD/MD (2%)

MBA (40%)

Master’s (9%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Audit & transaction services (6%)

Banks (32%)

Other (26%)

Strategy consulting (36%)

Source: Candesic

127
 Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)
**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

4 Bocconi (4)
3 HEC (4)

2 Cambridge (5)

1
INSEAD (5)
Harvard (6)
0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

5 Merrill Lynch (3)

4 McKinsey (3)
3 Morgan Stanley (4)
2
BCG (4)
1
Bain (8)
0

Source: Candesic

128
 BRIDGEPOINT
ADVENT CAPITAL LTD.
INTERNATIONAL

30 Warwick
UK Street
Regional Headquarters EUROPEAN
European LOCATIONS
Locations
London International
Advent WC1B 5AL plc
United
111 Kingdom Palace Road
Buckingham London (HQ) • Frankfurt • Luxembourg
Tel: +44SW1W
London (0)20 740SR
32 3500 • Madrid • Milan
Amsterdam • Paris •Frankfurt
• Bucharest • Stockholm• •
UK Warsaw
Kiev • Madrid • Milan • Paris • Prague •
www.bridgepoint.eu
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800 Warsaw • Bratislava (affiliate) • Oslo
(affiliate)
www.adventinternational.com KEY COMPETITORS
THE STATS 3i • Apax • Barclays Private Equity •
Chairman: David Shaw Cinven • CVC • EQT • Industri Kapital
Rest of the World
Employer Type: Private Company
The Stats Boston (HQ)
Total private equity funds under manage-
ment: €8bnPeter
Chairman: in 2007A. Brooke Tokyo • SingaporeCONTACT
EMPLOYMENT (affiliate) • Buenos
Employees:Type:
Employer 60 professionals
IndependentinPrivate
2007 Aires • Sao Paulo • Mexico • Further
[email protected]
affiliates in five other countries
No. of Offices: 8
Company
Total private equity funds under
management: about €11bn (2008)
Employees:
COMPANY 130FOCUS
investment professionals,
of which 65 in Europe (2008) Key Competitors
Sectors:
No. of Offices: 15
Consumer 3i • Apax • Barclays Private Equity •
Financial services Cinven • Montagu
Healthcare
Media
Company Focus Employment Contact
Support Services
Transport
Sectors: In the US: [email protected]
Business Services & Financial Services For other offices, see "contact us" at
Financial
Retail stages:
& Consumer www.adventinternational.com
Expansion – Media
Technology, development, Large buy-out
& Telecoms
(€150m-€300m
Healthcare & Lifeequity), Mid-market buy-
Sciences
out (€15m-€150m equity), Replacement
Industrial

Types of stages:
Financial financing:
International
Main: Majoritybuyouts,
Equity recapitalization and
growth equity investments (up to €500m
equity), some venture capital

Types of financing:
Majority equity

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Bridgepoint Capital Ltd.

THE SCOOP

Bridgepoint is a UK-based mid-market specialist headquartered in London, with

offices spread throughout seven other major European cities. The firm has a strong
25-year track record of investing mainly in Western and Northern European markets,
having invested over €8bn in 150 transactions. Bridgepoint is seen as a premium
brand with consistently solid returns, and has handed back over €5 billion to its
investors in the last five years. The 2001 vintage fund alone is said to have returned
over two times investors’ money at a 37 per cent annual return rate, as of June 2007.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

Bridgepoint Europe IV 2008 €4 (target)bn

Bridgepoint Europe III 2005 €2.5bn

Bridgepoint Europe II 2002 €2bn

Outside looking in
One of Bridgepoint’s unique selling points is their reliance on impartial external
advice; they have an advisory committee made up of external industry experts who
are present at every investment evaluation. The firm tends to emphasise this
transparency and accountability between investors and management, and is said to
encourage an open minded outlook amongst employees. The advisory committee,
who recently recruited the dean of INSEAD among their ranks, acts as an overarching
advisory panel to the local teams who do the work on the ground.

In the land of the blind

Although global credit conditions have all but put the brakes on large-cap private
equity deals, triggering predictions of a PE market crash, Bridgepoint has announced
the closure of its fourth fund ahead of even the most optimistic expectations. The
fund is set to close in early 2008, having over-subscribed the €5bn hard cap, even
though it has yet to make any exits from its 2005 vintage fund.

131
A “proper” European mid-market firm
A few years ago, Bridgepoint was already recognised as the exemplar European mid-
market firm: it was named “European Mid-Market Firm of the Year” in Private Equity
International’s Global Private Equity Awards for 2004, as well as “European Mid-
Market Buyout Firm of the Year” in Financial News' annual awards for excellence in
private equity in 2003 and 2004. It also won the award for “Best Middle Market
Buyout” at the 2003 European Private Equity Summit & Awards in Paris.

Lately, Bridgepoint has lived up to its reputation. In 2006, the firm invested €885
million and returned €2 billion to investors. Acquisitions include German lens-maker
Rodenstock (€660m enterprise value), Italian perfumery chain Limoni for €480
million, French optical Alain Afflelou for €470 million and UK clothing retailer Fat
Face for €540 million.

That year, Bridgepoint tripled their investment in the UK storage group Safestore
and made 4.5 times their money on Swedish care services provider Attendo.
Furthermore Bridgepoint made a 760 per cent return on the sale of Nordic car park
operator CarPark. It also sold French nursing home operator Medica to BC Partners
for €750 million. Less than three years earlier Bridgepoint had acquired the company
together with Alpinvest for €330 million.

In 2007, Bridgepoint did even better with a record number of acquisitions, including
Dutch educational publisher Infinitas Learning (formerly Wolters Kluwer Education)
for €774 million, Leeds Bradford International Airport in the UK for €214 million and
Global Design Technologies, a Franco-American Aerospace component supplier for
€254 million. In May, it acquired Gambro Healthcare, Europe's No. 2 dialysis care
services group from Swedish firm Gambro, pre-empting other bidders in an
accelerated process.

Another major event of 2007 was the sale of UK-based diagnostic imaging services
provider Alliance Medical to Dubai International Capital for £600m. Bridgepoint
bought the company in an £86m buy-out transaction in January and has made a four
times return on the sale.

The widening of Europe

In March 2007 Bridgepoint announced the opening of an office in Warsaw to address
the market in Central and Eastern Europe. In November it acquired Polish CTL
Logistics from its founder. CTL is Central Europe's leading private rail logistics
company and one of the largest private rail operators in Europe with 2,500 employees
and 2006 revenues of €249 million.

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Bridgepoint Capital Ltd.

GETTING HIRED

Bridgepoint consists of small investment teams with experience in local markets.

They have a strong investment background and the top former employer is the
former Natwest Bank, now part of RBS. Bridgepoint also supplements their teams
with a few strategy consultants and transaction service professionals, predominantly
from Ernst & Young and PWC.

Higher Diploma

Bachelor’s only (27%)

Unknown (17%)

Master’s (24%)

MBA (32%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Strategy consulting (10%)

Audit & transaction services (17%)

Banks (35%)

Other (38%)

Source: Candesic

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 Higher Diploma Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)
**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees
8

6
Harvard (3)
5
INSEAD (3)
4

3 Bocconi (4)
2
Manchester (4)
1
Cambridge (7)
0
Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

4
GE (3)
3
PWC (3)
2
Ernst and Young (4)

1 UBS (4)

0
RBS (Natwest) (5)
Source: Candesic

Cambridge and Manchester dominate in the pedigree of the UK team, while Bocconi
– no surprise – is the most frequent alma mater in the Italian team. MBAs now
account for a third of the managers, with INSEAD and Harvard leading the pack.

If you are interested in joining the firm, Bridgepoint invites you to contact their
human resources team at [email protected].

134
CANDOVER

20 Old Bailey Types of financing:

London EC4M 7LN Main: Majority Equity
United Kingdom Other: Debt, Mezzanine, Shareholders
Tel: +44 (0)20 74 89 9848 loans

www.candover.com
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
London (HQ) • Madrid • Milan • Paris
THE STATS
• Dusseldorf (may be relocated)
Managing Director: Colin Buffin
Employer Type: Public listed company
(LSE) – unique structure with plc owning KEY COMPETITORS
ltd
Ticker Symbol: CDI Apax • BC Partners • Bridgepoint • Cin-
Total private equity funds under manage- ven • CVC • EQT • Industri Kapital • PAI
ment: €3.5bn (of which €2.9bn from
third parties)
Employees: 39 professionals in 2007 EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
No. of Offices: 5
[email protected]

COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Media
Financial Services
Support Services
Leisure
Healthcare
Technology
Industrial
Other sectors

Financial stages:
Large buy-out (€150m-€300m equity),
Mid market buyout (€15m-€150m eq-
uity)

135
THE SCOOP

Candover is a London based firm specialising in large-cap, and often high profile,
buyouts. In 1980 Roger Brooke, a former diplomat turned CEO, met Henry Kravis,
co-founder of KKR, to learn about a new kind of transaction that was gaining
popularity in the US: leveraged buyouts. A few months later, he got together £100,000
from Electra, 3i and various UK pension funds to set up Candover, the first buyout
firm in Europe. In one of its earliest transactions, the confectionary unit Famous
Names, it made a return of ten times its investment, making people take notice.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

The Candover 2005 Fund 2005 €3.5bn

The Candover 2001 Fund 2002 €2.7bn

The Candover 1997 Fund 1998 €1.4bn

While Candover began life as a niche investment firm focusing on UK deals, it has
since grown to be a truly Western European player. The expansion outside of the UK
was slightly behind other firms, although each new office was established with a key
partner in charge. In 2002, Candover hired Cyrille Chevrillon, its longstanding French
partner who had contributed to the successful buyout of Picard, to head the Paris
office. That same year, the firm appointed Kurt Kinzuis to head up the German team.
But Germany would prove to be more difficult, and shortly after, Candover
appointed Jens Tonn to the role. After nine years, in November 2007, following his
decision to leave the company and head Vestar’s new German office, Candover
appointed Boris Hentze as Head of Germany. Currently, the firm doesn’t have a
German office anymore and the German team works out of London. Also in 2002,
Alejandro von der Pahlen joined the firm as an adviser to originate deals in Spain
and Portugal. Candover formally opened an office in Madrid shortly after, and in
2006 relocated Aldo Maccari from London to Milan to open the Italian office. The
firm also named Humphrey Cobbold, a former McKinsey partner, in the newly
created position of Origination Director with responsibility for coordinating
Candover's deal sourcing activities across Europe.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Candover
Evaluating investments
Over the last 27 years Candover has closed nine funds with almost €9bn worth of
investor money raised; the firm has taken these funds and completed 134 buyouts to
date, valued at €40bn, creating an average rate of return of 34 per cent.

Candover’s managing directors, Colin Buffin and Marek Gumienny, have been with
the firm for close to 20 years. They are unique in that the structure of the company,
Candover Investments plc and wholly owned subsidiary Candover Partners Limited,
allows for a very transparent investment process. Some initial conclusions about the PE
slow down were actually founded on publicly available Candover investment research,
which Gumienny has referred to as a “healthy correction” of the market. For many
years, Candover has been publishing a quarterly barometer of private equity in Europe.

The latest Candover 2005 Fund focused on investments in the European markets,
with eight transactions made before 2008. Candover particularly looks for companies
in Benelux and the UK with solid management, good growth opportunities and
company values between €150 million and €1 billion. For example, the investment in
Capital Safety Group, a UK based designer and manufacturer of height safety and fall
protection equipment, was evaluated in May 2007. The deal value was set at £415
million and funded by debt, mezzanine and private equity funding, where Candover
provided the private equity and partnered with other firms to enlarge the equity
commitment. Capital Safety Group has a high quality management team, a strong
market position and real growth potential. The transaction has an estimated IRR
(Internal Return Rate) of 23 per cent over the next 9 years.

An excellent and consistent track record

Candover generally acquires three to five companies in a year. They tend to have
pan-European activities. While the amounts are often undisclosed, its typical
investment has an enterprise value of around €500 million.

In 2007, Candover acquired Capital Safety Group from Electra Private Equity, PLC;
Alma Consulting Group, the European leader in cost reduction and tax recovery
services, from Apax Partners; and Parques Reunidos, a European operator of
attraction parks, from Advent International. It is currently awaiting the result of its
public offer for Stork N.V. which represents a total value of €1.5 billion.

In 2007, the firm was particularly active with several key exits taking place, which
they expect to continue into 2008. Candover realised the majority of its investment in
Wellstream, a leading global manufacturer of flexible pipeline, through an IPO on the

137
London Stock Exchange, with a return of four times its original investment. It also
sold Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing to BC Partners with a return of 2.3 times
its original investment, and sold Get, the Norwegian cable TV operator, to
Quadrangle and GS Capital Partners for €745m, realising an IRR of 50 per cent.

In July 2004, Candover, 3i and JP Morgan Partners acquired Vetco International from
ABB Oil & Gas for $925 million. In 2007 the consortium sold it in two parts: Vetco
Gray to GE Oil and Gas for $1.9 billion and Aibel to Ferd Private Equity (now
Herkules Capital) for $0.9 billion.

In December 2004, Candover led the €465m management buyout of the Thule Group,
a Swedish company and the world leader in sports utility transportation. It sold it in
2007 to Nordic Capital, realising an IRR of more than 40 per cent.

GETTING HIRED

Candover has built a team of 35 to 40 professionals hired from various industries.

Cambridge and Oxford feature prominently among employees’ degrees and 40 per
cent of them hold an MBA from a prestigious university, mostly Harvard, INSEAD
or LBS. But as usual investment managers join with significant previous experience
in banking, accounting, consulting or the industry.

Candidates interested to apply should contact the office of their choice on Candover’s
website under “Contact us”.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Candover
Higher Diploma

Master’s (54%)

Unknown (3%)

MBA (40%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Strategy consulting (17%)

Audit & transaction services (20%)

Banks (26%)

Other (37%)

Source: Candesic

Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)

**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

5 LBS (3)
4 Oxford (3)
3 Harvard (4)
2
INSEAD (4)
1
Cambridge (7)
0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

3.0

2.5

2.0 BCG (2)

1.5 McKinsey (2)

1.0 Arthur Andersen (3)

0.5 3i (3)

PWC (3)
0.0
Source: Candesic

139
 CINVEN
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
Warwick Court, Paternoster Square EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
City, Country
London EC4M 7AG London (HQ) • Frankfurt • Milan • Paris
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 76 61 3333
OFFICES IN PLANNING
www.cinven.com New York • Hong Kong

THE STATS KEY COMPETITORS

Managing Director: Robin Hall Apax • Bridgepoint • Candover • BC
Employer Type: Private Company
Partners • CVC • PAI • Permira
Total private equity funds under manage-
ment: €9bn
Employees: 57 professionals in 2007
No. of Offices: 4
EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
None. Cinven does not recruit graduates
nor does it offer internship programmes.
COMPANY FOCUS It is currently not recruiting at any level.
Sectors:
Business & Financial Services
Healthcare
Industrials
TMT
Retail
Leisure
Consumer

Financial stages:
Large MBO/MBI (EV>€500m with at
least 100m equity), Public to private

Types of financing:
Majority Equity

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Cinven
THE SCOOP

Since 1977 Cinven has been one of the largest private investment funds dedicated
solely to the European market, and lays claim to having executed more large,
complex European buyouts than any other firm. In July 2006 they announced the
closure of the “Fourth Cinven Fund”, which exceeded its target of €5 billion; at €6.5
billion it is one of the largest funds dedicated solely to European buyouts, enabling
the firm to build on the €60 billion worth of transactions it has led so far. Each year,
Cinven invests in only a handful of companies of significant size, sometimes with an
entreprise value of several billion, and seeks to bring a pan-European dimension to
the businesses’ future opportunities. Since their founding, Cinven has invested in 23
transactions with more than €1 billion total consideration.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

Fourth Cinven Fund 2006 €6.5bn

Third Cinven Fund 2002 €4.4bn

It’s all in the name

Cinven originated as the in-house private investment arm of the British Coal Pension
Funds (Coal INvestments VENture), which was one of the largest pension schemes
in the late 70s. Due to early success the private equity activities of the Railways
Pension Scheme and Barclays Bank Pension Funds were absorbed by Cinven in 1988
and 1990 respectively. The management then decided to buy themselves out from
the pension fund owners, and gained their independence in 1995 following the
Thatcher legislation that privatised British Coal.

Cinven has a prescence in the major European financial centres, with offices in
London, Paris, Frankfurt and Milan. France and Germany opened in 1999, while the
Italian office was opened in 2006. The next European opening could be in Spain or
in the Netherlands, with two investments having been executed in each country.
However, in early 2008, Cinven announced that it was going to open offices in New
York and Hong Kong ahead of its next fundraising.

141
A diversified portfolio of companies
After an initial focus on TMT and Healthcare, Cinven diversified their portfolio by
investing in the Industrial and Leisure sectors from 1999. In addition to those sectors,
they own companies who operate in financial services as well as in retail and
consumer industries. In 2006 Cinven gained their largest acquisition, a TMT company
called Dutch Cable, at €5.4 billion. Dutch Cable became the second European cable
operator in their portfolio, behind Numéricable, which they acquired in 2005. The
second largest deal was in 2006, with the acquisition of the Amadeus travel
distribution services for €4.4 billion.

Recent focus on healthcare

2007 was the year of healthcare, with three out of five acquisitions in the sector. At
the beginning of the year, Cinven acquired Phadia, the global leader in in-vitro
allergy diagnostics and the European leader in autoimmunity diagnostics, for close
to €1.3 billion. In the summer of 2007, Cinven acquired BUPA’s 25 hospitals in the UK
for a total consideration of £1.44 billion as well as Spanish hospitals USP Hospitales
for a total consideration of €675 million, with a view to consolidate the fragmented
Iberian healthcare market. Altogether, this represents a significant strategic exposure
to the healthcare sector.

The other two investments of 2007 were both in retail. Camaïeu is a leading women’s
fashion retail chain with 557 stores, 421 of which are in France. Cinven acquired a 67
per cent stake with the strategy to support and accelerate the roll out of new stores
across its core markets.

Cinven also took private Gondola Holdings in a €1,335m transaction. With about
£400m in revenue, Gondola is the largest group in the UK casual dining sector and
operates the 525 of famous brands like PizzaExpress, ASK and Zizzi. Cinven will
support further growth through the roll-out of existing formats, the acquisition of
additional brands with growth potential and the pursuit of other consolidation
opportunities through selective acquisitions.

Although Cinven recently lost against BC Partners in the auction on data provider
Bureau van Dijk, it is likely that Cinven will be back in the fundraising market in the
next two years.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Cinven
GETTING HIRED

There are 51 professionals working at Cinven. While Bain & Company tops the list
of their previous employers, investment banks account for 40 per cent of them.
Cinven has a diverse European team but the core group is definitely English,
educated at Cambridge, Oxford, LSE and Edinburgh.

Higher Diploma

Bachelor’s only (37%)

Unknown (2%)

PhD/JD/MD (2%)

MBA (15%)

Master’s (44%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Audit & transaction services (8%)

Banks (40%)

Other (31%)

Strategy consulting (21%)

Source: Candesic

143
 Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)
**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

10

ESCP-EAP (3)
6
LSE (3)
4
HEC (4)
2 Oxford (4)
Cambridge (10)
0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

4 JP Morgan (3)
3 Morgan Stanley (3)

2 Goldman Sachs (3)

1
BCG (4)
Bain (6)
0

Source: Candesic

Cinven has one of the most stable teams in the private equity industry. Their strategy
is to retain employees for as long as possible in order to preserve their knowledge and
expertise. Many of their partners have been involved since the very beginning in
1988. Maybe for that reason, it is clearly not the policy of the firm to advertise
positions. Candidates will have to rely on their personal networks and their good
fortune to fill a potential vacancy.

144
CVC CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD

111 Strand EUROPEAN LOCATIONS

London WC2R 0AG
United Kingdom Luxembourg (HQ) • Amsterdam • Brus-
Tel: +44 (0)20 74 20 4200 sels • Copenhagen • Frankfurt • London
• Madrid • Milan • Paris • St. Helier •
www.cvc.com Stockholm • Zurich

THE STATS REST OF THE WORLD

CEO: Fred Watts New York • Hong Kong • Seoul • Singa-

Employer Type: Private Company pore • Tokyo • Sydney
Total private equity funds under manage-
ment: €20.9bn in 2007
Employees: 135 (of which 100 invest- KEY COMPETITORS
ment professionals) in 2007 Apax • BC Partners • Bridgepoint •
No. of Offices: 18 Candover • Cinven • EQT • Industri
Kapital • PAI

COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors: EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Distribution [email protected]
Food/Beverages
IT/Media
Manufacturing
Retail
Services

Financial stages:
Mega buyout (>€300m equity), Large
buy-out (€150m-€300m equity), Public
to private

Types of financing:
Main: Majority equity
Other: Debt, CLOs (second lien and
mezzanine instruments), Infrastructure

145
THE SCOOP

CVC Capital Partners was founded in 1981 as Citicorp’s European private equity
arm, and was subsequently bought out by the firm’s partners in 1993. CVC boasts 135
employees with 16 nationalities. They operate a network of 18 offices on four
continents, one of the largest and most extensive in the private equity industry.
Although still focused on European assets, they have aggressively expanded into
Australasia and recently opened their first office in the US.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

CVC European Equity Partners V 2008 €11(target)bn

CVC European Equity Partners Tandem Fund 2007 €4bn

CVC European Equity Partners IV 2005 €6bn

CVC Capital Partners Asia Pacific II 2005 $2bn

CVC European Equity Partners III 2001 $4bn

Since inception, the firm has made around 260 investments with a total value of
€65bn, and currently holds a portfolio of 53 firms mainly in the retail, manufacturing
and service sectors. Together these companies have combined annual sales of €55.3
billion and employ approximately 431,000 people. Their third European fund
achieved annual returns of over 40 per cent after fees, making it one of the most
successful pan-European houses.

The virtue of patience

CVC has a slightly longer than average investment horizon, looking to hold
companies for more than 5 years. This helps keep partners around longer; currently,
the average partner tenure is 12 years.

In 2005, CVC was awarded the title of “Best European LBO Firm” by the Private
Equity International Awards as well as “Most Impressive LBO Sponsor” by EuroWeek.

CVC are major players on the European scene, with high profile takeovers such as
Formula One, the motorsport management company, and the AA roadside assistance

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

firm. Their latest fundraising effort is rumoured to be targeting €11bn, although in

CVC Capital Partners Ltd

current market conditions this looks ambitious, and the growing infrastructure team
is thinking about doing the rounds for €2bn of their own. The trend towards lower
risk infrastructure funds is driven by worsening market conditions, as the relatively
steady cash flows are less reliant on things like consumer spending.

Global coverage
CVC Asia Pacific has been one of the most active private equity investors in the Asia
Pacific region and has completed 25 MBOs there in the last seven years. They opened
their fifth office in the region in Singapore in 2007. The same year, they faced their
first major conflict in Asia as unions at Coca-Cola Korea Bottling Company plants
opposed their acquisition of the business. In 2007 too, CVC appointed Christopher
Stadler, previously head of InvestCorp's private equity business in North America,
to open and run their first American office in New York.

CVC’s portfolio covers a wide variety of industries, geographies and economic

environments. In 2006, their nine investments were already regionally diversified –
four in Europe, four in Asia and one in Australia. In 2007, they have had 12 deals, of
which eight were in Europe, two in the U.S., one in Asia and one in Australia. The list
includes a diverse group of companies such as Belgium specialty chemicals firm
Taminco for €0.8bn; CementBouw and Koninklijke Volker Wessels Stevin in the
Netherlands; Danish retailer Matas; German firms Ista and DYWIDAG-Systems
International; AA, the UK roadside and insurance business, now merged with Saga;
Samsonite, the luggage company, for $1.7bn; global chemical distributor Univar for
€1.5bn; Amtek Engineering from Singapore; and 75 per cent of PBL Media in Australia.

In December 2007, CVC announced the appointment of Stephen Vineburg as Chief

Executive of a newly established infrastructure investment business. A new $2 billion
fund will be launched in 2008, to make investments globally.

147
GETTING HIRED

CVC Partners boasts a true pan-European team with professionals educated at a wide
range of top universities across Europe, like Stockholm, WHU or ESCP-EAP.

Higher Diploma

Bachelor’s only (12%)

Unknown (5%)

PhD/JD/MD (2%)

MBA (30%)

Master’s (51%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Strategy consulting (12%)

Audit & transaction services (7%)

Banks (45%)

Other (36%)

Source: Candesic

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

CVC Capital Partners Ltd

Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)
**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

4 ESCP-EAP (4)
3 Stockholm (4)
2 INSEAD (4)

1
WHU Koblenz (5)
Cambridge (6)
0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

10

PWC (4)
6
Goldman Sachs (4)
4
JPMorgan (5)
2 McKinsey (7)
Citigroup (10)
0

Source: Candesic

An insider mentions that CVC has a very competitive environment with a culture of
strong collegiate rivalry. The investment professionals have an average of eight years
service within the firm. Their previous backgrounds include investment banking
primarily, with a range of experiences in consulting, accounting, private equity and
other areas of asset management, law, property development and general
management in various industries.

