April 2003 Issue

Montagu Private Equity. Sound familiar? The middlemarket buyout firm that became HSBC Private Equity in 1996 is now independent and doing business under its original name and away from the concerns that sometimes accompany in-house private equity groups. Montagu currently manages a €2bn fund that closed in October, half of it raised from HSBC and half from third-party limited partners. The firm also has another €1bn under management on behalf of HSBC in a legacy portfolio. Private Equity International talks to Montagu's CEO Chris Masterson.

As is so often the case with good things, it doesn't take long for some to start pondering its demise. Such is the situation with the private equity market in France, where there has been a proliferation of funds chasing mid-market transactions. Is there now too much money crowding into too small a market? Is France just the current hot market, enjoying a backwash in sentiment for Germany? Or is this a market that has genuinely come of age? Nicholas Lockley investigates.

Fund Greenpark International Investors I Firm Greenpark Capital Amount Raised $200m Fund Type Secondaries Amount Targeted $200m Status Final close Investors Hanover Re and Friends Provident. Geographical Focus Europe and North America Advisors Nick Beteiligungen (P) Denning & Co (P) Sectoral Focus Old economy Fund Permira Europe III Firm Permira Sectoral Focus Business services, healthcare, […]

Jim Leech may be the only 1980s leveraged buyout player to end up working for a public pension. But to understand how he got here from there, you need to understand Jim Leech, and you need to understand the Ontario Teachers' Merchant Bank, both of which have followed exceedingly unusual paths to success. He talks to David Snow about the principles and practicalities that have helped make this unique style of private equity investing happen.

Private equity firms that invest in healthcare and life sciences have reason to feel more invigorated these days. After years of hype and subsequent disappointment, healthcare now seems at the cusp of a full recovery, thanks to a greater focus on management teams and a marked appetite among large pharmaceutical companies for acquisitions. Simon Sheppard reports.

Fundraising is hard work at present, and much less of it is going on. The relative drought of the past two years has been taxing on placement agents, not least because more of them have come into the market and have ended up competing for less business. But everyone is convinced that fundraising will come back in 2004. The trick is to be ready when this happens: the result is that banks, boutiques and one-person-bands are feverishly preparing for this next wave. Philip Borel reports.

European financial sponsors are discovering the appeal of asset-backed finance. Sale and leaseback technicians are confident that partnering with European private equity investors will result in good business going forward.

Placement frenzy Staff 2003-04-01 Writer Placement agents are buzzing around the market, hunting for mandates and a better grasp of what might tickle the buyside's fancy at the moment. Finding good product that hits the spot is tough. That's one reason why activity is still painfully slow, but