This guide covers late stage private equity funds only, excluding venture 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.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
Marc Kitten, Edward Fraser, and Jonas Golze:
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 University and Jonas graduated from the WFI business school at the Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt in Germany. Edward is joining Jefferies, an investment bank, while Jonas will complete his consulting training at Bain & Co.
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