To learn more about employment opportunities at CVC you can email

[email protected].

149
DOUGHTY HANSON

45 Pall Mall EUROPEAN LOCATIONS

London SW1Y 5JG
United Kingdom London (HQ) • Frankfurt • Luxembourg
Tel: +44 (0)20 76 63 9300 • Madrid • Milan • Munich • Paris •
Stockholm
www.doughtyhanson.com

KEY COMPETITORS
THE STATS Apax • Bridgepoint • Candover
Executive Director: Nigel E. Doughty
Employer Type: Private Company
Total private equity funds under manage- EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
ment: €5bn (estimate)
[email protected]
Employees: 123 staff (56 professionals),
15 nationalities in 2008
No. of Offices: 8

COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
All sectors

Financial stages:
Expansion – development, Mega buyout
(>€300m equity), Large buy-out
(€150m-€300m equity), Mid market buy-
out (€15m-€150m equity), Technology
venture, Real estate

Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Minority Equity, Shareholders
loans

151
THE SCOOP

Founded in 1985, Doughty Hanson is a leading UK private equity company that splits
its efforts between three investment activities; early stage technology investments,
real estate investments and mid to large cap leveraged buyouts. The company as a
whole has an aggregate acquisition value of €23 billion in over 100 transactions, with
a strictly European portfolio. Although the majority of Doughty Hanson’s investment
professionals are based in London, they have regional offices in Frankfurt,
Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris and Stockholm.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

Doughty Hanson & Co. Fund V 2007 €3bn

Doughty Hanson & Co. Fund IV 2005 €1.5bn

The firm is not particularly sector focused; their current portfolio includes companies
from sectors as diverse as luxury goods, media, retail, mobile phones, engineering,
manufacturing and building materials. The firm invests in market leading companies
with enterprise values between €250 million and €1 billion and prefers to be the sole
investor with a majority stake in the company. The technology venture capital
investments can be as little as €0.1 million for seed investments and €10 million for
later stage investments.

Show me the money

In May of 2007, Doughty Hanson closed their fifth fund, aptly named Fund V, with
€3 billion of investors’ money earmarked for European leveraged buyouts. The firm
had already announced two acquisitions using Fund V: Norit, a Dutch purification
technology company, and Avanza, the largest independent bus operator in Spain. In
December, CTSA, the third largest bus operator in Spain, was added to the portfolio
for an enterprise value of around €90 million.

Cashing out
In early 2008, the firm is closing its sale of the Moeller Group, a global manufacturer
of systems for building applications, to the Eaton Corporation for €1.55 billion,

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

representing a three times return on equity and a gross IRR of 54 per cent. The firm

Doughty Hanson
was acquired by the Munich team using the €1.5bn Fund IV, which closed in early
2005, with a price tag of €1.1bn including pension liabilities. The sale is the second exit
from Fund IV, the first being Saft, a French high-end battery maker, meaning a total
of €1 billion has been returned to investors with nine Fund IV investments yet to be
realised. Companies still in the portfolio include Tumi, the luxury luggage maker,
Hellermann Tyton, a cable company, and TV3, the Irish TV company.

The crystal ball of valuations

In 2007, PricewaterhouseCoopers was recruited to value the business, enabling Nigel
Doughty and Richard Hanson to buy out the other remaining co-founder, Bruce Roe,
who had retired the previous summer. PwC came up with a figure of £9.4 million for
Mr. Roe’s 12,440 shares; since valuing companies is Mr. Roe’s profession he put
together his own model, and came up with a value of £104 million, or 11 times the
PwC valuation, for the same shares. The impending lawsuit will undoubtedly
scrutinise the underlying assumptions, but when it comes to valuing businesses one
thing is certain – there is always room for interpretation.

GETTING HIRED

In April 2008, Doughty Hanson increased tremendously their transparency when

they unveiled their 2007 annual report. Still they remain one of the few established
private equity firms that do not disclose any information about their team members.
While investment professionals are expected to bring significant industrial experience
to the team, the firm occasionally hires juniors from Stockholm School of Economics,
London School of Economics, Oxford, Cambridge or HEC. INSEAD graduates
represent more than 10 per cent of the investment team.

153
 DUKE STREET CAPITAL

Almack House, 28 King Street, Types of financing:

London SW1Y 6XA Main: Majority Equity
United Kingdom Other: Shareholders loans
Tel: +44 (0)20 74 51 6600

www.dukestreetcapital.com EUROPEAN LOCATIONS

London (HQ) • Paris
THE STATS
Managing Director: Peter Taylor KEY COMPETITORS
Employer Type: Private Company
Total private equity funds under manage- Apax • European Capital • Montagu •
ment: £2bn Quilvest
Employees: 34 in 2007 (18 investment
professionals)
No. of Offices: 2 EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
[email protected]

COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Business Services & Outsourcing
Retail & Consumer
Healthcare
Leisure
Financial Services

Financial stages:
Expansion/development, Refinancing
bank debt, Secondary purchase/replace-
ment capital, Rescue/turnaround, MBO,
MBI, Institutional BO, Leveraged Build
Up, Public to private
Large buy-out (£150m-£300m equity),
Mid market buyout (£15m-£150m eq-
uity)

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

THE SCOOP

Duke Street Capital

Since 1980, Duke Street Capital has been involved in mid-market private equity
investments in the UK and France, from their offices in London and Paris. Duke Street
uses an operational improvement strategy to add value, and retains the services of
industry experts as operational partners. The firm specialises in management buy-ins
and actively advertises for experienced managers to approach them with potential
investment opportunities.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

DSC VI 2006 €0.85bn

In 2004, the firm sold its €1.5bn leveraged loan CDO management business to Babson,
a subsidiary of MassMutual, to concentrate on its private equity business.

By the end of 2007, Duke Street had closed 49 transactions in the business services,
retail and consumer, healthcare, leisure and financial services sectors. The firm points
out that they will consider any opportunity, but their expertise and experience is
currently focused around these sectors. The firm is currently in the process of
investing its sixth fund, DSC VI, with approximately €2 billion under management.

In 2007, the DSC V fund went through the “build” stage of a “buy and build”
strategy, with acquisitions and organic growth bulking up the portfolio companies.
In April, Food Partners, the leading supplier of pre-packaged sandwiches in the UK,
acquired a major competitor, Brambles Food, for an estimated £210 million.

In June of 2007, Duke Street acquired Oasis Healthcare, a leading corporate dentist,
for £76.9 million plus debt, adding to the flurry of activity in the preceding year;
Hutton Collins had recently bought into James Hull Associates and Legal & General
Ventures had acquired a controlling stake in Integrated Dental Holdings. The sector
is very fragmented—corporate dentists account for less than 5 per cent—and many
industry observers are predicting further consolidation.

In December of 2007, the firm acquired The Original Factory Shop, a value retailer
headquartered in Burnley, UK. The deal, valued at £68.5 million, will see a
nationwide growth strategy roll out new shops throughout the UK, adding to the 84
outlets currently owned by OFS.

155
GETTING HIRED

Staffing
The firm’s 21 investment professionals are split between London and Paris, with
about three quarters of them in the UK. Although it is hard to draw conclusions from
such a small number of professionals, the majority came from top investment banks
and from other private equity firms. Management consultants are absent and only
one Big Four accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, is represented.

Recruiting
The educational background of Duke Street professionals is very diverse, with
Durham, Cambridge, Dauphine and ESCP-EAP being the most popular
undergraduate universities. While two thirds of the investment professionals have a
Master’s degree, the MBA is the exception. Insiders point out that there is no specific
recruiting policy; the team is relatively small and hiring needs are filled ad hoc.

156
ADVENT
EQT INTERNATIONAL
PARTNERS

PO Box 16409, Linnégatan 6 EUROPEAN LOCATIONS

103 27 Stockholm
Sweden Stockholm (HQ) • Copenhagen • Frank-
Tel: +46 8 50 655 300 furt • Helsinki • Munich • Oslo

www.eqt.se
REST OF THE WORLD
New York • Hong Kong • Shanghai
THE STATS
Managing Partner: Conni Jonsson
Employer Type: Private Company KEY COMPETITORS
Total private equity funds under manage- 3i • Apax • Carlyle • Industri Kapital •
ment: €11bn Nordic Capital
Employees: 80 professionals in 2008 (67
investment professionals)
No. of Offices: 9
CAREER CONTACTS
+46 8 (0)50 655 300
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
All sectors

Financial stages:
Expansion – development, Mega buyout
(>€300m equity), Large buy-out (€150m-
€300m equity), Mid market buyout
(€15m-€150m equity), Other early stage,
Privatisation, Public to private, Replace-
ment, Seed, Small buyout (<€15m eq-
uity), Start-up, Turnaround–restructuring

Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Mezzanine

157
THE SCOOP

Founded in 1994 by Investor AB, EQT Partners (an abbreviation of “equity”) is a

leading private equity house, based in Sweden. The firm has over €11 billion under
management, and has invested €5 billion in 60 companies, with a particular focus on
Northern Europe and China. In particular, the firm is active in Scandinavia, Benelux,
Finland, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. The firm targets leading medium-sized
companies, specializing in buyouts, mezzanine financing and special situation
investments. The opportunity fund invests in turnarounds, insolvencies,
restructurings and special situations where revenues exceed €50 million. Currently,
the European portfolio is invested mostly in Sweden, Denmark and Germany, and
to a lesser extent in Finland. The rest of the portfolio companies are in Greater China.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

EQT V 2007 €4.2bn

EQT Expansion Capital II (mezzanine) 2007 €0.5bn

EQT Opportunity (distressed) 2005 €0.4bn

EQT IV 2004 €2.5bn

Growing older, leaving the nest

In 2007, the firm’s partners agreed to buy an additional 36 per cent of EQT Partners
for €31.2 million from Investor AB, taking their total ownership to 69 per cent. This
separation away from Investor AB is also noted in the fundraising; in the European
based funds, Investor AB’s contributions have fallen from a high of 32 per cent in EQT
III to 12 per cent of the latest EQT V. This drop could be somewhat explained by the
increasing total value of the funds, as the EQT V fund is more than twice as large as
EQT III, although this still represents a reduced investment by Investor AB in real
terms. The remaining investment comes from the Nordic area (30 per cent), Europe (30
per cent), North America (25 per cent) and other parts of the world (15 per cent).

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Royal connections

EQT Partners
EQT has a little more clout than their fund size would suggest, as they are backed by
the Wallenberg family, who own a controlling stake in Investor AB and are one of
Sweden’s wealthiest families. The Wallenberg’s were famously nicknamed “the
Royal family of Swedish business” for their heritage and success as bankers and
industrialists. The family currently owns the majority of the preferred stock in
Investor AB, which holds superior voting rights over regular shares, meaning that
they have ultimate control over the company even though it is publicly listed.
Recently, activist investors have tried to initiate a break-up of the group, which has
been trading below the value of its assets for years, to no avail.

EQT prefers to list their portfolio companies when exiting investments, having been
involved in several successful public offerings in the past. In 2006, EQT listed
Symrise, the German flavours and fragrances firm, at the top end of its price range,
making it the biggest German IPO that year at €1.4 billion. Tognum, a diesel engine
manufacturer, was listed on the German mid-cap index in 2007, with a significant
oversubscription resulting in a total offering volume of around €2 billion. Since
listing, Tognum has outperformed the German mid-cap index by around 3 per cent,
with EQT still owning around a fifth of the shares.

In 2008, EQT plans to partner with Goldman Sachs Capital Partners to list ISS, the
Danish cleaning company, which they took private in 2005 for €4 billion. EQT’s other
future ambitions include opening an office in Hong Kong, and further investments
in Eastern Europe.

GETTING HIRED

EQT Partners has 67 investment professionals with a broad range of industrial and
financial backgrounds. The majority are based in Europe, the Nordic countries and
Germany. Teams are staffed based on their regional and industrial experience. EQT
focuses primarily on professionals with investment banking experience (half of the
professionals), while former strategy consultants represent a distant second. The “local”
industry is also well represented with former employees from Volvo, ABB, Radisson SAS,
Bertelsmann or VIAG. The most represented universities among staff are Stockholm,
Copenhagen and Helsinki, a further sign of EQT’s strong Nordic roots.

Candidates can register their application and CV on EQT’s website. The firm is currently
looking for outstanding candidates with relevant experience to join its Greater China team

159
 Higher Diploma

Bachelor’s only (9%)

Unknown (4%)

MBA (21%)

Master’s (66%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Strategy consulting (12%)

Audit & transaction services (3%)

Banks (45%)

Other (40%)

Source: Candesic

Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)

**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

12

10

8 NYU (3)
6 INSEAD (3)

4 Helsinki (7)

2
Copenhagen (7)
Stockholm (12)
0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5 UBS (3)
2.0 JPMorgan (3)
1.5 Morgan Stanley (4)
1.0
Goldman Sachs (4)
0.5
McKinsey (4)
0.0

Source: Candesic

160
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
EURAZEO

32 rue de Monceau EUROPEAN LOCATIONS

75008 Paris
France Paris (HQ) • Milan (Euraleo)
Tel: +33 1 44 15 0111

www.eurazeo.com KEY COMPETITORS

Bridgepoint • PAI

THE STATS
Chairman of Executive Board: Patrick CAREERS CONTACT
Sayer +33 1 44 15 0111
Employer Type: Public listed Company
(Euronext Paris)
Ticker Symbol: RF
Total private equity funds under manage-
ment: €2.7bn (value of PE portfolio on
31/12/07)
Employees: about 20 investment profes-
sionals
No. of Offices: 2

COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
All sectors

Financial stages:
Mid market buyout (€15m-€150m eq-
uity), public equity, real estate

Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity; Minority Equity

161
THE SCOOP

In April 2001, Eurazeo was formed through the merger of two renowned French
investment companies, Eurafrance and Azeo, formerly known as Gaz et Eaux, the
gas and water distributor dating back to 1881. The firm currently has an enterprise
portfolio value of €6 billion, almost half of it in private equity, with a heavy focus on
French companies requiring an investment of over €200 million. From 2003 to 2006,
the €3 billion invested boasted an annual IRR of 53 per cent, well above the market
average. Though listed on the Euronext, Eurazeo is effectively owned by institutional
investors, with the public owning only 12 per cent of the shares.

Since 2002, Eurazeo has balanced its private equity investments by allocating 10-15
per cent of its portfolio to real estate assets, while maintaining its significant positions
in major listed corporations. In 2006, the firm sold off its portfolio of funds and
liquidated its Asian assets, shedding any non-strategic investments.

Not too fussy

Eurazeo is not sector focused and prefers to invest in a range of industries to hedge
its exposure to any given sector. It has invested in a wide range of industries, from
satellite operations to vehicle rentals, although each investment must adhere to the
four underlying principles refined over the firm’s 150 year history: quality of
management, high barriers to entry, profitability and recurring cash flow.

Keeping busy
In 2003, Eurazeo was ranked as the number one French PE firm, having made several
substantial investments that year; Friklin, a European rental truck company with
over 52,000 vehicles, Eutelsat, a division of France Telecom, and Terreal, a French
brick producer, were all acquired that year. The following year, Rexel was acquired
in the largest European LBO at the time, only to be released the following year
through a public offering. In 2005, Eurazeo kept the deal flow going strong by
recapitalizing Eutelsat, acquiring B&B, a hotel chain, and exiting Terreal, which
reached an astonishing IRR of 105 per cent.

In 2006, Eurazeo sold more than €2.1 billion worth of French companies, while
moving away from their home market by launching an Italian office, and acquiring
Eurocar. In 2007, Eutelsat and Fraikin were sold, realising IRRs of 59 per cent and

162
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Eurazeo
37.5 per cent respectively. The same year, they acquired Apcoa, the German car park
operator, for €885 million, and Vanguard, the US car rental group. To further develop
the non-French European business, Eurazeo invested in Gruppo Banca Leonardo in
Italy and APCOA in Germany.

In 2007, Eurazeo launched Euraleo in Italy, in a 50/50 joint venture with Banca
Leonardo. The sister company is managed by Alessandro Foti and concentrates on
the Italian private equity market.

GETTING HIRED

Eurazeo’s investment team currently consists of about 20 professionals, half of whom

previously worked for an investment bank. They typically graduated from the French
elite schools Ecole Polytechnique and HEC and at least two of them started their
careers within the French government, a significant advantage when trying to get
access to deals in France. Eurazeo is a very French company but its European
ambitions may create opportunities for strong candidates from other European
countries. Candidates can upload their CV and submit their application on the
company website at www.eurazeo.fr/uk/emploi/form.php.

163
 EUROPEAN CAPITAL
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL

25 Bedford Street EUROPEAN LOCATIONS

London WC2E 9ES
United Kingdom London (HQ) • Frankfurt • Paris
Tel: +44 (0)20 7539 7000

www.europeancapital.com KEY COMPETITORS

3i • Barclays Private Equity • Montagu

THE STATS
Managing Director: Nathalie Faure CAREERS WEBSITE
Beaulieu [email protected]
Employer Type: Public listed company
(LSE)
Total private equity funds under manage-
ment: €2.3bn
Employees: 19 in 2007
No. of Offices: 3

COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors of focus:
All sectors

Financial stages:
Buyouts (€50 - €500 million), Mezzanine
(up to €250 million)

Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Minority Equity

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

European Capital
THE SCOOP

American Capital, parent company of European Capital, is the largest publicly traded
private equity company in the world and the only alternative asset management firm
in the S&P 500. With over $20 billion under management, the firm allows
shareholders the opportunity to invest in mid-market private companies in all sectors
throughout North America and Europe.

European Capital manages €1.6 billion of funds, targeting middle-market European

firms worth between €5 million and €500 million. The first European offices, in Paris
and London, were only established in 2005, with the further two offices in Madrid
and Frankfurt opening in 2007.

Being an affiliate firm to American Capital has several advantages—the fund uses
American Capital’s back office functions, including the operations, legal and
compliance teams, and benefits from the same access to cheap and available credit.
The European Capital team alone were extended a €900 million credit facility in 2006,
a significant advantage to a relatively new private equity house which would never
have happened if they had been a standalone firm.

The group is also in the process of developing a new fund, European Capital Equity I.

The majority of the firm’s investments have come from the French and British offices,
with the Frankfurt office making its first investment in July 2007; €10 million was
invested in Euro-Druckservice, a leading commercial printer in Central and Eastern
Europe.

In 2007, the Paris office made several investments in the manufacturing sector and
related industries; €22 million was invested in Global Design Technologies, a
provider of specialised fittings for the aerospace industry; €29 million was invested
in Soflog Telis, a provider of logistics to major industrial consumers; €12.5 million
was invested in Tiama, a manufacturer of in-line inspection devices; and finally,
undisclosed investments were made in Groupe Sud Robinetterie, a valve
manufacturer, and DEVGLASS, a window pane manufacturer and distributor.

That same year, the London office made key investments in the retail sector; €30
million was invested in Camaieu, a women’s clothing retailer; £18.5 million was
invested in Fat Face, an active lifestyle clothing brand; and €8 million was invested

165
in Vivarte, a French retailer of footwear and clothing. Other well known acquisitions
around that time include Gondola Holdings, the food group that owns casual
dinning chains such as Pizza Express and ASK, iglo Bird’s Eye, the well known frozen
food group, and Selecta, the largest vending services company in Europe.

GETTING HIRED

The investment professionals at European Capital studied at a mixture of American

and European undergraduate universities, representing locally hired staff and
professionals hired from within American Capital to European locations. The
universities are varied, but include top universities such as Dauphine University,
MIT and Durham University. Six out of the 21 professionals have an MBA, from
institutions such as HEC, ENPC and Wisconsin University. Around 40 per cent of
the professionals come from other private equity companies and 30 per cent from
banks. Two of the 21 professionals came from Credit Suisse and two came from
Société Générale, making them the most popular former employers. European
Capital does not run a formal recruitment process, although potential candidates can
contact the firm at [email protected] to discuss potential opportunities.

166
ADVENT
GILDE INTERNATIONAL
INVESTMENT
MANAGEMENT
Newtonlaan 91 EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
BP Utrecht
3584 Utrecht (HQ) • Paris • Zurich
Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0)30 21 92 535
KEY COMPETITORS
www.gilde.nl 3i • AAC Capital Partners • Advent In-
www.gildepartners.com ternational • Barclays Private Equity

THE STATS CAREERS CONTACT

General Partner: Mr. Boudewijn T. Mole-
[email protected]
naar
Employer Type: Private Company
Total private equity funds under manage-
ment: €2bn (€1.3bn Buyout Partners)
Employees: 40 in 2007
No. of Offices: 3

COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
General Industries, Consumer Goods,
Basic Industries, Services, Other

Financial stages:
Mid market buyout (€15m-€150m)

Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Minority Equity, Shareholders
loans

167
THE SCOOP

Founded in 1982, Gilde Investment Management is a Dutch private equity and venture
capital firm, currently boasting around €2 billion under management. In 1996, the firm
became an independent subsidiary of Rabobank, the Dutch cooperative bank, only to
be released through a management buyout in 2005. Rabobank still has close ties to
Gilde and continues to act as a key investor in their funds, although the management
team thought independence would help attract new institutional investors.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

Gilde Buy Out Fund III 2006 €0.6bn

Gilde IT Fund (Fund I and II) 1996 €0.43bn

Gilde Investment Management is divided into three business units: Gilde Equity
Management (GEM) Benelux Partners invests in Benelux headquartered mid-market
firms, with a transaction size of €15-75 million; Gilde Buy Out Partners focuses on
mid-market companies based in continental Western Europe, with a transaction size
of €75-600 million; Gilde Healthcare Partners is a venture capital company that
invests in European or US emerging healthcare companies in the therapeutic,
diagnostic and medical device sectors.

Gilde Equity Management

Based in The Netherlands, Gilde Equity Management (GEM) is one of the few private
equity houses focusing exclusively on small to mid-market Benelux companies. In
2006, they closed their new institutional fund at its €150 million hard cap, drawing
on institutional investors outside of Rabobank for the first time.

Gerhard Nordemann, co-managing partner, commented on the fundraising, saying

that it closed ahead of schedule with high quality blue chip investors. Rabobank
continued to support the fund, contributing 20 per cent of the total, with thirteen
other institutional investors including Allianz Private Equity Partners, the European
Investment Fund, Rho and Proventure.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

The firm received the regional 2007 M&A award for “Best Private Equity House Mid

Gilde Investment Management

Market”, and is regarded as one of the key players focusing on the Benelux region. GEM
is not sector focused, but has been particularly successful in the food and manufacturing
industries; investments such as All Crump, Ad van Geloven, Bakker Bart, Hamal
Signature and Royal Peijnenburg in the food industry and Axxicon, Codi, CurTec,
Hevea/Dunlop and De Oliebron/Kroon-Oil in manufacturing being examples.

Gilde Buyout Partners

Gilde Buyout Partners is the most substantial of the three divisions, focusing on the
upper end of the mid-market, meaning they are able to contribute up to €120 million
in a single transaction. In September 2006, Gilde Buy Out Partners closed its most
recent Buy Out Fund III, which at €600 million is one of the larger funds targeting
mid-cap companies in the region. The firm’s €1.3 billion under management
exclusively targets companies in Benelux, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

In January 2008, the firm made its most recent exit, selling Dutch coffee roasting
company Drie Mollen International to CapVest Equity Partners. Boudewijn
Molenaar, a managing director at Gilde, commented on how successful the
investment had been, allowing the company to go through a buy and build growth
strategy to become a pan-European player; while under Gilde ownership, the firm
acquired Ginger, the Swiss coffee roaster, Merkur, another Swiss coffee roaster, and
First Choice Coffee, a UK-based rival.

The firm is not sector specific and has seen recent transactions come from a variety
of industries. In 2007, Glide acquired Nedschroef, a Dutch manufacturing firm,
Novagraff, a Dutch IP services provider, Novasep, a French chemicals company, and
Royal Swets & Zeitlinger, a Dutch subscription service.

And the other one

Since 2000, Gilde Healthcare Partners has been investing in emerging healthcare
companies mainly from Europe and in some cases the US. Gilde has been providing
seed money to entrepreneurs since its inception in 1982, although the first healthcare
fund wasn’t initiated until 2000, with the second fund closing in 2007 at €150 million.
The firm has made four exits from its first fund, mostly through Euronext, and made
the first exit from the second healthcare fund in 2007, listing AMT, a gene therapy
company, on Euronext in Amsterdam.

169
GETTING HIRED

With offices in The Netherlands, Switzerland and France, Gilde’s staff of 40

professionals is highly multinational. Their employees have previous backgrounds
in finance, investment banking, consulting, industry and private equity, with a large
variety of former employers.

Since Gilde is a Dutch firm, many of the professionals were educated in Dutch
Universities, including the State University of Groningen, University of Rotterdam,
Free University of Amsterdam, Groningen Rijks University and Leiden University.
Only six out of the 33 professionals have an MBA, which they obtained at top
institutions including INSEAD and Wharton.

170
ADVENT
HG INTERNATIONAL
CAPITAL

2UKMore
Regional Headquarters
London Riverside European Locations
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Advent International
London SE1 2AP plc
111 Buckingham
United Kingdom Palace Road London (HQ) • Amsterdam • Munich
London Amsterdam • Bucharest •Frankfurt •
Tel: +44SW1W
(0)20 700SR
89 7888
UK Kiev • Madrid • Milan • Paris • Prague •
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800 Warsaw
KEY • Bratislava (affiliate) • Oslo
COMPETITORS
www.hgcapital.com
(affiliate)
3i • Advent International • Apax • Bar-
www.adventinternational.com
clays PE • European Capital • Montagu
THE STATS
Managing Director: Ian Armitage Rest of the World
Employer CAREERS CONTACT
The StatsType: Private Company, In- Boston (HQ)
vestment Trust [email protected]
Chairman: PeterLSE:
A. Brooke Tokyo • Singapore (affiliate) • Buenos
Ticket Symbol: HGT.L
Employer Type: Independent Private Aires • Sao Paulo • Mexico • Further
Total private equity funds under manage-
Company affiliates in five other countries
ment: €2.5bn
Total private70equity
Employees: funds under
in 2007
management:
No. of Offices:about
3 €11bn (2008)
Employees: 130 investment professionals,
of which 65 in Europe (2008) Key Competitors
No. of Offices:FOCUS
COMPANY 15 3i • Apax • Barclays Private Equity •
Cinven • Montagu
Sectors:
Consumer & Leisure
Healthcare
Company Focus
Industrials Employment Contact
Sectors:
Services In the US: [email protected]
Business Services & Financial Services
TMT For other offices, see "contact us" at
Retail & Consumer www.adventinternational.com
Technology,
Financial Media & Telecoms
stages:
Healthcare–&development,
Expansion Life Sciences Large buyout
Industrial
(€150m-€300m equity), Mid market buy-
out (€15m-€150m), Privatisation, Public
Financial
to private,stages:
Replacement, Turnaround –
International buyouts, recapitalization and
restructuring
growth equity investments (up to €500m
equity),ofsome
Types venture capital
financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Types of financing:
Majority equity

171
THE SCOOP

Founded in 1985, Mercury Private Equity was one of the original private equity
players in the European mid-cap market. In 1997, the firm was acquired by Merrill
Lynch and integrated into the ML Investment Management division of the bulge-
bracket bank. Three years later, the firm was spun off as an independent unit, re-
branding itself HgCapital – the chemical symbol for mercury and also an acronym for
High Growth.

The firm currently has around €2.5 billion under management, and typically invests
in mid-market companies with enterprise values between €75 million and €500
million. The firm has worked with a broad range of companies, requiring different
investment types such as leveraged buyouts, management buy-ins, turnarounds,
operational improvement initiatives, public-to-private and scaling up for fast growth.

The firm’s offices in London, Amsterdam and Frankfurt represent their focus on
Western Europe, and past investments have focused on the UK, Ireland, Germany
and Benelux. HgCapital is sector specific, acting as a general private equity investor
in the following sectors: consumer & leisure, healthcare, industrials, services &
technology, media and telecommunication (TMT).

Blowin’ in the wind

In addition, the firm manages the largest European fund for renewable power
projects, with approximately €1.3 billion of committed capital. The firm invests in a
range of technologies including wind farms, biomass, geothermal, solar, waste and
hydro energy, with capital provided at various stages of the businesses. Current
investments include wind farm projects in Germany, Italy, France, Ireland and the
UK, with investments in a biomass fuel company and a wind turbine manufacturer
completing their portfolio.

In 2007, the Hg Renewable Power Partners fund completed its most recent
acquisition, an Oxford-based wind energy developer called Ridgewind. The
company is developing over 200MW of UK wind project across 12 sites, bringing
HgCapital’s European wind portfolio to over 120MW in operation or construction
and 700MW in development, meaning they are one of the leading investors in the
European renewable energy sector.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Hg Capital
Trust yourself
The firm also manages an investment trust, known as HgCapital Investment Trust,
which takes a minority interest in all of HgCapital’s private equity investments,
allowing investors the chance to invest in a diversified range of private equity
activities with some liquidity. In 2007, the firm won the “Private Equity Investment
Trust of the Year” award at the Investment Week Awards for the third year running,
making them the only company to have ever completed the hat-trick. The award was
given in recognition of consistent returns and sector-leading performance; in the
decade spanning 1997 to 2007, the Trust delivered a share price total return of 19 per
cent per annum against 7.3 per cent for the FTSE index, and a share price growth of
21.8 per cent over the final year.

In early 2008, the firm sold The Sanctuary, a UK spa and beauty products business,
to PZ Cussons for £75 million, which was their seventh transaction in the preceding
five months. All in all it was a very successful period for HgCapital—the joint
disposal of CS Group and IRIS Software, combined with the sale of Hirschmann
Electronics, cummulated in an annual rate of return above 75 per cent. In addition,
the sale of Schenck realised proceeds of £34 million, at an impressive 85 per cent
annual rate of return.

In the same period, the firm invested in several new opportunities; Schleich, the
plastic toy manufacturer, Americana, the clothing brand responsible for Bench and
Hooch brands, SLV, a lighting systems company, Mondo, the talc mining group, and
Fabory, the industrial fastener distributor, were all acquired by HgCapital. The 2007
acquisition of Fabory represents the firm’s fifth investment in the Benelux region
since opening an office in Amsterdam two years earlier. In late 2007, the firm added
to its healthcare portfolio by acquiring Casa Reha, the German care homes business.

Handing over the reins

In 2007, Leonard Licht retired as Chairman, after seven years in charge, leaving Ian
Armitage to move from Chief Executive to Chairman. Several other promotions
signify a change in leadership, with a new cast ready to leave their mark on the firm;
Nic Humphries will be taking over day to day running as Chief Exec, with eleven
other partners helping him run the fund and its investments.

173
GETTING HIRED

HgCapital’s investment team studied at the typical elite universities including

Oxbridge, Harvard, INSEAD and London Business School. Almost a third of the
professionals hold an MBA. In terms of employment, HgCapital’s professionals have
a variety of backgrounds; top previous employers are leading consulting firms, Big
Four accounting firms and top tier investment banks. Interestingly, almost a fifth of
HgCapital’s professionals have a background in strategy consulting, which is roughly
the same as the number of professionals who came from investment banks.

HgCapital does not run a formal recruitment process, but can be contacted at
[email protected] to discuss potential employment opportunities.

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Hg Capital
Higher Diploma

PhD/JD/MD (2%)
Bachelor’s only (38%)
Unknown (7%)
MBA (30%)

Master’s (23%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Strategy consulting (19%)

Audit & transaction services (14%)
Banks (19%)
Other (48%)

Source: Candesic

Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)

**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

8
7
6
5 LBS (2)
4 INSEAD (2)
3 Harvard (5)
2
Oxford (5)
1
Cambridge (7)
0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

3.0

2.5

2.0 Merrill Lynch (2)

1.5 Goldman Sachs (2)
1.0 KPMG (2)

0.5 Deloitte (3)

Bain (3)
0.0

Source: Candesic

175
 ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
INDUSTRI KAPITAL

Brettenham
UK Regional House,
Headquarters
5 Lancaster Place European Locations
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Advent International
London WC2E 7EN plc
111 Buckingham
United Kingdom Palace Road London (HQ) • Hamburg • Oslo • Paris
London
Tel: +44SW1W
(0)20 730SR
04 4300 •Amsterdam
Stockholm• Bucharest •Frankfurt •
UK Kiev • Madrid • Milan • Paris • Prague •
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800
www.industrikapital.com Warsaw • Bratislava (affiliate) • Oslo
(affiliate)
KEY COMPETITORS
www.adventinternational.com 3i • Apax • Barclays Private Equity •
THE STATS EQT • Nordic Capital
Chairman and Chief Executive: Björn Rest of the World
Savén
The Stats Boston (HQ)CONTACT
Employer Type: Private Company CAREERS
Chairman:
Total Peter
private A. Brooke
equity funds under manage- Tokyo • Singapore (affiliate) • Buenos
+44
Aires(0)20
• Sao73 04 4300
Paulo • Mexico • Further
Employer
ment: Type: Independent Private
€5.7bn
Company 70 staff (30 professionals) in
Employees: affiliates in five other countries
Total private equity funds under
2008
management:
No. of Offices:about
5 €11bn (2008)
Employees: 130 investment professionals,
of which 65 in Europe (2008) Key Competitors
No. of Offices:FOCUS
COMPANY 15 3i • Apax • Barclays Private Equity •
Sectors: Cinven • Montagu
Manufacturing (31 per cent)
Service (24 per cent)
Company Focus Employment Contact
Retailing
Sectors: & Distribution (18 per cent)
Wholesale In the US: [email protected]
Business
Food Services(8
processing & per
Financial
cent)Services For other offices, see "contact us" at
Retail & materials
Building Consumer(8 per cent) www.adventinternational.com
Technology,process
Specialised Media &(8Telecoms
per cent)
Healthcare
Media (3 per& cent)
Life Sciences
Industrial
Financial stages:
Financial stages:
Mid-market buyout (€15m-€150m equity)
International buyouts, recapitalization and
growthofequity
Types investments (up to €500m
financing:
equity), some venture
Main: Majority Equity capital

Types of financing:
Majority equity

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Industri Kapital
THE SCOOP

In 1989, Enskilda Ventures Ltd, a subsidiary of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken,

sponsored Björn Savén in raising the Scandinavian Acquisition Capital Fund. The
firm set up shop with an office in London and closed its fund at €108 million, mainly
from Scandinavian investors. Over the next four years, the fund made eight
investments, five in Sweden, two in Denmark and one in Norway. In 1993, the fund
sought independence and went through a buyout from its parent bank, renaming
itself Industri Kapital 1989 Fund in the process.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

The Industri Kapital 2007 Fund 2007 €1.7bn

The Industri Kapital 2004 Fund 2004 €0.825bn

The Industri Kapital 2000 Fund 2000 €2.1bn

In 1993, after gaining independence, the firm branched out from its London base and
opened regional offices in Stockholm and Oslo. By 1995, the firm had closed its
second fund, with €250 million of capital from investors in Europe and North
America. Two years later, the firm closed its third fund at €750 million while also
opening an office in Hamburg, indicating their ambitions to begin investing in
Germany. The firm’s further fundraising ambitions peaked in 2000, when their fourth
fund closed at €2.1 billion, after which their fifth and sixth funds closed at €825
million and €1.7 billion, respectively. The Paris office was a late addition, opening in
2006, after the firm had already purchased several French companies.

As of early 2008, Industri Kapital was managing four active funds, with €5.7 billion
under management targeting Scandinavia, Benelux, France and Germany. Their
current portfolio has 20 European companies, with a total combined turnover of over
€7 billion. Overall, the firm has acquired 64 companies from a range of industries; the
largest transaction was the acquisition of Magotteaux, a global grinding media and
casting supplier, which had a final price tag of €373 million.

177
GETTING HIRED

Industri Kapital has investments teams in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland,

Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France and the Benelux. Their regional investment
teams enable the private equity company to establish local networks and knowledge
bases, a key driver of successful transactions. Together the teams speak twelve
languages. About half of Industri Kapital employees have a previous experience in
investment banking. Top former employers are Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, ABN
Amro and of course Enskilda, the former mother company. Several were trained at
strategy consultancies like Bain & Company. The team is European but with a
majority of Scandinavians, and a significant proportion graduated from the well
reputed Stockholm School of Economics. Candidates should contact directly the
office they would like to apply to.

For Industri Kapital it is very important to recruit professionals who fit into their
regional teams. Their decisions are mainly dependent on the language skills and local
experience of applicants, so be sure to point out any regional knowledge.

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Industri Kapital
Higher Diploma

PhD/JD/MD (3%)
Bachelor’s only (23%)
Unknown (3%)
MBA (17%)
Master’s (54%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Strategy consulting (14%)

Audit & transaction services (14%)
Banks (38%)
Other (34%)

Source: Candesic

Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)

**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

8
7
6
5 IEP Paris (2)
4 INSEAD (2)
3 HEC (3)
2
Harvard (3)
1
Stockholm SE (8)
0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5 PWC (2)
2.0 JPMorgan (2)
1.5 Bain (2)
1.0
Enskilda (2)
0.5
Morgan Stanley (4)
0.0

Source: Candesic

179
MONTAGU PRIVATE
EQUITY
2 More London Riverside Types of financing:
London SE1 2AP Main: Majority Equity
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 73 36 9955
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
www.montagu.com
London (HQ) • Düsseldorf • Manches-
ter • Paris • Stockholm
THE STATS
Chief Executive: Chris Masterson KEY COMPETITORS
Employer Type: Private Company
Total private equity funds under manage- Advent • International • 3i • Apax •
ment: €3bn Barclays Private Equity • HgCapital
Employees: 43 in 2007
No. of Offices: 5
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]
COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Aerospace & Defence
Engineering
Chemicals
Electronics
Food & Beverage
General Financial
General Industrial
Healthcare
Media
Pharmaceuticals
Retailers
Support Services
Transportation

Financial stages:
Large buyout (€150m-€300m equity),
Mega buyout (>€300m equity)

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THE SCOOP

In 2003, HSBC spun off its European private equity unit in a management buyout, in
a deal that valued the business somewhere in the region of £60 million. The firm was
re-branded as Montagu Private Equity, which is derived from the well known 19th
century London stockbroker Montagu & Samuel. HSBC retained a 19.9 per cent stake
in the business and still uses the firm as their primary vehicle for private equity
investments in Europe. Montagu got to keep the network of European offices in
London, Manchester, Stockholm, Düsseldorf and Paris, retaining Chris Masterson,
the former MD of HSBC Private Equity, to head the firm as CEO.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

Montagu III 2005 €2.26bn

HSBC Private Equity Partnership 2002 €1bn

& HSBC Private Equity European LP

Since 1968, the firm has invested in over 400 companies, with an impressive historic
rate of return and a current total of €3 billion under management. The firm typically
invests between €100 million to €1 billion in a given deal, but pursues larger deals
through co-investments with other firms. Unlike at most other private equity firms,
investment professionals at Montagu do not have a sector specialisation.The firm is
not sector oriented, and instead prefers to believe that a strong investment
opportunity, even in a weak market, can still succeed. The firm looks as a priority for
niches that are easy to defend.

Montagu’s investment philosophy can be described as “no-nonsense”; they have an

underlying principle that capital providers often have too much belief in their own
ability to add value, and instead emphasise how important it is to back the right
management team. Chris Masterson, Chief Exec of Montagu, points out that Montagu’s
strategy doesn’t include Management Buy-Ins (MBI), so it’s crucial they are happy with
the target company’s current CEO and management team. In fact, Montagu boasts that
they have fired less than 10 per cent of the CEOs of companies they have acquired—
defying a practice that is very common amongst private equity firms.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

In 2007, the firm only made two acquisitions: UK-based Jamella Group, the hair

Montagu Private Equity

styling group trading under GHD, was bought for £160 million, and Unifeeder, the
Danish transport and logistics company, was acquired. In 2006, the firm made
another four acquisitions in a variety of sectors, continuing the trend of pursuing an
opportunity as opposed to an industry; British Car Auctions, the British vehicle
auction business, Sebia, the French pharmaceuticals business, Logstor, the Danish
pipe manufacturer, and Open International, the British software business, were all
acquired by Montagu in 2006.

The two most notable, and most expensive, Montagu acquisitions were BSN Medical,
the German pharmaceuticals group, acquired for €1.03 billion in 2005 and Linpac,
the UK industrial company, which they bought for £860 million in 2003. In 2007, the
firm made one of their more successful realisations by selling Cory Environmental,
the waste management group, for five times their original investment after only two
years. The firm also made a tidy return on the 2006 management buyout of Misys
General Insurance, which they subsequently named Open International Limited,
buying it for £182 million and selling it for £276 million a year and a half later.

GETTING HIRED

Sixty per cent of the Montagu professionals are based in the UK, with a fifth in Paris,
twelve per cent in Germany and a handful in Sweden. The undergraduate
qualifications of Montagu’s professionals are unusually mixed; Oxford, Cambridge
and ESSEC all have three alumni at Montagu, and universities like Reading,
Birmingham, Sheffield Hallam, Heriot-Watt, Bristol, Newcastle and HEC all make
an appearance as well.

Around a third of Montagu professionals came from an investment banking

background, with almost a fifth coming from transaction services firms such as
PricewaterhouseCoopers. Only two of the 43 professionals came from strategy
consulting, one from Booz Allen and one from McKinsey.

183
 PAI PARTNERS

43 avenue de l'Opéra LOCATIONS

75002 Paris
France Paris (HQ) • London • Madrid • Milan •
Tel: +33 (0)1 55 77 9101 Munich

www.paipartners.com
KEY COMPETITORS
BC Partners • Blackstone • Cinven •
THE STATS CVC • Eurazeo • LBO France • Wendel
Chief Executive: Dominique Mégret
Employer Type: Independent private
company since 2002 buyout from BNP
Paribas EMPLOYMENT CONTACT
Total private equity funds under manage-
www.paipartners.com
ment: €7bn
Employees: 49 professionals in 2007
No. of Offices: 5

COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Consumer Goods (including Healthcare
Services
Capital Goods

Financial stages:
Large buyout (€150m-€300m equity),
Mid market buyout (€15m-€150m eq-
uity), Public to private

Types of financing:
Majority equity and shareholders loans

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PAI Partners
THE SCOOP

PAI is a rapidly growing European private equity firm that has fast become the
largest French player and one of the largest investment houses in Europe. With 49
professionals split across five European offices in Paris, London, Madrid, Milan and
Munich, the company is exclusively European; the last decade has seen investment
activity in ten countries, all of them in Western Europe.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

PAI Europe V 2008 €5.4bn

PAI Europe IV 2005 €2.7bn

PAI Europe III 2001 €0.21bn

The firm has around €7bn under management and typically invests in medium to
large size public or private companies, with investments in the range of €500m –
€3bn. PAI operates in three sectors that are just being redefined:

• The Consumer Goods group covers the food industry, other consumer
goods and healthcare
• The Services group includes the consumer retail industry, distribution,
building, infrastructure and media
• The Capital Goods group focuses on the packaging, automotive,
aeronautics, electrical appliance industries and chemicals sectors

PAI has a long history of financing large companies that goes back to its roots as a
division of Paribas bank. In 1931, it had been a founding shareholder of RTL Group
and had supported the successful development of the group in Europe until it sold
its stake to the Group Frère years ago.

185
Expensive taste
During the summer of 2007, PAI built an 80 per cent stake in the public company
Kaufman & Broad, one of France’s leading developers and builders of homes with a
turnover of about €1.3bn. Earlier that year, PAI led the €2.4bn acquisition of Lafarge
Roofing, a 12,000 employee company headquartered in Luxembourg and the
worldwide leader in tiles for pitched roofs, roofing components and chimney
systems.

The year 2005 was key, with 9 acquisitions including: Danish company Chr. Hansen,
the worldwide leader in natural ingredients to the food industry (€1.1bn); Cortefiel,
the market leading apparel retailer in Spain (€1.5bn); Kwik-Fit, Europe’s largest
automotive fast-fit services provider (£800m); and Saur, a leader in the water
distribution, sanitation and waste management in France (€1bn, exited).

Previous important acquisitions have included many other leading European

companies; UK-based United Biscuits, a leading European manufacturer of biscuits
and snacks with 9,000 employees and a turnover of £1.3bn; Elis, the European leader
in the textile rental and well-being services industry (€1.5bn, exited); Italian firm
Saeco, the leading European coffee machine manufacturer (€825m); Vivarte, the
leading specialist retailer of footwear and clothing in France (€1.5bn, exited); and
Yoplait, the No. 2 worldwide producer of fresh dairy products, were all significant
acquisitions for PAI.

Historical legacy
PAI partners is one of the most experienced private equity firms in Europe, with
historical links tracing back to Paribas Affaires Industrielles in 1872, the merchant
bank now part of BNP Paribas. The firm was spun off from BNP Paribas in 2002, into
its current form PAI Partners. The scale of its ambitious fundraising has taken the
industry by surprise, and they have emerged as one of the key players in the
European market. Although they have been around for centuries, Dominique Megret,
current Chief Exec, points out that they have only been truly independent for a few
years and have the capacity and desire to grow.

Playing in the major league

After two years of rumours, PAI recently announced the closing of their Europe V
acquisition fund at €5.4 billion, shrugging off concerns about the state of the global
credit markets. This brings it within reach of the largest fund in the region, Permira’s
€11.1 billion pool, meaning we can expect to see PAI bidding in the largest European

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

auctions. The fund’s predecessor, Europe IV, was also one of the largest continental

PAI Partners
European funds when it stopped raising new money in 2005.

The continental approach

As one of the few large funds based in continental Europe, PAI have benefited from
a surge in takeover activity there, although they admittedly adopt an Anglo-Saxon
mindset to investing. Dominique Mégret qualifies that mindset and investment
philosophy regularly in interviews, describing PAI’s investment strategy as
“professional and organised, [trying] to add from time to time the flavour of genius”.

PAI will only invest in companies that are number one or two in the sector, can be
sold to trade buyers, and are found in sectors where they have experience and an
extensive network of contacts.

GETTING HIRED

The Europe-wide team is composed of 49 professionals from several European

countries who have considerable combined sector experience and in-depth
knowledge of the European markets. Many PAI employees formerly worked for
investment bank Paribas before it merged with BNP in 1999. That underscores the
strong Investment Banking background of PAI employees.

Because of its French roots, PAI’s recruiting is significantly biased toward French
“Grandes Ecoles”, with about half its investment professionals being graduates from
Polytechnique, HEC, ESSEC, ESCP-EAP or Sciences Po. Only 15 per cent of them
hold an MBA.

PAI generally employs five or six graduate trainees for a gap year during their
studies. A couple of them receive an offer once they graduate from school. Insiders
tell us that there is no real opportunity for summer internships as “it takes at least
three months to train interns”.

187
 ADVENT ADVISERS
PERMIRA INTERNATIONAL

20 Southampton Street EUROPEAN LOCATIONS

London WC2E 7QH
United Kingdom London (HQ) • Frankfurt • Guernsey •
Tel: +44 (0)20 7632 1000 Luxembourg • Madrid • Milan • Paris •
Stockholm
www.permira.com

REST OF THE WORLD

THE STATS New York • San Francisco • Hong Kong
Managing Director: Tom Lister and Kurt • Tokyo
Bjorklund (co-managing partners)
Employer Type: Private Company
Total private equity funds under manage- KEY COMPETITORS
ment: €22bn Apax • Bain Capital • Blackstone • Car-
Employees: 200 (130 professionals) in lyle • CVC • KKR • TPG
2008
No. of Offices: 12 (from second half 2008)
CAREERS WEBSITE
COMPANY FOCUS http://www.permira.com/en/contacts/con
tacts.html
Sectors:
Chemicals
Consumer
Financial Services
Healthcare
Industrial Products & Services
TMT

Financial stages:
Large buyout (€150m-300m equity),
Mega buyout (>€300m equity), Public to
private

Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Permia Advisers
THE SCOOP

Since 1985, Permira has been an active private equity investor and currently boasts
€22 billion in its 19 funds under management. Permira has roots in Schroders Plc,
the British investment manager, which created a series of provincial private equity
firms in the 1980s, tasked with managing country specific funds sponsored by
Schroders. In the mid-1990s, the business units in France, Germany, Italy and the UK
joined together to form Schroder Ventures Europe, which then began to act with
increasing independence from its parent company.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

Permira IV 2006 €11bn

Permira Europe III 2003 €5.1bn

Permira Europe II 2000 €3.5bn

Biggest of the best

In 1997, the firm launched the Permira Europe I fund, which closed at €890 million.
In 2000, the second Permira fund, Permira Europe II, closed at a healthy €3.3 billion,
allocated for pan-European investments. Eventually in 2001, the firm was bought out
from Schroders by the partners, renaming itself Permira, Latin for “very surprising,
very different”, to mark the separation.

In 2003, the firm raised its first fund independently from Schroders, closing Permira
Europe III at over €5 billion. Most recently, the firm closed its fourth Permira fund at
a staggering €11 billion in 2006, making it the largest European buyout fund at the
time. In early 2008, Permira was ranked as the second largest private equity fund in
Europe.

Doesn’t just grow on trees

Permira’s largest investor is a UK-based investment trust called SVG Capital, which
explains why some 41 per cent of the firm’s most recent fund was from the UK, with
a further 14 per cent coming from other European countries, 35 per cent from North
America and the remainder from the Middle East and Asia. Like many other large

189
private equity firms, Permira raised a significant amount from blue chip investors; 45
per cent came from investment managers, with a further 31 per cent from pension
funds. The remaining funds came from government agencies, insurance companies,
charities and banks.

Geographically, the firm does not have a headquarters and is managed by its board
and executive committee members located across the various offices. In 2002, the
firm expanded outside of Europe for the first time, opening its New York office. In
2003, the firm opened in Stockholm to manage its Nordic region investments, and in
2004, opened in Madrid to cover Iberian investments. An office in Hong Kong is due
to open in the first half of 2008 and in California in the second half.

Further afield
As one of the major international firms, Permira participates in the largest
transactions, targeting companies valued above €500 million. The firm invests in a
variety of transaction types, specializing in divestitures of non-core assets,
developing family businesses, and acquisition-driven sector consolidation. Besides
the multiple office structure, the firm’s investment professionals are also organised
along sector lines. The core sector teams have historically been Chemicals, Consumer,
Industrial Products and TMT, but the firm is currently developing new teams with
specialisations in Financial Services and Healthcare.

Permira’s board is comprised of a group of senior partners and chaired by Damon

Buffini. The executive committee, which is responsible for managing the private
equity business, is chaired by the co-managing partners Kurt Bjorklund and Tom
Lister and comprised of five other senior partners from across the business.

Give a king his crown

Mr Buffini has received a lot of media attention in the wake of several political attacks
on the private equity sector, against which he has defended the industry and its
practices. In particular, he has tried to work in co-operation with Sir David Walker’s
guidelines for disclosure and transparency, which were published in 2007 in response
to the media attention. He has made significant efforts to increase transparency
throughout Permira, and some see the creation of his chairman position as part of that
process.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Permira Advisers
The most important person you’ve never heard of
Although Mr Buffini is seen as the face of the British private equity industry, and
one of its most outspoken defenders, he is also seen as unusually media shy, and not
a lot is known about his personal life. What is known about his past paints the picture
of someone who has worked hard to achieve his level of success; he was raised on a
council estate in Leicester by a single mother, attending the local grammar school,
and although he did not stand out as academically exceptional, he was referred to as
very hard working.

This work ethic saw him secure a place at Cambridge to study law, after which he
joined LEK Consulting and took advantage of their scholarship program to enroll
for an MBA at Harvard. Upon returning to the UK he joined Imperial Group as a
consultant, where he was recruited by Jon Moulton, head of rival private equity firm
Alchemy, to join Schroders Ventures.

Plenty of eggs in the basket

Permira is a sector focused business, operating in four industries: chemicals,
consumers, industrial products & services and TMT, and recently financial services
and healthcare.

Notable chemical sector acquisitions include Borsodchem, the Hungarian MDI and
PVC producer, Cognis, the German natural chemical products supplier, TFL, the
German leather chemicals firm, and Azelis, the Italian chemicals distributor.

In the consumer sector, Permira acquired a controlling stake of Valentino, the fashion
house that owns Hugo Boss, from the Marzotto family, paying €782.6 million for 29.6
per cent of the business in 2007. This valued the company at €2.6 billion, meaning if
Permira secures the remainder of the shares from investors, it would be the largest
luxury goods sector buyout to date. Permira has made several other acquisitions in
the fashion industry; Cortefiel, the Spanish clothing retailer, New Look, the British
women’s fashion retailer, TakkoModeMarkt, the German discount clothing retailer,
and Vögele Group, the Swiss clothing retailer, were all acquired by various Permira
funds.

Trends in the industrial sector are less prevalent, although a notable recent deal was
the rollup of seven luxury boat companies globally into what is now known as the
Ferretti Group, which Permira sold a large part of in 2006, valuing the group at €1.685
billion. The TMT group has made several large investments, in sectors ranging from
semiconductors to mobile phone operators. Notable deals include the turnaround
and subsequent IPO of Premiere, Germany’s leading pay-TV operator, and the

191
acquisition and $1.5 billion capex program, as part of a club deal, of Intelsat, the
American satellite operator.

The firm’s ambitions to move further east could possibly have been behind the 2007
investment in Galaxy Entertainment, the company behind one of only a handful of
licensed casino operators in Macau, Permira acquired 20 per cent of the company,
and announced that the investment would go towards building Galaxy’s second
Chinese casino resort.

GETTING HIRED

Contact:
Angelika Sonnenschein
Director, Human Resources
Permira Beteiligungsberatung GmbH
Falkstrasse 5
60489 Frankfurt
[email protected]

Permira usually hires professionals with at least four to five years’ prior business
experience in either investment banking, management consulting, accounting/audit
or in industry. Most staff have a secondary degree, such as an MBA. The number of
MBA graduates recruited every year is extremely small, and only two per cent of
investment professionals have been hired with just an undergraduate degree.

Stats 2008 Backgrounds:

Investment banking: 30 per cent
Consulting: 23 per cent
PE: 22 per cent
Finance: 14 per cent
Industry: 6 per cent
Legal: 3 per cent
Undergraduate: 2 per cent

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

The interviews are conducted by the local offices and usually consist of a series of

Permira Advisers
four to six interviews with different Permira professionals. The interviews will cover
the professional background of the applicant but also include case studies and
potentially a modelling exercise. If a candidate is to be hired into a specific industry
sector, international members of that sector may participate in the recruiting process.

193
 Higher Diploma

PhD/JD/MD (5%)
Bachelor’s only (42%)
Unknown (5%)
MBA (40%)
Master’s (8%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Strategy consulting (19%)

Audit & transaction services (7%)
Banks (30%)
Other (44%)

Source: Candesic

Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)

**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

12

10

8 Cologne (3)
6 Oxford (7)
4 Harvard (9)

2 Boccini (9)
INSEAD (11)
0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

10

Clifford Chance (3)

6
Goldman Sachs (3)
4
BCG (3)
2 Credit Suisse (4)
McKinsey (9)
0

Source: Candesic

194
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
TERRAFIRMA

2 More
UK Regional
London
Headquarters
Riverside European Locations
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Advent International
London SE1 2AP plc
111 Buckingham
United Kingdom Palace Road London (HQ) • Frankfurt
London
Tel: +44SW1W
(0)20 7015
0SR 9500 Amsterdam • Bucharest •Frankfurt •
UK Kiev • Madrid • Milan • Paris • Prague •
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800
www.terrafirma.com Warsaw
KEY • Bratislava (affiliate) • Oslo
COMPETITORS
(affiliate)
Bain Capital • Blackstone • Charter-
www.adventinternational.com house • KKR • Permira
THE STATS
CEO: Guy Hands Rest of the World
Employer Type: Private Company CAREERS WEBSITE:
The Stats Boston (HQ)
Total private equity funds under manage- www.terrafirma.com/people-contact.html
Chairman:
ment: €11bnPeter A. Brooke Tokyo • Singapore (affiliate) • Buenos
Employer Type:
Employees: 100 inIndependent Private
2008 (70 professionals) Aires • Sao Paulo • Mexico • Further
Company
No. of Offices: 2 affiliates in five other countries
Total private equity funds under
management: about €11bn (2008)
Employees: 130FOCUS
COMPANY investment professionals,
of which 65 in Europe (2008) Key Competitors
Sectors:
No. of Offices: 15
All sectors 3i • Apax • Barclays Private Equity •
Cinven • Montagu
Financial stages:
Buyout
Company Focus Employment Contact
Sectors:of financing:
Types In the US: [email protected]
Business
Mid market Services
buyout&(€15m-€150m
Financial Services
equity), For other offices, see "contact us" at
Retail buyout
Large & Consumer
(€150m-€300m equity), www.adventinternational.com
Technology,
Mega buyoutMedia & Telecoms
(>€300m equity)
Healthcare & Life Sciences
Industrial

Financial stages:
International buyouts, recapitalization and
growth equity investments (up to €500m
equity), some venture capital

Types of financing:
Majority equity

195
THE SCOOP

In 1994, Guy Hands founded the Principal Finance Group within Nomura, the Japanese
investment bank. He subsequently made a name for himself by turning around
struggling companies in some of the largest leveraged deals of the time; the group
made 15 acquisitions with total enterprise value over €20 billion. In 2002, the firm was
spun-off into its current form of Terra Firma Capital Partners, keeping Nomura as a
significant investor. Since 1994, the firm has invested over €11 billion, mainly in
European companies, with an aggregate transaction value totalling €42 billion.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

TFCP III 2007 €5.4bn

Terra Firma Deutsche Annington 2006 €2.1bn

TFCP II 2004 €2.6bn

One big bank account

The firm’s first fund was created and invested under Nomura ownership, and has
mainly been realised. The firm’s second fund, Terra Firma’s first as an independent,
closed in 2004 with €2.1 billion of committed capital, raised from 65 investors in 21
countries. TFCP III closed in May of 2007, with a total of €5.4 billion to be invested
in line with the firm’s strategy of acquiring controlling stakes in complex or regulated
markets, mainly in Europe, and especially in companies that are asset backed or
government backed. This is often credited as the source of the name Terra Firma,
which means solid ground in Latin.

In 2006, Terra Firma Deutsche Annington was established to hold Terra Firma’s
German housing assets, raising additional capital adding to a fund total of €2.1
billion. The acquisition of the state-owned railway workers’ flats, supplemented with
further acquisitions, is viewed as the most successful flat privatisation of its kind in
Germany; the group now owns around 230,000 flats, making them Germany’s biggest
landlord.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

TerraFirma
What a Guy
Terra Firma’s, and hence Guy Hands’, investment strategy can be said to be
somewhat contrarian; the firm only targets large companies that it feels are
underperforming and not living up to their potential. The target is then acquired,
actively managed and financed by Terra Firma, until the company is in a healthy
state where it can be sold or listed on the public markets.

There is another rationale for Mr. Hands’ investment strategy – his severe dyslexia.
A friend was quoted as saying that Mr. Hands could not read long investment
rationales, so was forced to focus on the key points and make the numbers work,
which he could do very well. It is said that he sees things differently to everyone else,
whether this is dyslexia, genius or just the fact that he is a smart and hard working
man, his track record speaks for itself; one of his first deals at Nomura was to
purchase Angel Trains, where he was the only external bidder, selling it on for a £390
million profit. He then proceeded to start buying up pubs when no one else would
touch them, briefly becoming the UK’s biggest pub landlord, and changing the way
the industry works. William Hague, former leader of the conservative party and
Hands’ best man, once said that if Guy had translated his private equity success to
politics he would have been Prime Minister by now.

A firm Hands
Mr. Hands’ most recent foray into the press, which he seems to have a talent for
attracting, is regarding the planned cuts at EMI, the music label. Terra Firma recently
acquired the business for £2.4 billion and subsequently announced it would be
cutting 2,000 jobs, or a third of the workforce. The move has not proved popular and
big name acts such as Radiohead, Robbie Williams and the Rolling Stones have all
been outward critics of the new management; Mr. Hands is unmoved in his position
and retorts that he needed to remind executives at Odeon, the cinema business he
acquired, that they were in the popcorn selling business, not Hollywood.

Although these cuts may not make great press, the truth is that Mr. Hands has earned
respect for his work ethic and blunt management style – the fact that stories of excess
at EMI are pouring out of the floodgates only strengthens his case. This notoriously
hard work ethic—he starts work at 6 am and doesn’t leave the office until midnight—
is expected of all his employees at Terra Firma. Another telling indicator of his
leadership style is evident in boardroom meetings, where no other member of his
team speaks during negotiations, unlike most other private equity groups.

197
Big spender
Terra Firma will invest in any sector, although prefers complex industries that are
highly regulated; this philosophy is evident in the €1.1 billion acquisition of Tank &
Rast, the German motorway services group, the £453 million purchase of East Surrey
Holdings, the British water and gas utility, and the $2.5 and $5.2 billion acquisitions
of AWAS and Pegasus, both aircraft leasing companies.

Other notable deals include the acquisitions and subsequent merger of Odeon and
UCI, two UK cinema chains, together making up about 40 per cent of the UK’s cinema
exhibition market. But fame came in 2007 on the front page of the Financial Times
with Terra Firma’s combat against rival giant KKR for the control of Alliance Boots,
the UK pharmacy chain, in the biggest private equity transaction in Europe ever.
Terra Firma honourably gave up after weeks of strategic moves, much to its luck as
KKR’s banks still hadn’t managed to syndicate the debt six months after its victory.

GETTING HIRED

Terra Firma employs 70 professionals, most of them with an investment banking

background, although accounting, industry and advisory backgrounds are welcome
too. They are organised in two major teams: financial (investment) professionals and
business (portfolio) professionals who help improve the operations in the portfolio.
Cases tend to be staffed more on industry experience than on regional expertise.

The firm discloses the profiles of the senior members of the team only but is known
to attract very talented people. Most top universities are represented in the team. In
addition to the experienced hires, Terra Firma also recruits a number of MBAs from
the leading business schools each year and provides training programmes to new
analysts and associates. Candidates interested in joining can apply on
www.terrafirma.com/careers.html.

198
ENGLEFIELD CAPITAL

Michelin House, 81 Fulham Road EUROPEAN LOCATIONS

ADVENT
London
SW3 6RD
Financial stages:
London (HQ)buyouts, recapitalization and
International
INTERNATIO
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7591 4200
growth equity investments (up to €500m
equity), some venture capital
KEY COMPETITORS
NAL
www.englefieldcapital.com Types
3i of financing:
• Apax • Barclays Private Equity • Hg-
Capital equity
Majority
UK Regional Headquarters
Advent
THE International plc
STATS
111 Buckingham Palace Road European
Head of SW1W
Management CAREERS Locations
CONTACT
London 0SR Board: Dominic
Shorthouse
UK London (HQ)
[email protected]
Employer
Tel: +44 20Type:
7333Private
0800 Company Amsterdam • Bucharest •Frankfurt •
Total private equity funds under manage- Kiev • Madrid • Milan • Paris • Prague •
ment: €1.76bn
www.adventinternational.com Warsaw • Bratislava (affiliate) • Oslo
Employees: 19 professionals (affiliate)
No. of Offices: 1

The Stats
COMPANY FOCUS Rest of the World
Chairman: Peter A. Brooke
Sectors:
Employer Type: Independent Private Boston (HQ)
All sectors, with some focus on Financial
Company Tokyo • Singapore (affiliate) • Buenos
and
TotalBusiness
private Services
equity funds under Aires • Sao Paulo • Mexico • Further
management: about €11bn (2008) affiliates in five other countries
Financial
Employees:stages:
130 investment professionals,
Mid
of which 65 buyout
market (€15m-€150m
in Europe (2008) equity)
No. of Offices: 15
Types of financing: Key Competitors
Majority equity, Minority equity with con-
tractual rights 3i • Apax • Barclays Private Equity •
Cinven • Montagu
Company Focus
Sectors:
Business Services & Financial Services Employment Contact
Retail & Consumer In the US: [email protected]
Technology, Media & Telecoms For other offices, see "contact us" at
Healthcare & Life Sciences www.adventinternational.com
Industrial

199
THE SCOOP

In 2002, Dominic Shorthouse, previously a board member at Warburg Pincus,

founded Englefield Capital, a mid-market specialist that focuses on European
investments between €30-300 million, although typically with enterprise values over
€75 million. The firm invests throughout the UK and continental Europe, from a
single office located in London.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

Englefield Fund II 2007 €1bn

Englefield Fund I 2003 €0.7bn

Englefield’s first fund, closing at €706 million in 2003, has been invested in ten
companies through a range of sectors, two of which have already been realised. In
January 2007, the second fund closed at €1 billion, with a similar investment
philosophy as the first fund.

Follow the winds

Englefield is not sector specific, although it will only invest in sectors that the partners
fundamentally understand from previous experience in the industry. The investment
philosophy is based around “following the winds”, which Dominic Shorthouse,
founding partner, explains by saying that Englefield is focused on exploiting changes
in European market conditions to select investment opportunities. So far, the
investments are from a diverse range of industries; currently Englefield owns an
insurance company, an independent schools business, a leading French cosmetic
surgery and cosmetic medicine group, an overseas provider of outsourced services
to public authorities, an IT recruitment company, a waste and recycling business, a
property company and a wind farm. In July 2006, Englefield sold their financial
services group TBIH to the biggest shareholder of the consortium and in January
2007 sold the Equity Insurance Group to Insurance Australia Group for a total of
£570 million.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Englefield Capital
Always trust your friends
Englefield is unique in the way it raises funds. Both funds have been sponsored by
Bregal, the Swiss-based holding company of the Brenninkmeijer family, owners of the
C&A retailer who have an estimated €12.5bn fortune, with only three other
institutional investors allowed to contribute: AXA Private Equity, the Dutch Shell
Pension Fund and Delta Lloyd. The rest of the money comes from what is termed an
‘”Affiliates Fund” – basically a group of 150 friends and contacts, most of whom are
business leaders in the UK, Western Europe and the United States.

GETTING HIRED

Englefield is very representative of its industry:

Three of the 19 investment professionals came from Morgan Stanley, three from
leading consultancies and the rest from top investment banks or other private equity
houses.

The majority of Englefield’s investment professionals studied at elite European

universities, with Oxford and Cambridge being the most common. A quarter of the
professionals have an MBA, and three out of the five are from INSEAD.

201
 EXPONENT PRIVATE
EQUITY
12 Henrietta Street EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
London WC2 8LH
United Kingdom London (HQ)
Tel: +44 (0)20 7845 8520

www.exponentpe.com KEY COMPETITORS

3 • Barclays Private Equity • Close
Brothers Private Equity • European Capi-
THE STATS tal • Gresham Capital • Hermes Private
Co-Founder: Richard Campin Equity • Hutton Collins • Isis Equity Part-
Employer Type: Private Company ners • LGV
Total private equity funds under manage-
ment: €400m
Employees: 12 in 2007 CAREERS CONTACT
No. of Offices: 1 +44 (0)20 7845 8520

COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
Media
Business & Financial Services
Healthcare
Leisure
Consumer

Financial stages:
Mid market buyout (€15m-€150m equity)

Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Minority Equity, Public to private

202
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Exponent Private Equity

THE SCOOP

In 2004, Richard Campin spun-out a successful team from 3i after fifteen years with
the company, taking three other high profile directors with him: Tom Sweet-Escott,
Chris Graham and Hugh Richards. The newly formed Exponent Private Equity was
established to target mid-cap UK companies with enterprise values up to £350
million.

In 2004, their first fund closed at £400 million and was around 80 per cent invested
in eight transactions by the end of 2007. In early 2008, the firm closed its second fund
at £805 million, twice the size of its first fund, which was rumoured to be targeting
£750 million; this oversubscription highlights the growing demand for mid-market
PE funds in the face of adverse credit conditions, which have slowed down the mega
buyout houses. Exponent only started raising their second fund in May of 2007, with
most of the commitments secured by September, which is a surprisingly swift round
of fundraising.

Interestingly, the capital for the most recent fund came predominantly from outside
the UK, demonstrating the global appetite for the UK mid-market private equity
sector; 42 per cent of the commitments were from the US, 29 per cent from the UK,
22 per cent from continental Europe, and the remainder from the rest of the world.
Major investors include funds managed by Pathway, Pantheon Ventures, NYL
Capital Partners and Bank of Scotland.

The firm benefits from its size, as it can be flexible and responsive, but also goes
through the same issues surrounding any start-up business; in the early days, Richard
Campin recalled that after starting the business out of the pockets of the four
founders, they all eventually had credit cards that didn’t work anymore.

The firm’s strategy to target the upper mid-market is paying off as the big players
keep moving up in deal size, leaving Exponent to fill the void between the mega
buyout houses and typical mid-market firms. Exponent has the flexibility to invest
up to £200 million in a single deal, which is a relatively large amount as it represents
a quarter of their most recent fund.

To date, the firm has only made one exit from the portfolio created using its first
fund; in 2005, TSL Education was acquired from News International for £235 million,
only to be sold in 2007 to Charterhouse. It is still seen as a relatively young portfolio

203
and Hugh Richards, one of the four founding partners, said of the TSL sale: “All the
plans came right with TSL and quicker than expected. It was a helpful proof of
principle, but it would have been unrealistic to expect more.”

The firm has seven active portfolio companies, acquired using Exponent’s first fund.
In 2006, Durrants Media Monitoring was bought for £82 million from August Equity;
The Trainline, the online train ticket company, was bought from Virgin for £163 million;
Exponent invested in GTI, the graduate recruitment publisher, backing the founding
management team; and Magicalia, the online publisher, was acquired for £13 million.
In 2007, the firm acquired V.Holdings, the world’s largest ship management business,
for US $340 million; Cardsave, the electronic payment services company, was acquired;
and most recently, Radley, the women’s fashion brand, was bought from Pheonix
Equity Partners in a transaction valuing the company at £130 million.

GETTING HIRED

The educational pedigree of Exponent’s professionals is mixed; four of the

professionals have MBAs, two of which are from Harvard, although none have a
PhD level qualification. At undergraduate level, five come from Oxbridge, while
other Universities range from Glasgow to Bristol to Manchester.

The background of the twelve Exponent investment professionals is fairly typical of

the private equity industry as a whole; previous employers include Bain & Co, a top
management consultancy, PricewaterhouseCoopers, a Big Four accounting firm, Merrill
Lynch, a top investment bank, and a variety of other private equity firms. There doesn’t
seem to be a single type of background preferred at Exponent, and candidates are
advised to contact the firm directly to discuss potential employment opportunities.

204
INVESTITORI
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
ASSOCIATI

Via Agnello 8 KEY COMPETITORS

20121 Milan
Italy 3i • Advent International • Apax • BC
Tel: +39 02 854 5731 Partners • CVC

www.investitoriassociati.it
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]
THE STATS
Senior partners: Dario Cossutta, Stefano
Miccinelli & Antonio Tazartes
Employer Type: Private Company
Total private equity funds under manage-
ment: €1.175bn
Employees: 16 in 2007
No. of Offices: 1

COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
All sectors

Financial stages:
Mid market buyout (€15m-€150m equity),
Large buyout (€150m-€300m equity)

Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity

EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Milan (HQ)

205
THE SCOOP

Milan-based Investitori Associati is one of the leading Italian private equity houses,
particularly active in mid-market transactions with values over €100 million. The
company creates subsidiaries that individually manage each fund, with the idea that
each team is independent under a collective umbrella that dictates overall strategy
and offers advice to each fund. The most recent fund, Investitori Associati IV, was
oversubscribed by almost three times and closed with €700 million—over €100
million more than originally intended.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

Investitori Associati IV 2004 €0.7bn

Investitori Associati III 2000 €0.4bn

Previously, Investitori’s first three funds had a total of €475 million between them,
making 22 investments in a variety of industrial and services companies, mainly in
Italy. This investment history is enough to make them one of the leading Italian
players, and their reputation has seen the firm involved in some large club deals; in
2003, Investitori teamed up with Permira, CVC and BC Partners to acquire Seat
Pagine Gialle, the directories business unit of Telecom Italia, in a deal valued at €5.7
billion. Although Investitori is not in the same league as these international players,
they provide the access, experience and network for the Italian market, which means
they are often called upon to partner with for Italian deals.

Unsurprisingly, as one of the leading Italian firms, Investitori Associati has won a
variety of awards ranging from “Italian Private Equity Firm of the Year” to “Italian
M&A Deal of the Year” for the Seat Pagine Gialle deal.

Investitori Associati recently established their first alternative investment subsidiary,

aimed at controlling management companies of several types of funds: private equity
funds, fund of funds, co-investment funds and eventually other high yielding asset
classes such as hedge funds and mezzanine funds. The business unit represents a
diversification for Investitori, away from typical private equity deals into other
sectors near their core business.

206
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Acquisitions using the fourth fund took place throughout 2005 and 2006, in sectors

Investitori Associati
ranging from transportation to pharmaceuticals. This includes market leading blood
fractionator Kedrion, a family business from Tuscany with €150m turnover, and
Grandi Navi Veloci (GNV), which operates a fleet of ten “cruise ferries” and is one
of the main operators in the Mediterranean Sea with €265m turnover.

GETTING HIRED

The three founding partners and the majority of the management team have
extensive experience in the private equity sector, developed in particular within the
firm.

Investitori Associati is an Italian company with mainly Italian private equity fund
managers. The background of the younger part of the team is mostly in investment
banking and strategy consulting. Employees studied mainly at Italian undergraduate
and graduate university programs, although lately there is an interest for
internationally renowned MBA programs like Harvard or Wharton. Applicants with
a strong Italian investment banking background will have an advantage when
applying to Investitori Associati.

207
 ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
MERCAPITAL

Parque Empresarial "La Finca", KEY COMPETITORS

Paseo del Club Deportivo, 1 Edificio 14
Madrid 3i • Apax • Candover • Doughty Han-
28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón son • PAI
Spain
Tel: +34 (0)91 557 8000
CAREERS CONTACT
www.mercapital.com [email protected]

THE STATS
Chairman: José María Loizaga Viguri
Employer Type: Private Company
Total private equity funds under manage-
ment: €1.4bn
Employees: 20 in 2007
No. of Offices: 1

COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors
All sectors

Financial stages:
Small market buyout (<€15m equity),
Mid size market buyout (€15m–€150m
equity)

Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Minority Equity

EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Madrid (HQ)

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Mercapital
THE SCOOP

Since 1986, Mercapital has firmly established itself as a reference in the Spanish
private equity market. With investments totalling €1.4 billion, the firm is one of the
most active and experienced mid-market firms dedicated to the Iberian market;
unlike many other European firms, Mercapital is happy being a niche player and
currently has no ambitions to expand geographically throughout Europe.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

Mercapital Spanish Buyout Fund III 2006 €0.55bn

Mercapital Spanish Buyout Fund II 2001 €0.6bn

Typically, the firm will invest €40 million to €50 million in Iberian companies, with
enterprise values in the €100 million to €150 million range, making them a fairly
typical mid-market PE firm. With over 20 dedicated professionals, Mercapital is the
largest independent firm dedicated to the region. It is however increasingly
threatened by global and pan-European rivals who have been opening offices in
Madrid in recent years and are actively hiring well-connected senior advisors.

The firm had five investment vehicles before their first traditional private equity
fund, Spanish Private Equity Fund (SPEF), which closed in 1998 at €260 million. Their
second fund, SPEF II, closed in 2000 with a sizeable €600 million from a global
investor base. In late 2006, the most recent SPEF III fund closed at €550 million,
slightly above the €500 million target. The firm is allocating all of SPEF III to buyouts,
compared to about two-thirds of the previous fund, meaning they have significantly
increased their potential buyout capacity.

In 2007, the firm failed to make any investments, which may be somewhat indicative
of the market conditions at the time. In 2006, however, the firm still only made one
investment; Mercapital acquired 75 per cent of Gasmedi, a medical gas provider, in
an MBO that valued the company somewhere around €275 million. In contrast, 2005
saw the firm make a record four investments in a variety of sectors; Saprogal, an
animal nutrition company, Holmes Place, a fitness centre group, Menorquin Yachts,
a boatyard, and Grupo Abaco, a cinema company, were all acquired that year.

209
GETTING HIRED

The team of twenty professionals is exclusively Spanish, as is the wide group of close
industry advisors, and both are “exclusively dedicated to the Spanish market”. The
majority joined after a first professional experience in the industry (25 per cent). Others
worked at a Big Four audit firm (15 per cent), a strategy consultancy (15 per cent) or an
investment bank (15 per cent). Prior to that, while they all pursued their undergraduate
studies at local Spanish universities, one third of the team holds an MBA from INSEAD.
Unless Mercapital change their regional focus, only candidates with a strong Spanish
background and connections stand a chance of joining the team.

210
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
SAGARD

24/32 rue Jean Goujon KEY COMPETITORS

75008 Paris
France Barclays Private Equity • Bridgepoint •
Tel: +33 (0)1 53 83 3000 European Capital • Montagu

www.sagard.com
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]
THE STATS
Chairman: Didier Pineau-Valencienne
Employer Type: Private Company
Total private equity funds under manage-
ment: €1.6bn
Employees: 20 in 2007
No. of Offices: 1

COMPANY FOCUS
Sectors:
All sectors

Financial stages:
Small market buyout (<€15m equity),
Mid size market buyout (€15m–€150m
equity)

Types of financing:
Main: Majority Equity
Other: Minority Equity, business develop-
ment capital

EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Paris (HQ)

211
THE SCOOP

Sagard Private Equity Partners, the France-based buyout arm of the Canadian
Desmarais family, was formed in 2002 with the support of the Power Corporation of
Canada. Sagard was established to unite a group of influential industrial families
and financial institutions, allowing them to leverage their industrial expertise and
networks to add value to potential acquisitions.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

Sagard II 2006 €1bn

Sagard I 2003 €0.6bn

The fund’s founding partners and investors provided all of the capital for the first
fund, Sagard I, which closed in 2003 at €600 million, with 54 per cent coming from
industrial families. The second fund, Sagard II, closed in 2006 with over €1 billion
from both original and new investors, with the industrial family contribution rising
to 65 per cent.

Sagard, named after the French missionary who set off for Quebec in the seventeenth
century, invests in mid-market companies based in France or French speaking
European countries, with enterprise values above €100 million. The Chairman of the
advisory board is none other than Paul Desmarais Jr., a role he fits into his spare time
while also serving as Chairman and Co-CEO of Power Corporation, the Canadian
utilities company with market cap of C$14 billion.

The Desmarais are one of the truly powerful and elite Canadian families, controlling
the Power Corporation amongst an array of other holdings. Paul Desmarais, the 73-
year- old patriarch of the family, is counted as being one of the top ten richest people in
Canada, with an estimated fortune of around C$4.25 billion. His blackberry has links to
the global political elite, including Canadian Prime Ministers, US Presidents and current
French leaders. His son is married to the daughter of former Canadian Prime Minister
Jean Chretien, and the most recent ex-Prime Minister was his former employee, as
President of Power Corporation. In fact, Stephen Harper, the current Canadian leader,
is the first Prime Minister in a quarter century to have no real ties to the Desmarais.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Sagard
The Sagard private equity funds represent a shift in the Desmarais’ focus, moving
away from Canada and towards France. This shift can also be seen in their political
dealings, as their growing friendship with Nicolas Sarkozy has been well
documented. The Desmarais family recently hit the press during the controversial
Gaz de France and Suez merger; if the companies successfully merge, the holding
company jointly owned by the Desmarais and the Frère family of Belgium would be
the largest private shareholder. In fact, Mr. Sarkozy’s outspoken support for the deal
has been one of the driving factors in the face of much criticism from the unions. The
creation of the Sagard Private Equity funds means that the Desmarais will have an
excuse, and a requirement, to be in Paris for a considerable amount of time, as the
fund is targeting growing companies that will require a lot of attention.

Sagard’s first fund was fully invested by 2006, with twelve investments ranging from
a pharmaceuticals wholesaler to a French private hospital company. The second
fund, Sagard II, has been used to fund four acquisitions to date; Flakt woods, a
manufacturer of clean air systems, SGD, a glass packaging company, Vivarte, a
footwear and apparel retailer, and Aliplast, an aluminium products manufacturer,
were all acquired in 2007.

GETTING HIRED

Of Sagard’s twenty professionals, the majority received undergraduate degrees in

Paris, at top business schools such as ESCP-EAP and HEC. Three of the professionals
have MBAs from top American schools: Wharton, Dartmouth and MIT. Only one
person on the investment team has a PhD level qualification.

Almost half of the professionals come from a banking background, with bulge
bracket firms Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs being the most popular. One
professional has a background in consulting, from Accenture, and none come from
an accounting or transaction services background. It is highly unlikely that Sagard
would recruit using a traditional application process, but that shouldn’t stop suitable
candidates from contacting them to discuss potential career opportunities.

213
 INTERMEDIATE CAPITAL
ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
GROUP PLC
20 Old Broad Street EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
London EC2N 1DP
United Kingdom London (HQ) • Frankfurt • Madrid •
Tel: +44 (0)20 7628 9898 Paris • Stockholm

www.icgplc.co.uk
REST OF THE WORLD
New York • Hong Kong • Tokyo • Syd-
THE STATS ney
Managing Director: Tom Attwood
Employer Type: Public listed Company
Ticker Symbol: ICP KEY COMPETITORS
Total funds under management: €4 bil- Capvent • DAM Capital • Park Square
lion • Indigo Capital • EuroMezzanine • Al-
Employees: 68 in 2007 mack Mezzanine
No. of Offices: 9

COMPANY FOCUS CAREERS CONTACT

Sectors: +44 (0)20 76 28 9898
All sectors

Financial stages:
Mezzanine

Types of financing:
Acquisitions, Public to private transac-
tions with or without private equity
backing, Management buyouts/manage-
ment buy-ins, Development capital, Pub-
lic quoted company finance,
Off-balance-sheet finance, Refinancing
and recapitalisations, Pre-IPO financing

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Intermediate Capital Group PLC

THE SCOOP

Founded in 1989, ICG is a UK-based provider of intermediate capital, specialising in

mezzanine finance. By 1994, the firm had financed companies in the UK, Germany
and France, and had started to manage third party funds for the first time. That year,
the firm also listed on the London stock exchange, creating the only public entity
specialising in mezzanine finance. The firm has grown rapidly since inception: the
Paris office was opened in 1995; by 1998, the firm had made 100 investments; in 2001,
the firm opened an office in Hong Kong; in 2004, offices were opened in Madrid and
Stockholm; in 2005, the Frankfurt office opened; in 2006, the firm established new
offices in Tokyo and Sydney; and finally, in 2007 the firm opened its first US office,
with future ambitions to expand its mezzanine finance activities in North America.

Most important funds

FUNDS VINTAGE YEAR FUND CAPITAL

ICG European Fund 2006 2006 €2.25bn

ICG Mezzanine Fund 2003 2003 €1.5bn

ICG Mezzanine Fund 2000 2000 €0.307bn

As of 2007, the firm has invested in transactions worth more than €8 billion, and is
one of the leading providers of mezzanine finance in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North
America. The firm provides between €15 million and €500 million for a range of
situations including acquisitions, buyouts, public to private, development capital,
public companies, off balance sheet financing, refinancing and pre-IPO funding.

In 2007, ICG saw its outlook improve considerably, as the liquidity squeeze saw
investors flock to intermediate finance as a way of deferring interest payments. In
January 2008, ICG announced that they were planning to invest a £700 million pool
of debt finance, showing that they are finding further ways to capitalise on the credit
crunch.

In 2007, the firm closed its most recent mezzanine European Fund 2006 at €2.25
billion, representing €1.25 billion of committed equity and €1 billion of leverage.
Although ICG specialises in providing mezzanine finance, they regularly make an

215
equity co-investment alongside the lead investor. In 2007, ICG provided equity in
support of TPG and AXA Private Equity’s acquisition of TDF, the leading French
television broadcaster. They also provided mezzanine and equity in 3i’s management
led buyout of Marken, the British clinical trial logistics firm. In another 3i buyout, of
Finland-based Inspecta, ICG provided senior and junior mezzanine finance as well
as an equity co-investment.

ICG has a broad European reach, with recent transactions spread across several
countries; in 2007, ICG sponsored transactions in Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The French office has been
particularly active lately, with twelve of the 26 transactions executed in 2007 taking
place in France.

The firm has also seen a flurry of activity in the healthcare industry, indicative of the
increasing presence of private equity players in the sector. ICG provided finance for
Industri Kapital’s acquisition of Attendo, the largest nursing home provider in
Sweden; they supported EQT’s acquisition of Dako, the Danish cancer diagnostics
specialist; and they also provided bonds for LBO France’s acquisition of Médi-
Partenaires II, the French acute hospital group.

GETTING HIRED

ICG recruits from top tier universities, with London- and Paris-based schools
featuring heavily, which makes sense as these are ICG’s two most active offices. Only
11 per cent of ICG’s professionals have MBAs, with the majority holding just a
bachelor’s degree.

The majority of ICG’s professionals came from a banking or transaction services

background, most likely due to the more technical financial aspects involved in
arranging mezzanine finance. There are relatively few strategy consultants in
comparison to other private equity firms, again probably due to the complex
structuring of the securitised products ICG specialises in.

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Intermediate Capital Group PLC

Higher Diploma

PhD/JD/MD (5%)

Bachelor’s only (61%)

Unknown (10%)

MBA (11%)

Master’s (13%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Strategy consulting (6%)

Audit & transaction services (13%)

Banks (44%)

Other (37%)

Source: Candesic

Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)

**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

3.0

2.5

2.0 ESCP-EAP (2)

1.5 HEC (2)
1.0 LSE (2)

0.5
Oxford (3)
LBS (3)
0.0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

Credit Suisse (2)

3
BCG (2)
2
KPMG (4)
1 JPMorgan (4)
Calyon (5)
0

Source: Candesic

217
 ADVENT INTERNATIONAL
PARTNERS GROUP

Zugerstrasse
UK Regional Headquarters
57 European
REST OF THE
Locations
WORLD
Advent
6341 Baar-Zug
International plc
111 Buckingham Palace Road
Switzerland New York
London (HQ)
• San Francisco • Singapore
London
Tel: +41SW1W
(0)41 768
0SR85 85 •Amsterdam
Sydney • Tokyo
• Bucharest •Frankfurt •
UK Kiev • Madrid • Milan • Paris • Prague •
Tel: +44 20 7333 0800
www.partnersgroup.ch Warsaw • Bratislava (affiliate) • Oslo
(affiliate)
KEY COMPETITORS
www.adventinternational.com Harbourvest • Capital Dynamic • Pan-
THE STATS theon Ventures • Adam Street Partners
CEO: Dr. Steffen Meister • AIG Private Equity • Horizon 21
Rest of the World
Head of Private Equity: Philipp Gysler
The Stats Boston (HQ)
Employer Type: Publicly listed company
Chairman: Peter A. Brooke
(SWX) Tokyo • Singapore (affiliate) • Buenos
Employer
Ticker Type:PGHN
Symbol: Independent Private Aires • Sao Paulo • Mexico • Further
Company
Total private equity funds under manage- affiliates in five other countries
Total private
ment: equityinfunds
CHF16.7bn 2008 under
(out of
management:
CHF24bn about €11bn (2008)
globally)
Employees: 130
Employees: 100investment
in 2007 professionals,
of which
No. 65 in Europe
of Offices: (2008)
9 (10 inc. additional Key Competitors
No. of Offices:
planned opening15in 2008) 3i • Apax • Barclays Private Equity •
Cinven • Montagu

COMPANY FOCUS
Company Focus Employment Contact
Sectors:
Sectors:
All sectors In the US: [email protected]
Business Services & Financial Services For other offices, see "contact us" at
Retail & Consumer
Financial stages: www.adventinternational.com
Technology,
Funds of fundsMedia
(Primary
& Telecoms
investments,
Healthcareinvestments,
secondary & Life Sciences
direct invest-
Industrial
ments, real estate, infrastructure)

Financial stages:
International buyouts,
EUROPEAN recapitalization and
LOCATIONS
growth equity investments (up to €500m
Baar-Zug (HQ)venture
equity), some • Guernsey
capital• London •
Luxembourg
Types of financing:
Majority equity

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Partners Group
THE SCOOP

In 1996, Partners Group, a Swiss alternative asset management firm, was established,
offering a private equity fund of funds as their first product. Offices in Guernsey and
New York were established in 1999 and 2000 respectively, followed by additions in
Singapore and London in 2004, in San Francisco and Tokyo in 2007 and lately Sydney
and Luxembourg in 2008. The firm also plans to open an office in Beijing.

In 2001, the firm entered the hedge fund industry by acquiring Swiss Alternative
Investment Strategies Group, a firm founded by ex-Credit Suisse hedge fund
professionals. Today, Partners Group is a global alternative asset management firm,
with strong roots in Switzerland, offering a range of investment alternatives,
including hedge funds, real estate funds, private debt and private equity. The private
equity division makes up over two thirds of the €15 billion managed by the group,
using a global team of over a hundred professionals spread across six offices.

Partners Group splits their private equity investment funds by the stage of the target
companies they invest in: the venture capital funds invest in new and emerging
companies, that tend to have negative cash flow and a longer investment horizon; the
buyouts funds target companies that are well established and typically use debt, or
leverage, to finance the acquisition; the special situations fund is set aside for any
other investment that doesn’t fall in the first two categories of funds.

Partners Group is not a typical fund of funds, as they invest in primary, secondary,
direct and listed private equity investments. Their investment strategy separates
North America, Europe and Asia/emerging markets in a matrix against types of
investments; the matrix is then overweighted given current market conditions, and
assets are allocated accordingly. The firm’s direct investments come in the form of co-
investments, typically led by a partnership already in their network.

The firm’s investment strategy, dubbed Alternative Beta Strategies, was one of the
first strategies to clone the methods used by hedge-funds, and now has over $1.1
billion invested in it from high profile investors, such as the leading UK pension
fund, Universities Superannuation Scheme.

The firm gained accolades in 2004, winning the “European Fund of Funds” award
and achieving second place in the “Secondaries Firm of the Year”. In 2006, the firm
was deemed the most successful European listing, jumping 133 per cent after
becoming available to public investors.

219
Products offered by the firm are split into three categories: limited partnerships,
which are regularly established, and can vary from diversified global funds to
targeted funds such as a European buyout fund of funds; publicly traded products,
such as investment companies, certificates and principal investment vehicles, which
normally aim to offer a diversified portfolio of investments across all financing types
and stages; and open-ended product, or mutual funds, which have been created for
specific investor groups, and provide the added level of regulation and liquidity
some investors prefer.

In 2006, the firm became public, listing around 30 per cent of the equity on the SWX
Swiss exchange and through select private placements. Following the transaction, it
is thought that the management team retained a large portion of the equity.

In January 2008, the group as a whole announced their highest ever annual growth,
taking total assets under management from €10.6 billion to nearly €15 billion during
2007. The firm seems to have avoided any injury from the credit crisis that dominated
the rest of the private equity world during 2007; Alfred Gantner, Executive Chairman,
explained that the slow down in direct investments was complemented by cheaper
secondary private equity investments becoming available, and the private debts held
by the firm were priced with the intention of holding them to maturity.

GETTING HIRED

Partners Group is a global alternative asset manager with strong Swiss roots, as
evidenced by the background of its investment professionals. Seventy per cent of
them joined with previous experience at a Swiss bank, a Swiss asset manager or a
Swiss insurance company, while most of the rest worked at the Swiss subsidiary of
an international firm. This is also very visible academically, with only 10 per cent of
them venturing abroad for an MBA or a PhD. Not surprisingly, St. Gallen is the most
represented institution. Surprisingly, there are very few managers with previous
experience in direct or indirect private equity investment.

220
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Still, Partners Group is growing with the entire PE industry and offers a variety of

Partners Group
career opportunities. They state that they actively recruit new talent from top
business schools in the United States and in Europe and look especially for
entrepreneurship, drive, outstanding academic and professional performance and
desire to learn in all candidates. The firm offers an associate program completed in
two six-month modules and also selectively targets experienced hires. The full
recruiting process is explained on their website in the “About us” menu. For PE
investment managers, they express a preference for investment banking or
accounting experience and a particular interest for sectors of high tech, telecom and
chemicals. Strategy consulting doesn’t appear to be a target, as is it considered less
useful in funds of funds.

The graduate programme

Partners Group actively recruits recent business school graduates into their
structured Associate program, based around two sixth month modules. Candidates
can contact the firm at [email protected]

Higher Diploma

PhD/JD/MD (12%)
Bachelor’s only (18%)
Unknown (15%)
MBA (12%)
Master’s (43%)

Source: Candesic

Most significant previous job

Audit & transaction services (15%)

Banks (46%)
Other (39%)

Source: Candesic

221
 Top 5 universities attended (# of professionals)
**double counting allowed for staff with several degrees

8
7
6
5 Swiss Banking School, Zurich (2)
4 Marriot School of Management (2)
3 Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (3)
2
Zurich University (3)
1
St. Gallen (7)
0

Source: Candesic

Top 5 former employers (# of professionals)

3 Goldman Sachs (3)

2 PWC (4)

1 Credit Suisse (4)

UBS (6)
0

Source: Candesic

222
Short Profiles of

200 REPRESENTATIVE
PE firms in Europe

LBO, GROWTH EQUITY AND

DIVERSIFIED PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS

MEZZANINE FUNDS

DISTRESSED FUNDS

SECONDARY FUNDS

FUND OF FUNDS
LBO, GROWTH EQUITY AND DIVERSIFIED
PRIVATE EQUITY FUNDS

21 Investimenti AAC Capital Partners

Via G. Felissent, 90 ITO Tower – 22nd floor

31100 Treviso Gustav Mahlerplein 106
Italy 1082 MA Amsterdam
Tel +39 0422 316611 The Netherlands
Tel +31 (0)20 383 1808
www.21investimenti.it
www.aaccapitalpartners.com

STATS
STATS
Chief Executive: Alessandro Benetton
Employer Type: Private Company Chief Executive: Gerben Kuijper
No. of employees: 21 Employer Type: Private firm
AuM: €700m (2007) No. of employees: 27 professionals
AuM: €3.1bn (2007)

EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Treviso • Paris (21 Centrale Part-
ners) Offices: Amsterdam • London •
Stockholm

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Aberdeen Asset Managers ABN Amro Capital France

Limited
9 avenue Matignon
75008 Paris
One Bow Churchyard
France
London, EC4M 9HH, UK
Tel +33 (0)1 53 93 69 00
Tel +44 (0)20 7463 6452
www.abnamrocapital.fr
www.aberdeen-asset.com/privateequity

STATS STATS
Managing Director: Hervé Claquin
Head of Investment, Private Equity:
Employer Type: Currently a subsidiary
Francesco Santinon
of ABN Amro (2007)
Employer Type: Private equity division
No. of employees: 6 professionals in Paris
of Aberdeen Asset Management PLC
Employees: 41 professionals
AuM: £267m (2008)
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris • Milan • Madrid
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Aberdeen • Birming-
ham • Glasgow • Inverness • Leeds •
Manchester

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

227
 Accent Equity Partners Activa Capital

Engelbrektsgatan 5 203, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré

SE-11487 Stockholm 75008 Paris
Sweden France
Tel +46 8 545 073 00 Tel +33 1 43 12 50 12

www.accentequity.se www.activacapital.com

STATS STATS
CEO and Founding Partner: Jan Ohlsson Chief Executive: Jean-Louis de Bernardy
Employer Type: Private Company Employer Type: Private Company
No. of employees: 9 professionals No. of employees: 12 (11 professionals)
AuM: €700m AuM: €315m

EUROPEAN LOCATIONS EUROPEAN LOCATIONS

Offices: Stockholm Offices: Paris

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Ahorro Corporacion AIG Private Equity

Desarollo
AIG Global Investment Corp. (Europe)
Ltd.
Paseo de la Castellana 89
Plantation Place South
28046 Madrid, Spain
60 Great Tower Street
Tel +34 91 586 4242
London EC3R 5AZ, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 20 7269 7253
www.acdesarollo.com
www.aiggig.com/AIG/Private+Equity
STATS
Managing director: Antonio Fernandez STATS
Lopez
Managing Director, Alternative Invest-
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Grupo
ments Europe: Ion Bogdaneris
Ahorro Corporacion
Employer Type: Subsidiary of AIG
Employees: 11 investment professionals
Employees: 200 team members
AuM: €250m (2007)
AuM: $27.2bn worldwide (expansion,
LBO, mezzanine, funds of funds)
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid • Sevilla • Malaga • Va- LOCATIONS
lencia
Offices: London • New York and 22
more locations

229
 Alchemy Partners Alpha

20 Bedfordbury 49 Avenue Hoche

London WC2N 4BL, United Kingdom 75008 Paris
Tel +44 (0)20 7240 9596 France
Tel +33 (0) 1 56 60 20 20
www.alchemypartners.com
www.groupealpha.com

STATS
STATS
Founder and managing partner: Mr. Jon
Moulton Chief Executive: Nicolas ver Hulst
Employer Type: Private Company Employer Type: Private Company
No. of employees: 24 (20 investment No. of employees: 18 professionals
professionals)
AuM: £2bn
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris • Frankfurt • Milan •
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Monaco • Saint Helier
Offices: London

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

230
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

AlpInvest Partners N.V. AnaCap Financial Partners

Jachthavenweg 118 Stanford House, 27a Floral Street

Amsterdam 1081 KJ London, WC2E 9EZ, United Kingdom
The Netherlands Tel +44 (0)20 7070 5250
Tel +31 20 5407575
www.anacapfp.com
www.alpinvest.com

STATS
STATS
Managing Principal: Joe Giannamore
Chief Executive: Volkert Doeksen Employer Type: Private Company
Employer Type: Private Company Employees: 6 professionals (2007)
No. of employees: 68 (60 professionals) AuM: €300m
AuM: €40bn

EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
Offices: Amsterdam • London (Spring
2008) • New York • Hong Kong
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

231
 Andlinger & Company Apollo Management

Avenue Louise 140 2 Manhattanville Road

1050 Brussels, Belgium Purchase, NY 10577
Tel +32 2 647.80.70 United States
Tel +1 914 694 8000
www.andlinger.com

STATS
STATS
Founders and Managing Partners: Leon
CEO: Johan Volckaerts Black, Josh Harris and Marc Rowan
Employer Type: Independent private (London)
company Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 25 Employees: 175 professionals (2007)
AuM: $16bn

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Brussels • Vienna • New York
• Shanghai Offices: Frankfurt • London and Paris •
New York • Los Angeles • Singapore

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Apposite Capital LLP Arcapita

Bracken House 15 Sloane Square

One Friday Street London SW1W 8ER, United Kingdom
London EC4M 9JA Tel +44 (0)20 7824 5600
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7090 6874 www.arcapita.com

www.apposite-capital.com
STATS

STATS CEO: Atif A. Abdulmalik

Employer Type: Private company
Managing Partner: David Porter Employees: 43 investment executives
Employer Type: Private company (16 in Europe)
No. of employees: 7 (6 professionals) AuM: ~$4bn (private equity)
AuM: ~€200m

LOCATIONS
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Bahrain • Atlanta •
Offices: London Singapore

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

233
 Argan Capital Argos Soditic

Monopolis House, 9 South Street 14 rue de Bassano

London W1K 2XA, United Kingdom 75783 Paris Cedex 16
Tel +44 (0)20 7647 6970 France
Tel +33 (0)1 53 67 20 50
www.argancapital.com
www.argos-soditic.com

STATS
STATS
Managing Partner: Mr. Lloyd Perry
Employer Type: Private Company Chief Executive: Mr. Louis Godron
No. of employees: 14 (10 professionals) Employer Type: Private Company
AuM: €425m No. of employees: 25 (17 professionals)
AuM: €518m

EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Milan • Paris •
Warsaw Offices: Paris • Geneva • Milan

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

ARGUS Capital Partners Astorg Partners

Academy House 68, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré

36 Poland Street 75008 Paris
London W1F 7LU France
United Kingdom Tel +33 (0)1 53 05 40 50
Tel +44 20 7439 0088
www.astorg-partners.com
www.arguscapitalgroup.com/en/

STATS
STATS
Chief Executive: Xavier Moreno
Managing partner: Ali Artunkal Employer Type: Independent private
Employer Type: Independent private company
company Employees: 16 (13 professionals)
Employees: 10 investment professionals AuM: €500m
AuM: €400m

EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
Offices: London • Budapest • Prague •
Warsaw

235
 Atria Capital Partenaires August Equity

40 rue de Châteaudun 10 Bedford Street

75009 Paris London WC2E 9HE, United Kingdom
France Tel +44 (0)20 7632 8200
Tel +33 (0)1 45 26 60 16
www.augustequity.com
www.atria-partenaires.com

STATS
STATS
Chief Executive: Richard Green
Chief Executive: Mr. Dominique Oger Employer Type: Private Company
Employer Type: Independent private Employees: 19
company AuM: £260m
Employees: 11
AuM: €320m
EUROPEAN LOCATIONS

EUROPEAN LOCATIONS Offices: London

Offices: Paris

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Baird Capital Partners Baring Private Equity

Europe Partners Espana SA

Mint House, 77 Mansell Street Hermosilla, 11-5a Planta

London, E1 8AF 28001Madrid, Spain
United Kingdom Tel +34 91 781 8870
Tel +44 20 7667 8400
www.bpep.com/spain.html
www.bcpe.co.uk

STATS
STATS
Managing partner: José Angel Sarasa
Chairman: Michael Proudlock Employer Type: Spanish unit of Baring
Employer Type: European private equity Private Equity Partners
arm of Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc AuM: €200m ($3.4bn worldwide)
Employees: 7 senior professionals
AuM: €600m
LOCATIONS

LOCATIONS Offices: Madrid • Aviles • Barcelona •

Murcia • Guernsey • Moscow • San
Offices: London Francisco • Hong Kong • Shanghai •
(Further presence in the US and China Singapore • Tokyo
through Baird Private Equity. For Ger-
many, see Granville Baird Capital Part-
ners Germany.)

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

237
 Baring Vostok Capital BS Private Equity
Partners
BS Investimenti SGR Spa
Via dell’Orso, 8
Ducat Place II, Suite 750
20121 Milan, Italy
Gasheka str. 7, bldg 1
Tel +39 02 762 1131
Moscow, 123056
Russia
www.bspeg.com
Tel +7 095 967 13 07

www.bvcp.ru
STATS
Managing partners: Paolo Baretta, Anto-
STATS nio Perricone, Francesco Sironi
Employer Type: Independent private
Co-Managing Partners, Russia: Michael
company
Calvey and Alexei Kalinin
Employees: 28 professionals
Employer Type: Russian unit of Baring
AuM: €510m (2007)
Private Equity Partners1
Employees: about 50 (25 professionals
in Europe)
AuM: $1.9bn ($3.4bn worldwide) EUROPEAN LOCATIONS
Offices: Milan

LOCATIONS
Offices: Moscow • Aviles • Barcelona •
Guernsey • Madrid • Murcia • San
Francisco • Hong Kong • Shangha •
Singapore • Tokyo

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

238
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Caja Madrid, Sociedad de Capital Alianza Private

Promocion y Participación Equity Investment SA
Empresarial
Plaza Marques de Salamanca, 9
28006 Madrid, Spain
Paseo de la Castellana 189
Tel +34 91 4 353 088
28046 Madrid, Spain
Tel +34 91 423 5007
www.capitalalianza.com
www.cajamadrid.es
STATS
STATS Chief Executive: Mr. José Maria Castane
Ortega
President: Mariano Perez Claver
Employer Type: Private Company
Employer Type: Division of Caja Madrid
Employees: 8
Employees: 10 investment professionals
AuM: ~€200m
AuM: €560m (2007)

EUROPEAN LOCATIONS EUROPEAN LOCATIONS

Offices: Madrid
Offices: Madrid

239
 CapVest Limited Capvis Equity Partners

100 Pall Mall Talacker 42

London SW1Y 5NQ CH-8022 Zürich
United Kingdom Tel +41 43 300 58 58
Tel +44 20 7389 7900
www.capvis.com
www.capvest.co.uk

STATS
STATS
Chairman and partner: Dr. Alexander
Founding partner: Seamus FitzPatrick Krebs
Employer Type: Part of AIG Private Employer Type: Independent Private
Equity Company
AuM: €3bn (last fund: €350m) Employees: 13 investment professionals

EUROPEAN LOCATIONS LOCATIONS

Offices: London Offices: Zürich • Kirchheim (Germany)
• Vienna • Shanghai
Assets under management: €550m
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

240
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

CCMP Capital Change Capital Partners

Almack House, 28 King Street 2nd Floor, College House, 272 Kings
London SW1Y 6XA, United Kingdom Road
Tel +44 (0)20 7389 9100 London SW3 5AW, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7808 9110
www.ccmpcapital.com
www.changecapitalpartners.com

STATS
STATS
Managing partner: Stephen Murray
Employer Type: Private Company Managing director: Mr. Luc Vandevelde
No. of employees: 54 Employer Type: Private Company
No. of employees: 9 investment profes-
sionals
LOCATIONS AuM: €300m
Offices: London • New York • Honk
Kong • Tokyo
LOCATIONS
Assets under management: $10bn (2007)
Offices: London

241
 Charterhouse Chequers Capital

7th Floor, Warwick Court, Paternoster 48 bis, avenue Montaigne

Square 75008 Paris
London EC4M 7DX, United Kingdom France
Tel +44 (0)20 7334 5300 Tel +33 1 53 57 61 00

www.charterhouse.co.uk www.chequerscapital.com

STATS STATS
Chief Executive: Mr. Gordon Bonnyman President: Denis Metzger
Employer Type: Private Company Employer Type: Independent private
No. of employees: 20 executives company
Assets under management: €8.4bn No. of employees: 10 investment pro-
fessionals
AuM: €950m (2006)
LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Paris
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

CIC Finance Ciclad

4, rue Gaillon 8, av Franklin-Roosevelt

75002 Paris, France 75008 Paris, France
Tel +33 1 42 66 76 63 Tel +33 (0) 1 56 59 77 33

www.ciclad.com
STATS
No. of employees: 27 professionals
STATS
AuM: €600m
Managing directors: Thierry Thomann,
Jean-François Vaury
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 8
AuM: €310m (2007)

LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris

243
 Citi Private Equity Clayton Dubilier & Rice
Limited
41 Berkeley Square
London W1J 5AN, United Kingdom
Cleveland House, 33 King Street
Tel +44 (0)20 7500 9612
London SW1Y 6RJ, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7747 3800
www.citigroupai.com/cpe_overview.htm
www.cdr-inc.com
STATS
Managing director: John R. Barber STATS
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Citigroup
Founder and Chairman: Joseph Rice
Employees: 10 senior investment
Employer Type: Independent Private
profesionals
Company
AuM: $62bn for the whole of Citi
Employees: 35 investment executives
Alternative Investments
(12 in the UK)
AuM: $4bn (latest fund)
LOCATIONS
Offices: London • New York LOCATIONS
Offices: New York • London

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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Clessidra Capital Partners Close Brothers Private

Equity
Via del Lauro 7
20121 Milan
10 Throgmorton Avenue
Italy
London EC2N 2DL, United Kingdom
Tel +39 02 86 95 22 1
Tel +44 (0) 20 7065 1100
www.clessidrasgr.it
www.cbpel.com

STATS
STATS
Founder and CEO: Claudio Sposito
Chief Executive: John Snook
Employer Type: Independent private
Employer Type: Private Company
company
Employees: 15
Employees: 15 (9 investment profes-
AuM: €1bn in 2007
sionals)
AuM: €820m
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS Offices: London
Offices: Milan

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

245
 Cobalt Capital Cognetas

28, bd Malesherbes Paternoster House, 65 St Paul’s Church-

75008 Paris, France yard
Tel +33 (0)1 43 12 91 10 London EC4M 8AB, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7214 4800
www.cobalt-cap.com
www.cognetas.com

STATS
STATS
Managing directors: Christophe Fercocq,
Hervé Franc Chief Executive: Nigel McConnell
Employer Type: Private Company Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 6 investment professionals Employees: 30 professionals
AuM: €150m AuM: €2.26bn

CAREERS CONTACT CAREERS CONTACT

Offices: Paris Offices: London • Frankfurt • Milan •
Paris

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Corpfin Capital Crédit Agricole Private

Equity
Marqués de Villamejor, 3
28006 Madrid
100 Boulevard du Montparnasse
Spain
75682 PARIS Cedex 14
Tel +34 91 781 28 00
Tel +33 1 43 23 21 21
www.corpfincapital.com
www.ca-privateequity.com

STATS
STATS
Chairman: Felipe Oriol
CEO: Fabien Prevost
Employer Type: Independent private
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Credit
company
Agricole
Employees: 11 investment professionals
No. of employees: 40
AuM: €400m
AuM: €1.7bn

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid
Offices: Paris

CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]
[email protected]

247
 Darwin Private Equity LLP Dawnay, Day Principal
Investments
15 Bedford Street
London WC2E 9HE, United Kingdom
15-17 Grosvenor Gardens
Tel +44 (0)20 7420 0755
London SW1W 0BD, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7834 8060
www.darwinpe.com
www.dawnayday.com
STATS
Founders: Derek Elliott, Jonathan Kaye STATS
& Kevin Street
Head of private companies: Luke
Employer Type: Independent private
Bridgeman
company
Employer Type: Specialist team of
Employees: 3 investment executives
Dawnay, Day Group
AuM: £250m (2008 target)
Employees: 4 investment executives
AuM: €1bn (access)
LOCATIONS
Offices: London LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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Deutsche Beteiligungs AG DLJ Merchant Banking

Partners
Kleinen Wiesenau 1
60439 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
17 Columbus Courtyard
Tel +49 69 957 87 0
London E14 4DA, United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7883 1000
www.deutsche-beteiligung.de
www.csfb.com/investment_manage-
ment/private_equity/DLJ_merchant_ban
STATS king.shtml
Chief executive: Wilken Freiherr von
Hodenberg
Employer Type: Public company STATS
(Frankfurt Stock Exchange)
Chief Executive: Steven Rattner
No. of employees: 17 professionals
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Credit
AuM: €520m
Suisse
Employees: 14
LOCATIONS
Offices: Frankfurt LOCATIONS
Offices: London • New York •
Los Angeles
CAREERS CONTACT AuM: $6.8bn
[email protected]

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

249
 Dunedin Capital Partners ECI Partners

10 George Street Brettenham House, Lancaster Place

Edinburgh EH2 2DW, United Kingdom London WC2E 7EN
Tel +44 (0)131 225 6699 United Kingdom
Tel 020 7606 1000
www.dunedin.com
www.eciv.co.uk

STATS
STATS
Chief Executive: Ross Marshall
Employer Type: Independent private Managing partners: Ken Landsberg and
company Tim Raffle
Employees: 23 (15 investment profes- No. of employees: 14 professionals
sionals) AuM: £500m
AuM: £500m

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Manchester
Offices: Edinburgh • London

CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]
[email protected]

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Edmond de Rothschild Enterprise Investors

Private Equity Partners
Warsaw Financial Center
Emilii Plater 53, 31st floor
Edmond de Rothschild 00-113 Warsaw, Poland
Investment Partners Tel +48 22 458 85 00

www.ei.com
47 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
75401 Paris Cedex 08
France STATS
Tel + 33 1 40 17 25 25
Chairman: Robert Faris
www.lcf-rothschild.fr/fr/edrip/ No. of employees: 53 (30 professionals)
AuM: €1bn

STATS
LOCATIONS
Employer Type: Subsidiary of La
Compagnie Financière Edmond de Offices: Warsaw
Rothschild
Employees: 18
AuM: €506m (expansion, LBO, VC) CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris

251
 Ergon Capital Partners Explorer Investments

Marnixlaan 24 Av. Eng.º Duarte Pacheco, n. º 26-8 º

1000 Brussels 1070-110 Lisboa, Portugal
Belgium Tel +351 21 324 1820
Tel +32 2 213 60 90
www.explorerinvestments.com

STATS
STATS
Managing director: Ian Gallienne
Employer Type: Backed by Groupe Managing director: Rodrigo Guimarães
Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) and Parcom Employer Type: Independent private
AuM: €500m company
Employees: 5 senior investment profes-
sionals
LOCATIONS AuM: €262m (2008)
Offices: Brussels • Milan
LOCATIONS
Offices: Lisbon

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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Fidia SGR - Prudentia Fund FINAMA Private Equity

Piazza Paolo Ferrari 6 148 boulevard Haussmann

Milano 75008 Paris, france
Italy Tel +33 (0)1 53 93 51 51
Tel +3x 02 7200 2037
www.finama-pe.fr
www.fidiasgr.it

STATS
STATS
CEO: Pierre-Michel Deleglise
Employer Type: Fund financed by Employer Type: Subsidiary of
consortium of 8 Italian banks Groupama
Managing director: Stefano Scarpis AuM: €1.4bn (VC, expansion,
AuM: €250m mezzanine and funds of funds)

LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

253
 FL Partners Fortis Merchant Banking

Stradbrook House Montagne du Parc 3

Stradbrook Road, Blackrock 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Co. Dublin, Ireland Tel +32 2 565 11 33
Tel +353 1 663 7630
www.merchantbanking.fortis.com
www.flpartners.ie

STATS
STATS
Managing director: Luc Weverbergh
Managing partners: Peter Crowley and Employer Type: Subsidiary of Fortis
Neill Hughes Bank
Employer Type: Private Company Employees: 62

LOCATIONS LOCATIONS
Offices: Dublin Offices: Brussels

CAREERS CONTACT CAREERS CONTACT

[email protected] [email protected]

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Gala Capital GED Private Equity

Serrano 57 Calle Hiedra 17B

28006 Madrid 28109 Madrid, Spain
Spain Tel +34 91 7022 255
Tel +34 91 426 1900
www.gediberian.com
www.galacapital.com

STATS
STATS
Chief Executive: Enriques Centelles
Managing directors: Jaime Bergel and Echevarria
Carlos Tejera Employer Type: Private Company
Employer Type: Private equity vehicle Employees: 20
for some of Spain’s wealthiest AuM: €300m
individuals
AuM: €165m (2nd fund) with access to
more capital LOCATIONS
Offices: Spain • Bulgaria • Portugal • Ro-
mania

255
 GI Partners GIMV

5th Floor, 35 Portman Square Karel Oomsstraat 37

London W1H 6LR, United Kingdom 2018 Antwerp
Tel +44 (0)20 7034 1120 Belgium
Tel +32 3 290 21 00
www.gipartners.com
www.gimv.com

STATS
STATS
Chief Executive: Rick Magnuson
Employer Type: Private Company Executive Vice President Corporate
Employees: 21 professionals (9 in Investment: Geert-Jan van Logtestijn
Europe) Employer Type: Public company. Sticker:
AuM: $2bn GIMB (Euronext)
No. of employees: 19 investment
professionals
LOCATIONS AuM: €1.2bn
Offices: London • Menlo Park
LOCATIONS
Offices: Antwerp • Frankfurt • London
• The Hague

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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Global Equity Partners Global Finance

Mariahilfer Strasse 19-21 14 Filikis Eterias Square

1060 Vienna , Austria 10673 Athens, Greece
Tel +43 1 581 83 90 Tel +30 210 720 8900

www.gep.at www.globalfinance.gr

STATS STATS
Founder and Management Board: Dr. Managing Partner: Angelos Plakopitas
Michael Tojner Employer Type: Independent Private
Employer Type: Independent Private Company
Company Employees: 24 professionals
Employees: 30 AuM: $300m
AuM: €250m (private equity)

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Athens • Bucharest • Sofia
Offices: Vienna • Lausanne • Munich

CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]
[email protected]

257
 GMT Communications Granville Baird Capital
Partners Partners Germany

Sackville House, 40 Piccadilly, London Haus am Hafen, Steinhöft 5-7

W1J 0DR 20459 Hamburg
United Kingdom Germany
Tel +44 20 7292 9333 Tel. +49 40 37 48 02 10

www.gmtpartners.com www.granvillebaird.de

STATS STATS
Managing partners: Timothy S. Green Managing director: Dr. Wolfgang Alvano
and Jeffrey D. Montgomery Employer Type: Independent private
Employer Type: Private company firm
No. of employees: 11 professionals Employees: 14 (8 professionals)
AuM: €700m AuM: €650m

LOCATIONS LOCATIONS
Offices: London Offices: Hamburg (For the UK, see
Baird Capital Partners Europe)

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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Graphite Capital Gresham Private Equity

Berkeley Square House One South Place

Berkeley Square London EC2M 2GT
London W1J 6BQ United Kingdom
United Kingdom Tel +44 (0) 20 7309 5000
Tel +44 20 7825 5300
www.greshampe.com
www.graphitecapital.com

STATS
STATS
Chief Executive: Paul Marson-Smith
Heads of investment team: Simon Ffitch Employer Type: Independent private
& Andy Gray company
Employer Type: Independent private Employees: 22
company AuM: £340m (Gresham 4 fund)
No. of employees: 16 investment pro-
fessionals
AuM: £1.2bn LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Birmingham •
LOCATIONS Manchester

Offices: London

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

259
 H.I.G. European Capital Herkules Capital (formerly
Partners LLP Ferd Private Equity)

25 St. George Street Strandveien 50

London W1S 1FS P.O Box 34
United Kingdom 1324 Lysaker, Norway
Tel +44 (0) 207 318 5700 Tel +47 67 10 80 00

www.higprivateequity.com www.ferdpe.no

STATS STATS
Managing partners: Sami Mnaymneh & Managing Partner: Gert W. Munthe
Tony Tamer Employer Type: Independent private
Employer Type: European affiliate of firm
H.I.G. Capital No. of employees: 13 professionals
Employees: 13 senior professionals in AuM: NOK 6.25bn (~€800m)
Europe
AuM: $4bn (worldwide)
LOCATIONS

LOCATIONS Offices: Lysaker (moving to Oslo)

Offices: London • Hamburg • Paris •

Atlanta • Boston • Miami • San CAREERS CONTACT
Francisco
[email protected]

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Hermes Private Equity Ibersuizas

(direct investments)
Marqués de Villamagna, 3
28001 Madrid, Spain
Lloyds Chambers
Tel +34 91 426 43 80
1 Portsoken Street
London E1 8HZ
www.ibersuizas.es
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7680 2235

www.hermes.co.uk/hermes_private_equity STATS
Founding Partner: Luis Chicharro
Employer Type: Private company
STATS Employees: 26 (12 investment
professionals)
Chief Executive: Rod Selkirk
AuM: €1bn (2008)
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Hermes
Pensions Management
No. of employees: 7 professionals
AuM: £450m LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid • Barcelona • London •
Luxembourg
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

261
 Impala Capital Partners Inflexion Private Equity

Pedro de Valdivia 10, 4ª Planta 43 Welbeck Street

28006 Madrid, Spain London W1G 8DX
Tel +34 91 411 92 90 United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7487 9888
www.impalacapital.com
www.inflexion.com

STATS
STATS
Chairman: Carlos Guerrero
Employer Type: Independent private Managing partners: John Hartz & Simon
company Turner
Employees: 9 investment professionals Employer Type: Private company
AuM: €215m (2007) No. of employees: 17 (12 professionals)
AuM: £300m

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid
Offices: London • Manchester

CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]
[email protected]

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Innova Capital Investcorp Private Equity

Aurum Building, ul. Waliców 11 48 Grosvenor Street

00-865 Warsaw, Poland London W1K 3HW
Tel +48-22 583-9400 United Kingdom
Tel +44 20 7629 6600
www.innovacap.com/EN
www.investcorp.com

STATS
STATS
Managing partners: Steve Buckley & Rob
Conn Head of Private Equity Europe: Steven
Employer Type: Private company Puccinelli
Employees: 8 investment professionals Employees: 42 professionals (16 in
AuM: €500m London)
AuM: $3.8bn

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

263
 Investindustrial Invision Private Equity

Via dei Bossi, 4 Industriestrasse 24, Postfach 2303

20121 Milan, Italy 6302 Zug, Switzerland
Tel +39 02 802 7761 Tel +41 41 729 01 01

www.investindustrial.com www.invision.ch

STATS STATS
Chairman: Andrea C. Bonomi Managing Partner: Frank Becker
Employer Type: Independent private Employer Type: Independent private
company company
Employees: 18 professionals Employees: 8 investment professionals
AuM: €1bn (2008) AuM: €300m

LOCATIONS CAREERS CONTACT

Offices: Milan • Barcelona • London • [email protected]
Luxembourg • Madrid

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ISIS EP Kaupthing Capital Partners

2nd Floor, 100 Wood Street c/o Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander
London EC2V 7AN One Hanover Street
United Kingdom London W1S 1AX
Tel +44 (0)20 7506 5600 United Kingdom
Tel +44 20 3205 5000
www.isisep.com
www.kaupthingsingers.co.uk

STATS
STATS
Managing partner: Wol Kolade
Employer Type: Independent private Employer Type: Private equity arm of
company Iceland's Kaupthing Bank
Employees: 31 (28 investment AuM: £500m
professionals)

LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Birmingham • Leeds
• Manchester
AuM: £700m (2007)

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

265
 KBC Private Equity NV L Capital Management

Havenlaan 12 18, rue François Ier

1080 Brussels, Belgium 75008 Paris
Tel +32 (0)2 429 36 45 Tel +33 (0)1 44 13 22 22

www.kbcpe.be www.lvmh.com

STATS STATS
Managing directors: Mr Philippe de Vicq, Managing director: Jean Cailliau
Mrs. Floris Vansina Employer Type: Subsidiary of LVMH
Employer Type: Investment company of Employees: 14 (10 professionals)
KBC Group AuM: €590m
Employees: 30
AuM: €450m (2008)
LOCATIONS

LOCATIONS Offices: Paris

Offices: Brussels • Bucharest • Budapest

• Prague • Warsaw CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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Langholm Capital LLP LBO France

5th Floor, 16 Charles II Street 148 rue de l'Université

London SW1Y 4QU, UK 75007 Paris, France
Tel +44 (0)20 7747 7747 Tel +33 (0)1 40 62 77 67

www.langholm.com www.lbofrance.com

STATS STATS
Managing Partners: Bert Wiegman, Chief Executive: Alain Aubry
Christian Lorenzen Employer Type: Independent private
Employer Type: Private Company company
Employees: 10 Employees: 17
AuM: €250m AuM: €3.5bn (2008)

LOCATIONS LOCATIONS
Offices: London Offices: Paris

267
 LD Equity LDC

c/o Fondsmæglerselskabet af 2004 A/S 3rd Floor, 45 Old Bond Street

Vendersgade 28 London W1S 4QT
1363 Copenhagen K United Kingdom
Denmark Tel +44 (0)20 7499 1500
Tel +45 33 36 89 89
www.ldc.co.uk
www.ldequity.dk

STATS
STATS
CEO: Darryl Eales
Managing partners: Christian Møller, Employer Type: Subsidiary of the Lloyds
Soren Møller, Lars Tønnesen TSB Group
Employer Type: Independent part of Employees: 45 investment professionals
Fondsmæglerselskabet af 2004 A/S AuM: £2bn
(FMS04)
Employees: 18 investment professionals
AuM: DKK 7.5bn (€1bn) in 2007 LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Birmingham • Bristol
• Edinburgh • Leeds • Liverpool •
LOCATIONS
Manchester • Newcastle upon Tyne •
Offices: Copenhagen Reading • Southampton

CAREERS CONTACT CAREERS CONTACT

[email protected] [email protected]

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Lehman Brothers LGV

Merchant Banking
5th Floor, Bucklersbury House, 3
Queen Victoria Street
25 Bank Street, London E14 5LE
London EC4N 8NH, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 20 7528 6456
www.lehman.com/im/pe/mb/
www.legalandgeneralventures.com

STATS
STATS
Global Head: Charles Ayres
Chief Executive: Adrian Johnson
No. of employees: 35 professionals
Employer Type: Private Company
AuM: ~€700m for Europe ($3.3bn
Employees: 3 partners
globally for 4th fund)
AuM: £200m (5th fund)

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London • New York • Hong
Offices: London
Kong

CAREERS CONTACT
Contact for Analyst Recruiting, Europe:
Salonika Mitra

269
 Lion Capital LODH Private Equity

21 Grosvenor Place Rue de la Corraterie 11

London SW1X 7HF, United Kingdom P.O. Box 5215
Tel +44 (0) 20 7201 2200 1211 Geneva 11
Switzerland
www.lioncapital.com Tel +41 (0)22 709 21 11

STATS STATS
Managing Partner: Lyndon Lea Employer Type: Private equity unit of
Employer Type: Independent Private Lombard Odier
Company AuM: €493m (3rd fund)
Employees: 19
AuM: €2.7bn
CAREERS CONTACT

LOCATIONS [email protected]

Offices: London

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Lyceum Capital MB Funds

Burleigh House, 357 The Strand Bulevardi 1 A

London WC2R 0HS 00100 Helsinki, Finland
UK Tel +358 9 131 011
Tel +44 (20) 7632 2480
www.mbfunds.fi
www.westpe.com

STATS
STATS
Managing Partner: Juhani Suomela
CEO: Philip Buscombe Employer Type: Independent private
No. of employees: 10 investment company
professionals No. of employees: 10
AuM: €300m AuM: €270m (4th fund)

LOCATIONS LOCATIONS
Offices: London Offices: Helsinki

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

271
 MCH Private Equity Merrill Lynch Global
Private Equity group
Plaza de Colón 2, Torre I, Planta 15
28046 Madrid, Spain
ML Financial Center
Tel +34 91 426 44 44
Two King Edward Street
London, EC1A 1HQ
www.mch.es/eng/
United Kingdom
Tel +44-207-955-2000
STATS http://gmi.ml.com/private
Managing directors: José María Muñoz &
Mr. Jaime Hernández Soto
Employer Type: Independent private STATS
company
President/Group Head: Nathan C.
Employees: 12 (10 investment
Thorne
professionals)
Employer Type: PE investment arm of
AuM: €250m
Merrill Lynch
No. of employees: 19 senior
professionals, of which 4 are in London
LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid
LOCATIONS
Offices: London • New York • Bangkok
• Hong Kong • Tokyo • Sydney • São
Paulo

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Mid Europa Partners Mid Ocean Partners

161 Brompton Road Cardinal Place, 80 Victoria Street

London SW3 1EX London SW1E 5JL
United Kingdom United Kingdom
Tel +44 20 7886 3600 Tel +44 (0)20 7821 4400

www.mideuropa.com www.midoceanpartners.com

STATS STATS
Managing Partner: Thierry Baudon Managing partner: Ted Virtue
Employer Type: Independent private Employer Type: Independent private
company company
Employees: 19 (17 professionals) Employees: 22 investment professionals
AuM: €2.7bn AuM: $3bn

LOCATIONS LOCATIONS
Offices: London •Budapest • Warsaw Offices: London • New York

273
 Middle Europe Milestone Capital Partners
Investments
14 Floral Street
London WC2E 9DH
Zwiepseweg 27
United Kingdom
7240 GM Lochem, Netherlands
Tel +44 (0)20 7420 8800
Tel +31 573 28 98 88
www.milestone-capital.com
www.mei.nl

STATS STATS
Managing partners: Bill Robinson and
Managing partner: Dr. Peter H. M.
Erick Rinner
Winkelman
Employer Type: Private company
Employer Type: Independent private
Employees: 12
company
AuM: €400m
Employees: 75

CAREERS CONTACT LOCATIONS

Offices: London • Paris
[email protected]

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

274
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Morgan Stanley Private Natixis Private Equity

Equity Europe
5-7 rue de Monttessuy
75340 Paris Cedex 07, France
25 Cabot Square, Canary Wharf
Tel +33 (0)1 58 19 20 00
London E14 4QA
United Kingdom
www.natixis-pe.com
Tel +44 (0)20 7425 8000

www.morganstanley.com/privateequity
STATS
Chief Executive: Jean-Louis Delvaux
STATS Employer Type: Private equity arm of
Natixis
Managing directors: Graham Keniston-
Employees: 250 (115 investment
Cooper & Michael Hehn
professionals)
Employees: 40 worldwide (target)
AuM: €3.1bn (VC, expansion, LBO, fund
AuM: $6bn worldwide (target)
of funds)

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London • New York
Offices: France • Germany • Italy •
Poland • Spain • China • India • Brazil

275
 Nazca NBGI Private Equity

Calle Fortuny 37, 3º Dcha Old Change House, 128 Queen

28010 Madrid, Spain Victoria Street
Tel +34 91 7000 501 London EC4V 4BJ
United Kingdom
www.nazca.es Tel +44(0)20 7661 5678

www.nbgipe.co.uk
STATS
Chairman: Miguel Canalejo
STATS
Employer Type: Member of Fortis
Private Equity Group Chairman & CEO: Pavlos C. St. Stellakis
Employees: 6 investment professionals Employer Type: Subsidiary of the
AuM: €250m (2007) National Bank of Greece
Employees: 26
AuM: €360m
LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid
LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Athens

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

276
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Nikko Principal Nmas1 Private Equity

Investments
Padilla, 17
28006 Madrid
100 Pall Mall
Tel +34 91 745 8484
London SW1Y 5NN
United Kingdom
www.nmas1.com
Tel +44 (0)20 7799 7700

www.npil.co.uk
STATS
Managing director: Federico Pastor
STATS Employer Type: Division of N+1, an
independent Employer Type: Private
CEO: Brian Berry
company
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Nikko
Employees: x investment professionals
Employer Type: Cordial Corporation
AuM: €850m (plan 2008)
Employees: 30 professionals

LOCATIONS LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid • Barcelona
Offices: London

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

277
 Nomura Private Equity Nordic Capital

Nomura House, 1 St Martins Le Grand NC Advisory AB, Stureplan 4A

London EC1A 4NP 114 35 Stockholm, Sweden
United Kingdom Tel +46 8 440 50 50
Tel +44 (0)20 7521 2000
www.nordiccapital.com
www.nomura.com/europe/services/mer
chant_banking/private_equity
STATS

STATS Managing directors: Robert Andreen,

Morgan Olsson
Head: Andrew Healey Employer Type: Private Company
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Nomura Employees: 17 investment professionals
Employees: 7 investment professionals AuM: €4bn
(United Kingdom)
AuM: £300m ($4.5bn worldwide)
LOCATIONS

LOCATIONS Offices: Stockholm • Copenhagen •

Helsinki
Offices: London

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Nordwind Capital Oaktree Capital

Management
Residenzstraße 18
80333 Munich, Germany
27 Knightsbridge
Tel +49 89 29 19 58-0
London SW1X 7LY
United Kingdom
www.nordwindcapital.de
Tel +44 (0)20 7201 4600

www.oaktreecapital.com
STATS
Managing director: Dr. Hans Albrecht
Employer Type: Private Company STATS
Employees: 9
Managing principal: John Frank
AuM: €300m
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 174 investment
professionals globally (9 in European
LOCATIONS private equity)
Offices: Munich AuM: $8.3bn in private equity only
(2008)

CAREERS CONTACT
LOCATIONS
[email protected]
Offices: Los Angeles • London •
Frankfurt • Luxembourg • New York •
Stamford • Beijing • Hong Kong •
Seoul • Shanghai • Singapore • Tokyo

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

279
 Odewald & Compagnie Olivant

Französische Straße 8 2 Basil Street

10117 Berlin, Germany London
Tel +49 (0) 30 20 17 23-0 SW3 1AA
United Kingdom
www.ocie.de Tel +44 (0) 20 7225 4100

www.olivant.com
STATS
Founder and managing partner: Dr. Jens
STATS
Odewald
Employer Type: Private Company Chairman: Luqman Arnold
Employees: 7 senior investment Employees: 16 investment professionals
professionals
AuM: €1bn
LOCATIONS

LOCATIONS Offices: London • Singapore

Offices: Berlin
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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One Equity Partners Orlando Management

GmbH
Taunusanlage 21
60325 Frankfurt am Main
Am Platzl 4
Germany
80331 Munich
Tel +49 69 50 60 74 70
Germany
Phone: +49 89 29 00 48 - 50
www.oneequity.com
www.orlandofund.com
STATS
President: Richard (Dick) M. Cashin, Jr. STATS
Employer Type: PE investment arm of
Partners: Dr. Henrik Fastrich and three
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
other partners
No. of employees: 38 professionals, of
Employer Type: Private Company
which 10 are in Germany
Employees: 5 investment professionals
AuM: $5bn
AuM: €420m

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Frankfurt • Chicago • New
Offices: Munich
York

CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]
[email protected]

281
 Palamon Capital Partners Pamplona Capital
Management
Cleveland House, 33 King Street
London SW1Y 6RJ
25 Park Lane
United Kingdom
London W1K 1RA
Tel +44 (0)20 7766 2000
United Kingdom
Tel +44 20 7079 8000
www.palamon.com
www.pamplonafunds.com
STATS
Managing partners: A. Michael Hoffman, STATS
Louis G. Elson
Chief executive: Alex Knaster
Employer Type: Private Company
No. of employees: 15 professionals
Employees: 14 investment professionals
AuM: €1.3bn (2nd fund)
AuM: €1.1bn

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
Offices: London

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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Parcom Pechel Industries

Olympia 4c 162, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré

1213 NT Hilversum 75008 Paris, France
The Netherlands Tel +33 (1) 5659 7959
Tel +31 35 646 44 40
www.pechel.com
www.parcomventures.nl,
www.parcom.fr
STATS

STATS CEO: Hélène Ploix

Employer Type: Independent private
Managing director: Erik Westerink company
A member of ING Group Employees: 5 senior investment
Employees: 22 (12 professionals) professionals
AuM: €750m AuM: €250m

LOCATIONS LOCATIONS
Offices: Hilversum • Paris (ING Offices: Paris
Parcom)

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

283
 Penta Capital Partners Phoenix Equity Partners

150 St Vincent Street 33 Glasshouse Street

Glasgow G2 5NE London W1B 5DG
United Kingdom United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)141-572 7300 Tel +44 (0)20-7434 6999

www.pentacapital.com www.phoenix-equity.com

STATS STATS
Founding partners: David Calder, Managing Partner: Hugh Lenon
Torquil Macnaughton, Mark Phillips & Employer Type: Independent private
Steven Scott company
Employer Type: Independent private Employees: 18 (16 investment
company professionals)
Employees: 6 investment professionals AuM: £900m
AuM: £194 million (2007)

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
Offices: Glasgow • London

CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]
[email protected]

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PM Partners PPM Capital

via San Damiano No. 11 1 New Fetter Lane

20122 Milano London EC4A 1HH, United Kingdom
Italy Tel +44 (0)20 7822 1000
Tel +39 02 76011887
www.ppmcapital.com
www.pm-partners.it

STATS
STATS
Chief Executive: Mr. Neil MacDougall
Managing partners: Mr. Francesco Employer Type: Independent Private
Panfilo, Mr. Andrea Mugnai Company
Employer Type: Private Company Employees: 50 (27 professionals)
Employees: 8 investment professionals AuM: £600m
AuM: €215m

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Munich • Paris •
Offices: Milano Chicago

285
 Pragma Capital Primary Capital

13 avenue Hoche Augustine House, Austin Friars

75008 Paris, France London EC2N 2HA
Tel +33 (0)1 58 36 49 50 United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7920 4800
www.pragma-capital.com
www.primaryeurope.com

STATS
STATS
Chief Executive: Christophe Ramoisy
Employer Type: Private Company Chief executive: Charles Gonszor
Employees: 9 investment professionals Employer Type: Independent Private
AuM: €500m Company
Employees: 12 (9 investment
professionals)
LOCATIONS AuM: £361 million
Offices: Paris
LOCATIONS
Offices: London

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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Providence Equity Quadrangle Capital

Partners
28 St George Street
London W1S 2FA
Quadrangle Group Europe Ltd
United Kingdom
15 Conduit Street
Tel +44 (0)20-7514 8800
London W1S 2XJ
United Kingdom
www.provequity.com
Tel +44 (0)20 7317 3800

www.quadranglegroup.com
STATS
CEO: Jonathan M. Nelson
Employer Type: Independent Private STATS
Company
Managing principal Europe: Gordon
Employees: 67 investment professionals
Holmes
(19 in the UK)
Employer Type: Private company
AuM: $21bn worldwide
No. of employees: 40 investment
professionals
AuM: $6bn (about half in PE)
LOCATIONS
Offices: London • New York •
Providence (HQ) • Hong Kong • New LOCATIONS
Delhi
Offices: New York • Palo Alto •
London
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected] CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

287
 Quadriga Capital Services Quilvest Private Equity
GmbH
243, boulevard Saint-Germain
75007 Paris, France
Hamburger Allee 4
Tel +33 (0)1 40 62 07 54
60486 Frankfurt
Germany
www.quilvest.com
Tel. +49 69 795 000-0

www.quadriga-capital.de
STATS
CEO: F. Michel Abouchalache
STATS Employees: 28 investment professionals
AuM: $1bn (including funds of funds)
Managing partner: Dr. Andreas Fendel
Employer Type: Private company
Employees: 8 investment professionals
AuM: €525m (3rd fund) LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris • London • Luxembourg
• Zurich • New York
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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Rhone Capital (Rhone RJD Partners

Group)
8/9 Well Court
London EC4M 9DN
5 Princes Gate
United Kingdom
London SW7 1QJ
Tel +44 20 7050 6868
United Kingdom
9-11 Rue Montalivet
www.rjdpartners.com
Paris, 75008
France
Tel +1 (212) 218 6770
STATS
www.rhonegroup.com Chief Executive: David MacLellan
Employer Type: Private company
Employees: 9 professionals
STATS AuM: £180m (2nd fund)
Managing partners and founders: Robert
F. Agostinelli & M. Steven Langman
Employer Type: Independent private LOCATIONS
company Offices: London
AuM: ~$800m (Rhône Capital Partners III)

CAREERS CONTACT
LOCATIONS
Info: [email protected]
Offices: London • Paris • New York

289
 Royal Bank of Scotland Rutland Partners
Equity Finance
Rutland House
Rutland Gardens
135 Bishopsgate
London SW7 1BX
London EC2M 4RB
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Tel +44 20 7556 2600
Tel +44 (0)20 7085 2256
www.rutlandpartners.com
www.rbs.com

STATS STATS
Chairman: Michael Langdon
Employees: 25 investment professionals
Employer Type: Private company
AuM: £2.2bn
Employees: 11 professionals
AuM: £530m

LOCATIONS
Offices: London

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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Santander Private Equity Segulah

Paseo de la Castellana, 7 Styrmansgatan 2

28046 Madrid, Spain 114 84 Stockholm
Tel +34 91 342 68 96 Sweden
Tel +46 8 442 8950
www.santanderprivateequity.com
www.segulah.se

STATS
STATS
Managing director: Luis Abraira de Arana
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Santander Managing partner: Christian Sievert
Employees: 6 professionals Employer Type: Private company
AuM: €320m Employees: 8 professionals
AuM: SEK 2.35bn (~€300m)

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Madrid
Offices: Stockholm

291
 SGAM Private Equity SigmaBleyzer

170, Place Henri Regnault 21 Pushkinskaya Street, office 40

Paris La Defense 6, France Kiev, 01004
Tel +33 (0) 56 37 80 00 Ukraine
Tel +380 44 244-94-87/89
www.sgam-ai.com
www.sigmableyzer.com

STATS
STATS
Global Heads: Jean Grimaldi, Corinne
Ferrière Recruiting Manager: Alina Martynenko,
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Societe [email protected]
Generale President & CEO: Michael Bleyzer
Employees: 55 investment professionals Employees: 16
AuM: €1.8bn (VC, expansion & LBO, AuM: €250m (4th fund)
funds of funds, specialised)

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Kiev • Astana • Bucharest •
Offices: Paris • Bucharest • London • Kharkov • Sofia
Milan • Munich • Warsaw

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Silver Lake Smedvig Capital

Almack House, 28 King Street 20 St James's Street

London SW1Y 6QW London SW1A 1ES
United Kingdom United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 70 24 72 00 Tel +44(0)20 7451 2100

www.silverlake.com www.smedvigcapital.com

STATS STATS
Director Europe: Axel Holtrup Chairman: Peter Smedvig
Employer Type: Private company Employer Type: Independent private
Employees: 80 company
AuM: €2.8bn (2nd fund) Employees: 9 investment professionals
AuM: £300m

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Menlo Park (HQ) • London •
New York • San Francisco Offices: London

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

293
 Sovereign Capital STAR Capital Partners

25 Buckingham Gate 6th Floor, 33 Cavendish Square

London SW1E 6LD London W1G 0PW
United Kingdom United Kingdom
Tel +44 20 7828 6944 Tel +44 (0)20-7016 8500

www.sovereigncapital.co.uk www.star-capital.com

STATS STATS
Managing partners: Andrew Hayden & CEO: Tony Mallin
Ryan Robson Employer Type: Independent private
Employer Type: Independent private company
company Employees: 15 investment professionals
Employees: 17 investment professionals AuM: €1bn
AuM: £450m

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
Offices: London

CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]
[email protected]

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Stirling Square Capital Sun European Partners

Partners
6 Gracechurch Street, 4th Floor
London EC3V 0AT
Liscartan House (4th Floor)
United Kingdom
127-131 Sloane Street
Tel +44 20 7929 5906
London SW1X 9AS
United Kingdom
www.suncappart.com
Tel +44 (0)20 7808 4130

www.stirlingsquare.com/stirlingsquareca
pitalpartners.htm STATS
Managing Director: Philip A. Dougall
Employer Type: European arm of Sun
STATS Capital
No. of employees: 19 (130 worldwide)
Managing partner: 6 partners
AuM: $10bn (worldwide)
Employer Type: Private company
Employees: 7 professionals
AuM: €200m
LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Boca Raton • Los
LOCATIONS Angeles • New York • Shenzhen •
Tokyo
Offices: London

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

295
 TA Associates Taros Capital

25 Knightsbridge Viñoly tower, 21th floor

London SW1X 7RZ Claude Debussylaan 46
United Kingdom 1082 MD Amsterdam
Tel +44 (0)20 7823 0200 Netherlands
Tel +31 20 4041221
www.ta.com
www.taroscapital.com

STATS
STATS
Managing partner in London: Mr. Ajit
Nedungadi Managing partners: Paul Lamers &
Employer Type: Private Company Alexander van Wassenaer
Employees: 65 (50 investment Employer Type: Private company
professionals) Employees: 6 senior professionals
AuM: $10bn AuM: €550m

LOCATIONS LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Boston • Menlo Park Offices: Amsterdam • Antwerp •
Frankfurt

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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TCR Capital TDR Capital

5 rue Paul Cézanne One Stanhope Gate

75008 Paris, France London W1K 1AF
Tel +33 (0)1 53 81 77 81 United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7399 4200
www.tcrcapital.com
www.tdrcapital.com

STATS
STATS
Managing partner: Marc Demicheli
Employer Type: Private Company Founding partners: Manjit Dale &
Employees: 7 senior professionals Stephen Robertson
AuM: €300m Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 17 professionals
AuM: €2.6bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
LOCATIONS
Offices: London

297
 The Riverside Company, TowerBrook Capital
Europe Partners

After Hof 5 83 Pall Mall

80331 Munich, Germany London SW1Y 5ES
Tel +49 89 242 248 90 United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7451 2002
www.riversideeurope.com
www.towerbrook.com

STATS
STATS
Managing Partner: Antonio Cabral
Employer Type: Private company Co-CEOs: Ramez Sousou (London) &
No. of employees: 28 (16 investment Neal Moszkowski (New York)
professionals) Employer Type: Private Company
AuM: $2bn (world) Employees: 28 investment professionals
AuM: $2.5bn

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Munich • Amsterdam •
Brussels • Budapest • Madrid • Prague Offices: London • New York
• Stockholm • Warsaw • Atlanta •
Chicago • Cleveland • Dallas • Los
Angeles • New York • San Francisco •
Tokyo

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Triton Advisors Valanza

105 Piccadilly, 5th fl. Pº Recoletos, 10 ala norte

London W1J 7NJ 28001 Madrid
United Kingdom Spain
Tel +44 (0)20 7297 6150 Tel +34 91 374 3271

www.triton-partners.com
STATS

STATS General Manager: Francisco Esteve

Employer Type: Private equity subsidiary
Employer Type: Private Company of BBVA
AuM: €1.1bn (second fund) AuM: €1.4bn

299
 Veronis Suhler Stevenson Vestar Capital Partners
International Ltd.
1, Rond Point Des Champs Elysees
75008 Paris, France
8th Floor, Buchanan House
Tel +33 (0)1 58 56 60 10
3 St. James's Square
London SW1Y 4JU
www.vestarcapital.com
United Kingdom
Tel +44 20 7484 1400

www.vss.com STATS
President, Europe: Robert L. Rosner
Employer Type: Private company
STATS Employees: 56 (13 investment
professionals in Europe)
London Partner: Marco Sodi
AuM: $7bn
No. of employees: 56 (30 professionals)
AuM: $1.3bn (4th fund)
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS Offices: Paris • Milan • Munich •
Boston • Denver • New York • Tokyo
Offices: London • New York

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Vista Capital Vitruvian Partners

C/ Serrano 67 53 Davies Street

28006 Madrid London W1K 5JH
Spain United Kingdom
Tel +34 914 360 606 Tel + 44 (0)20 7152 6503

www.vitruvianpartners.com
STATS
CEO: Ignacio Moreno
STATS
Employer Type: Private equity subsidiary
of Santander and RBS (50/50) Managing partners: Ian Riley, Michael
AuM: unknown Risman, Toby Wyles
Employer Type: Independent private
company
Employees: 9 senior professionals
AuM: €424m (2007)

LOCATIONS
Offices: London

301
 Warburg Pincus Waterland Private Equity
Investments
Almack House, 28 King Street
London SW1Y 6QW
Nieuwe 's-Gravelandseweg 17
United Kingdom
1405 HK Bussum
Tel +44 (0)20 7306 0306
The Netherlands
Tel +31 (0)35 - 694 1680
www.warburgpincus.com
www.waterland.nu/UK
STATS
Managing partners: Charles R. Kaye & STATS
Joseph P. Landy
Managing partner and founder: Rob
Employees: Private Company
Thielen
Employees: 160 deal professionals
Employees: Independent Private
AuM: ~$15bn
Company
AuM: €625m
LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Frankfurt • New LOCATIONS
York • San Francisco/Menlo Park •
Offices: Bussum • Antwerpen-Berchem
Beijing • Hong Kong • Mumbai • Seoul
• Dusseldorf
• Shanghai • Tokyo

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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Weinberg Capital Wendel Investissement

Partners
89, rue Taitbout
75009 Paris, France
11, rue La Boetie
Tel +33 (0)1 42 85 30 00
75008 Paris, France
Tel +33 1 53 53 55 00
www.wendel-investissement.com
www.weinbergcapital.com
STATS
STATS Chief Executive: Jean-Bernard Lafonta
Employer Type: Public company
Managing Partner: Serge Weinberg
(Euronext Paris, code MF)
Employer Type: Independent private
Employees: 30 (16 investment
company
professionals)
Employees: 11 investment professionals
AuM: €6.8bn
AuM: €420m

LOCATIONS LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
Offices: Paris

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

303
MEZZANINE FUNDS

Babson Capital Europe, Capvent AG

Almack Mezzanine
Dufourstrasse 24
8008 Zurich, Switzerland
61 Aldwych
Tel +41 43 500 50 70
London WC2B 4AE
United Kingdom
Tel +44 20 3206 4500 www.capvent.com

www.babsoncapitaleurope.com
STATS
Founders and Managing partners: Tom
STATS Clausen, Varun Sood
Managing directors: David Wilmot & Employer Type: Independent Private
Adam Eifion-Jones Company
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Babson Employees: 11 investment professionals
Capital Management LLC AuM: >€1bn
Employees: 5 senior investment
professionals
AuM: €800m (Almack Mezzanine) LOCATIONS
Offices: Zurich • Bangalore

LOCATIONS
Offices: London

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DAM Capital Darby Overseas

Investments, Central
26-28 rue Edward Steichen, Bâtiment C Europe Mezzanine Fund
PO Box 464
L-2014 Luxembourg
Tel +352 34 00 29 1 Dr. Karl Lueger-Ring 10
1010 Vienna
Austria
STATS Tel +43 1 53226 5510
Co-CEOS: Dirk van Daele & Robert www.darbyoverseas.com
Wardrop
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Anschutz
Investments
STATS
AuM: ~€1bn
Senior Managing Director – Europe:
Robert D. Graffam
LOCATIONS Employer Type: Private equity arm of
Franklin Templeton Investments
Offices: Luxembourg • London • Milan Employees: 9 professionals in Europe
AuM: €300m

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected] LOCATIONS
Offices: Vienna • Budapest • Warsaw

305
 EuroMezzanine Hutton Collins &
Company
11 Rue Scribe
75009 Paris, France
50 Pall Mall
Tel +33 (0) 1 5330 2330
London SW1Y 5JH
United Kingdom
www.euromezzanine.com
Tel +44 (0)20 7004 7000

www.huttoncollins.com
STATS
Managing directors: Thierry Raiff & Louis
Vaillant STATS
Employer Type: Private Company
Founders and Managing partners:
Employees: 10 investment professionals
Matthew Collins & Graham Hutton
AuM: €660m (6th fund)
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 12 investment professionals
AuM: €550m (2nd fund)
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
LOCATIONS
Offices: London

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IFE Mezzanine Indigo Capital

41 avenue George V 25 Watling Street

75008 Paris London EC4M 9BR
France United Kingdom
Tel +33 1 56 52 02 40 Tel +44 (0)20 7710 7800

www.ifefund.com www.indigo-capital.com

STATS STATS
Managing partner: Régis Mitjavile Managing director: Martin Stringfellow &
Employees: 7 professionals three other directors
AuM: €300m Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 14
AuM: €550m (5th fund)
LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris
LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Paris

307
 Mezzanine Management Nordic Mezzanine Limited
Central Europe
Aleksanterinkatu 15 A
00100 Helsinki, Finland
Kohlmarkt 5/6
Tel +358 9 6840 640
1010 Vienna, Austria
Tel +43 1 532 89 90
www.nordicmezzanine.com
www.mezzmanagement.com
STATS
STATS Managing partners: Pekka Hietaniemi,
Pekka Sunila & Vesa Suurmunne
Founding Partner and Executive
Employer Type: Private company
Director: Franz Hoerhager
No. of employees: 10
No. of employees: about 11 investment
AuM: €363m (2008)
professionals (2007)
AuM: €376m
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS Offices: Helsinki • London • Frankfurt
Offices: Vienna • Bucharest • Budapest
• Warsaw

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

308
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Novum Capital Park Square Capital

An der Welle 4 6 th Floor, Devonshire House

60322 Frankfurt, Germany Mayfair Place
Tel +49 (0)69 7593 7995 London, W1J 8AJ
United Kingdom
www.novumcapital.co.uk Tel 020 7529 1800

www.parksquarecapital.com
STATS
Founders and Managing partners: Felix
STATS
Hölzer & Björn Pirrwitz
Employer Type: Private Company Managing Partner: Robin Doumar
Employees: 4 investment professionals Employees: 14 professionals
AuM: €2.3bn (mezzanine and credit)

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Frankfurt • London
Offices: London • Guernsey •
Luxembourg

309
DISTRESSED FUNDS

Butler Capital Partners EPIC Private Equity

30, cours Albert 1er 22 Billiter Street

75008 Paris, France London EC3M 2RY
Tel +33 (0)1 45 61 55 80 United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 20 7553 2340
www.butlercapitalpartners.com
www.epicprivateequity.com

STATS
STATS
Founder and managing partner: Walter
Butler Chief Executive: Giles Brand
Employer Type: Private Company Employer Type: Subsidiary of Epic
Employees: 12 Investment Partners
AuM: ~€500m AuM: £125m

LOCATIONS LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris Offices: London

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Kelso Place

110 St. Martin's Lane

London WC2N 4BA
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 20 7836 0000

www.kelsoplace.com

STATS
Co-founder: John Drinkwater & Sion
Kearsey
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 9 investment professionals
AuM: £100m (third fund)

LOCATIONS
Offices: London

311
SECONDARY FUNDS

Cipio Partners Coller Capital

Palais am Lenbachplatz, Ottostrasse 8 33 Cavendish Square

80333 Munich, Germany London W1G 0TT
Tel +49 (0)89 55 06 96-0 United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 76 31 8500
www.cipiopartners.com
www.collercapital.com

STATS
STATS
Chief executive: Werner Dreesbach
Employer Type: Private company Founder and managing partner: Jeremy
Employees:13 investment professionals Coller
Employees: 102
AuM: $3.5bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: Munich • San Jose
LOCATIONS
Offices: London • New York
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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Greenpark Capital Limited Lexington Partners UK

57-59 St James's Street 42 Berkeley Square

London SW1A 1LD London W1J 5AW
United Kingdom United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7647 1400 Tel +44 (0)20 73 18 08 88

www.greenparkcapital.com www.lexingtonpartners.com

STATS STATS
CEO and Principal Founder: Marleen Managing Partner Europe: Marshall W.
Groen Parke
Employees: 16 (8 professionals) Employees: 45
AuM: €5bn ($12bn worldwide)

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: London
Offices: London • Boston • Menlo Park
• New York (HQ)
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

313
 Nova Capital Paul Capital

11 Strand 4th Floor, Mellier House

London WC2N 5HR 26a Albemarle Street
United Kingdom London W1S 4HY
Tel +44 (0)20 7389 1540 United Kingdom
Tel +44 (20) 7514 0750
www.nova-cap.com
www.paulcapital.com

STATS
STATS
Founder & Managing Director: David
Williamson Founder: Philip S. Paul
Employees: 18 professionals Employer Type: Independent private
AuM: €600m company
Employees: 60 professionals
AuM: $4bn in total, about half in buyout
LOCATIONS and growth secondaries
Offices: London • Essex (US)
LOCATIONS
CAREERS CONTACT Offices: London • Paris • New York
(HQ) • San Francisco • Toronto
[email protected]

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Pomona Capital Vision Capital

16 Hanover Square 54 Jermyn Street

London W1S 1HT London SW1Y 6LX
United Kingdom United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 74 08 94 33 Tel +44 (0)20 7389 6410

www.pomonacapital.com
STATS

STATS Chief Executive: Julian Mash

Employer Type: Private company
Founder and CEO: Michael Granoff Employees: 18 (13 investment
Employer Type: Private company professionals)
(strategic partnership with ING) AuM: €600m
Employees: 17
AuM: €850m ($4bn worldwide)
LOCATIONS

CAREERS CONTACT Offices: London

[email protected]
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

315
FUND OF FUNDS

Access Capital Partners Adam Street Partners

121, avenue des Champs-Elysées 20 Grosvenor Place

75008 Paris London SW1X 7HN
France United Kingdom
Tel +33 1 56 43 61 00 Tel +44 (0) 20.7823.0640

www.access-capital-partners.com www.adamsstreetpartners.com

STATS STATS
Chairman & Managing Partner: Chief Executive: T. Bondurant French
Dominique Peninon Employer Type: Private Company
Employer Type: Private company Employees: 80
Employees: 27 (12 investment AuM: $15bn
professionals)
AuM: €2.1bn
LOCATIONS

LOCATIONS Offices: Chicago (HQ) • London •

Menlo Park • Singapore
Offices: Paris • Brussels • Munich

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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Adveq Management AG AIG Private Equity

Affolternstrasse 56 Baarerstrasse 8
CH-8050 Zurich, Switzerland CH-6300 Zug
Tel +41 (0)43 288 32 00 Switzerland
Tel +41 41 710 70 60
www.adveq.com
www.aigprivateequity.com

STATS
STATS
Board of directors: Allan S. Bufferd,
André P. Jaeggi & Bruno E. Raschle Chairman: Eduardo Leemann
Employer Type: Independent private Employer Type: Public company (listed
company APEN on SWX)
AuM: $3bn (2007) AuM: CHF 600m (out of $27bn
worldwide)

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Zurich • Frankfurt • New York
• Beijing Offices: Zug

CAREERS CONTACT CAREERS CONTACT

[email protected] [email protected]

317
 ALPHA Associates Altamar Private Equity

Talstrasse 66, P.O. Box 2038 Paseo de la Castellana 31

8022 Zurich, Switzerland 28046 Madrid, Spain
Tel +41 43 244 30 00 Tel +34 91 310 7230

www.alpha-associates.ch www.altamarcapital.com

STATS STATS
Chief Executive: Peter Derendinger President: Claudio Aguirre Peman
Employer Type: Private Company Employer Type: Independent private
Employees: 16 company
AuM: ~€500m Employees: 14 professionals
Offices: Madrid
AuM: €655m (2007)
LOCATIONS
Offices: Zurich
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Amanda Capital Plc ATP Private Equity

Partners
Aleksanterinkatu 15 A, PO Box 896
00101 Helsinki
Sjaeleboderne 2
Finland
DK-1122 Copenhagen
Tel +358 9 6829 600
Denmark
Tel +45 33 19 30 70
www.amandacapital.fi
www.atp-pep.com
STATS
Employer Type: Public company (HSE) STATS
AuM: €1.6bn
Managing partner: Torben Vangstrup
No. of employees: 16
AuM: €3bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: Helsinki
LOCATIONS
Offices: Copenhagen • New York

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

319
 Bregal Investments CAM Private Equity
Consulting & Verwaltungs-
2-5 Old Bond Street GmbH
4th floor
London, W1S 4PD
United Kingdom Zeppelinstr. 4–8
Tel + 44 207 408 1663 50667 Cologne, Germany
Tel +49 221-93 70 85-0
www.bregal.com
www.camprivateequity.com

STATS
STATS
Co-Chairmen: Louis Brenninkmeijer &
Yves de Balmann Executive Partner: Constantin von
Employees: 11 investment professionals Dziembowski
AuM: €3bn Employer Type: Independent private
fund of funds
No. of employees: 38
LOCATIONS AuM: €2.7bn
Offices: London • Jersey • New York
LOCATIONS
CAREERS CONTACT Offices: Cologne • Munich • Zurich
[email protected]
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Capital Dynamics Capital Z Investments

Partners
Bahnhofstrasse 22
6301 Zug
84 Brook Street
Switzerland
London W1K 5EH
Tel +41 41 748 84 44
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7866 6133
www.capdyn.com
www.capitalz.com/czip/index.html
STATS
Managing Director: Thomas Kubr STATS
Employer Type: Independent private
Chief Executive: Laurence Cheng
company
Employer Type: Private Company
No. of employees: 90 professionals
Employees: 15
AuM: $20bn
AuM: $2.25bn

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Zug • Birmingham • London •
Offices: London • New York • Hong
New York • San Francisco • Hong
Kong
Kong

321
 Capman Danske Private Equity
Partners
Korkeavuorenkatu 32
00130 Helsinki
Ny Kongensgade 10
Finland
1472 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Tel +358 9 6155 800
Tel +45 33 44 63 00
www.capman.com
www.danskeprivateequity.com

STATS
STATS
CEO: Heikki Westerlund
Managing Partner: John Danielsen
Employer Type: Subsidiary of CapMan
Employer Type: Part of Danske Bank
Plc, listed on HSE
Group
Employees: 80 (28 in buyout team)
Employees: 19 (11 investment
AuM: >€1.3bn
professionals)
AuM: €1.7bn
LOCATIONS
Offices: Helsinki • Copenhagen • LOCATIONS
Guernsey • Oslo • Stockholm
Offices: Copenhagen

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Finnish Industry Fondinvest Capital

Investment
33 rue de la Baume
75008 Paris, France
PO Box 685
Tel +33 (0)1 58 36 48 00
00101 Helsinki, Finland
Tel +358 9 680 36 80
www.fondinvest.com
www.industryinvestment.com
STATS
STATS Chairman & CEO: Charles Soulignac
Employer Type: Independent private
Managing director: Mr. Juha Marjosola
company
Employer Type: Government owned
Employees: 15
Employees: 18
AuM: €1.5bn
AuM: €360m

LOCATIONS LOCATIONS
Offices: Paris • San Francisco • Tokyo
Offices: Helsinki

CAREERS CONTACT CAREERS CONTACT

[email protected]
[email protected]

323
 Gartmore Private Equity Global Vision Private
Equity
Gartmore House, 8 Fenchurch Place
London EC3M 4PB
Westendstraße 16 – 22
United Kingdom
60325 Frankfurt, Germany
Tel +44 (0)20 77 82 21 91
Tel +49 (0) 69 978 400 05
www.gartmore.com/uk/privateequity
www.globalvision-ag.com

STATS
STATS
Managing director: Peter Gale
Chief executive: Dr. jur. Dieter Brender
Employer Type: Department of
Employer Type: Private Company
Gartmore Investment Management
AuM: €280m
Employees: 14
AuM: €2.9bn (2007)
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS Offices: Frankfurt
Offices: London
CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT [email protected]
[email protected]

324
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Golding Capital Partners HarbourVest International

Partners
Möhlstrasse 7
81675 Munich
Berkeley Square House, 8th Floor,
Germany
Berkeley Square
Tel +49 89 419 997-0
London W1J 6DB
United Kingdom
www.goldingcapital.com
Tel +44 (0)20 7399 9820

www.harbourvest.com
STATS
Managing director and founder: Jeremy
Golding STATS
Employer Type: Independent private
Managing directors: Edward W. Kane &
fund of funds
Brooks Zug
No. of employees: 26
Employer Type: Independent Private
AuM: €1.1bn
Company
Employees: 164 (63 investment
professionals)
LOCATIONS AuM: €2.38bn (latest European fund)
Offices: Munich • Luxembourg • San
Francisco
LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Boston (HQ) • Hong
CAREERS CONTACT Kong
[email protected]

325
 Henderson Equity Horizon21 Private Equity
Partners Holding

4 Broadgate 103 Wigmore Street, Nations House,

London EC2M 2DA Level 6
United Kingdom London W1U 1QS
Tel +44 (0)20 7818 2963 United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7170 9550
www.hendersonprivatecapital.com
www.horizon21.ch

STATS
STATS
Employer Type: Subsidiary of
Henderson Chief Executive: Harold Weiss
Employees: 10 investment executives (UK) Employer Type: Private Company.
AuM: £1.2bn (UK) Strategic alliance with Swiss Re
Employees: 130
AuM: ~CHF10bn (private equity funds
CAREERS CONTACT of funds)

[email protected]
LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Bratislava • Zurich •
Hong Kong • Cayman Islands

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 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

IDeA Capital Funds INVESCO Capital

3, via Borgonuovo 30 Finsbury Square

20121 Milan, Italy London EC2A 1AG
Tel +39 02 72 08 03 37 United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7065 4000
www.ideacapitalfunds.com
www.invescoprivatecapital.com

STATS
STATS
Managing Partner: Mario Barozzi
AuM: €400m Chief Executive: Greg Stoeckle
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 15
CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]
LOCATIONS
Offices: New York • San Francisco •
London

327
 Keyhaven Capital LGT Capital Partners

1 Richmond Mews Schützenstrasse 6, P.O. Box

London W1D 3DA CH-8808 Pfäffikon, Switzerland
United Kingdom Tel +41 55 415 96 00
Tel +44 (0)20 7432 6200
www.lgt-capital-partners.com
www.keyhavencapital.com

STATS
STATS
CEO: Dr. Roberto Paganoni
Co-founder and managing director: Employees: 100 (all activities)
Sasha van de Water AuM: $9bn (private equity worldwide)
Employer Type: Private Company
Employees: 6 investment professionals
LOCATIONS

LOCATIONS Offices: Pfäffikon • Dublin • New York

Offices: London

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

328
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

NORDCAPITAL Northgate Capital

Emissionshaus GmbH &
Cie. KG 1 Jermyn Street
London SW1Y 4UH
United Kingdom
Hohe Bleichen 12 Tel +44 (0)20 7961 6480
20354 Hamburg, Germany
Tel +49 (0)40 3008-0 www.northgatecapital.com

www.nordcapital.com
STATS

STATS Managing partner private equity:

Dr. Hosein Khajeh-Hosseiny
Chief executive: Florian Maack Employer Type: Independent Private
Employer Type: Private Company Company
AuM: €250m (Equitrust funds) Employees: 6 professionals
AuM: ~$800m

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]
LOCATIONS
Offices: London • San Francisco Bay
Area

329
 Pantheon Ventures Robeco Private Equity
Limited
Coolsingel 120
NL-Rotterdam 3011AG
Norfolk House, 31 St. James's Square
The Netherlands
London SW1Y 4JR
Tel +31 10 224 71 36
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)20 7484 6200
www.robeco.com/alternatives/eng/specif
ic/rai/private_equity.jsp
www.pantheonventures.com

STATS STATS
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Robeco
Chief executive: Rhoddy Swire
(with public fund listed on Euronext
Employer Type: Subsidiary of Russell
Amsterdam)
Investment Group, Northwestern
AuM: $2bn
Mutual Life
Employees: 71
AuM: $7.9bn (world)

LOCATIONS
Offices: London • Brussels • San
Francisco • Hong Kong • Sydney

330
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

RWB SCM Strategic Capital

RenditeWertBeteiligungen Management
AG
Kasernenstrasse 77b
8004 Zurich, Switzerland
Keltenring 5
Tel +41 43 499 49 49
82041 Oberhaching/Munich, Germany
Tel +49 (0)89 66 66 94-0
www.scmag.com
www.rwb-ag.de
STATS
STATS CEO & Founder: Dr. Stefan Hepp
Employer Type: Independent Private
Managing partner: Horst Guedel
Company
Employer Type: Private company.
Employees: 15 professionals
Partnership with Capvent
AuM: $5bn (including real estate)
Employees: 41
AuM: €825m
LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS Offices: Zurich
Offices: Munich • Innsbruck
CAREERS CONTACT
CAREERS CONTACT [email protected]
[email protected]

331
 SL Capital Partners Unigestion

1 George Street 8c avenue de Champel, PO Box 387

Edinburgh EH2 2LL 1211 Geneva 12, Switzerland
Scotland, United Kingdom Tel +41 22 704 41 11
Tel +44 131 245 0055
www.unigestion.com
privateequity.standardlifeinvestments.com

STATS
STATS
Managing Director PE: Dr. Hanspeter
Chief Executive: David Currie Bader
Employer Type: Subsidiary of the Employer Type: Independent Private
Employer Type: Standard Life Company
Investments group Employees: 20
Employees: 12 investment professionals AuM: €8bn (all asset classes)
AuM: €5.2bn

LOCATIONS
LOCATIONS
Offices: Geneva • Guernsey • London
Offices: Edinburgh • Munich • Paris • New York •
Singapore

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

332
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

VenCap International

King Charles House, Park End Street

Oxford OX1 1JD
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0)1865 79 93 00

www.vencap.com

STATS
Chairman & CEO: Michael Ashall
Employer Type: Independent Private
Company
Employees: 18
AuM: $1.5bn worldwide

LOCATIONS
Offices: Oxford

CAREERS CONTACT
[email protected]

333
 APPENDIX

Recommended Reading
Web Resources
Academic Sources
Industry Jargon (glossary)
About the Authors
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

APPENDIX

Appendix
RECOMMENDED READING

Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco (Collins) by Bryan Burrough & John
Helyar
Damodaran on Valuation: Security Analysis for Investment and Corporate Finance (Wiley
Finance) by Aswath Damodaran

WEB RESOURCES

www.evca.com (European Venture Capital Association)

www.bvca.com (British Venture Capital Association)
www.altassets.com
www.penews.com (Dow Jones’ Private Equity News Europe)
www.privateequitywire.co.uk
www.candover.com/english/media-centre/barometer

ACADEMIC SOURCES

Centre for Management Buy-Out Research

www.nottingham.ac.uk/business/cmbor/

Journal of Private Equity

www.iijournals.com/JPE

Chicago GSB
www.chicagogsb.edu/capideas/may04/privateequity.html

337
INDUSTRY JARGON (GLOSSARY)

Average IRR Catch-up

The arithmetic mean of the internal rates of Contract clause related to the distribution of
return, which is the discount rate that equates a private equity fund’s profit, on the basis of
the net present value (NPV) of an invest- which the management company is entitled
ment's cash inflows with its cash outflows. to a specified share of the carried interest
(catch-up), once the investors have regained
Buy-In Management Buyout (BIMBO) their original investment plus the hurdle rate,
until it has obtained a specified share of the
Transaction where existing management and carried interest that exceeds the repayment
outside managers join forces to buyout the of the investments (usually corresponding to
company. It therefore has characteristics of the carried interest percentage). After this
both a management buyout and a manage- the assets of the fund will be distributed to
ment buy-in. the investors and the management company
in a proportion that depends on the size of
Capital call the carried interest.

The management company asks for capital

from the investors in the fund it manages.
Clawback
Usually, investors commit themselves to pro- Contract clause that obliges the management
viding a certain amount of capital to a fund, company to return capital to the fund, if it has
and the management company draws down received more carried interest than was agreed.
these commitments in several stages, as the
fund makes new investments.
Diversification

Capital weighted average IRR Maximum proportion of fund that can be in-
vested in any one transaction. Typically 20-25
The average IRR weighted by fund size with per cent.
funds contributing to the average in propor-
tion to their size. This measure is accurate
only if all investments were made at once.
Distribution of proceeds
The order in which the sale proceeds and
Carried interest (“Carry”) profits are split between GP and LP.
The percentage of profits (generally 20-25
per cent) that GPs receive out of the profits Distribution to paid-in (DPI)
of the investments made by the fund. Typi- Cumulative distribution to limited partners as
cally, paid only after LPs receive their original
a proportion of the cumulative paid-in capital.
investment back

Dry powder
Cash reserves kept on hand to cover future
obligations. In private equity, it refers to the
uncalled but still available capital commitments.

338
 Vault Career Guide to Private Equity

Glossary
Due diligence Leveraged Buy-Out (LBO)
Audit of the various risks of a targeted invest-
Acquisition of a company with (significant)
ment by an investor; it can have various inde-
pendent components focusing on financial, debt financing.
legal, commercial, technological and environ-
mental aspects that are usually outsourced to Limited Partner (LP)
specialist firms.
The partner in a private equity fund who, un-
like the general partner, is not responsible for
Evergreen fund the fund’s financial liabilities. Typically an insti-
tutional investor who gives a mandate to the
A fund with no restriction on the operating
general partner.
period.

Management Buy-In (MBI)

Fund term
A corporate transaction in which an external
Life of the fund. Typically 10 years with two
group of managers buys the company, gener-
one year extensions possible. ally with the financial backing of a private eq-
uity investor.
General Partner (GP)
The partner in a private equity fund who is re- Management Buy-Out (MBO)
sponsible for all the financial liabilities of the fund. A corporate transaction in which a group of
the current managers buys the company,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) generally with the financial backing of a pri-
vate equity investor.
First public listing of the shares of a private
company on a stock exchange. Management fees
Compensation for the management of a fund's
Investment period activities, generally paid quarterly from the fund
Period during which the GP can make invest- to the general partner or the management
ments. Typically five or six years from the company. It is typically around 2 per cent of
date of closing for a 10 year fund. All com- the assets under management. It is often re-
mitments not drawn down are cancelled duced when paid on unrealised invested capital
after that. after the end of the investment period.

Key man clause Mezzanine

A clause that restricts the operations of the Financing that is senior to equity but normally
fund should certain key persons employed by subordinated to debt provided on normal
the management company leave the company. terms. It may contain features of both debt fi-
Most typically, the fund will stop investing. nancing and equity financing.

339
Monitoring/Director’s fees Secondary fund
Fees paid by the portfolio company to the Fund that acquires all or parts of existing
GP for acting as directors or for consul- portfolios from other private equity funds.
tancy services. Often set off in whole or
part against future management fees. Transaction fees
Fees paid by the portfolio company to the
NYSE
GP for deal services. Often set-off against
New York Stock Exchange future management fees.

Overhang Vintage year

Uncalled capital commitments (see “dry Year of fund formation.
powder”).

P2P (Public-to-Private)
Acquisition of the majority interest in a
publicly-listed company by a public tender
offer, often followed by a “squeeze out”
and subsequent delisting.

Pooled IRR
A method of calculating an aggregate IRR
by summing cash flows together to create
a portfolio cashflow and calculate IRR on it.

Preferred return (hurdle rate)

Return required by the LP on realised in-
vestments (or write-downs) before the
GP can share in the profits. Crucial to
protect the downside for LPs. Typically
set between 5-10 per cent.

Residual value
Estimated value of the fund, net of man-
agement fees and carry.

340
ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Marc Kitten is an affiliate professor of finance at ESCP-EAP and a partner at Candesic Strategy
Consultants, advising private equity investors in Europe. He holds an MBA from University of
Chicago GSB.

Edward Fraser and Jonas Golze just completed their graduate trainee program at Candesic
Strategy Consultants in London. Edward holds a M.Eng. Aerospace from Nottingham Univer-
sity and Jonas graduated from the WFI business school at the Catholic University of Eich-
staett-Ingolstadt in Germany. Edward is joining Jefferies, an investment bank, while Jonas will
complete his consulting training at Bain & Co.

342
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