European venture capital is better positioned than ever before to emerge from the shadow of its buyout cousin. A group of the asset class’s biggest hitters discuss where they should
be taking the industry next.

How many of your portfolio companies would you reinvest with today? Has your royal flush turned into a busted flush? Is it time to fold or to raise the stakes? Real Deals is calling your hand.

A tumultuous 12 months on from the onset of the credit crunch, we asked 500 of the industry’s biggest hitters to name the most powerful people in European private equity.

The European Islamic Investment Bank is the first in a flood of new Middle Eastern institutions combining Western talent with Gulf dollars to invest in the European mid-market.

Ontario Teachers’ is not content to play the passive LP. The $110bn Canadian pension fund has cut out the middle man and is investing direct. Now it is coming to Europe.

For many, business earnings are holding up and panic has not yet set in. But those that don’t start to prepare for trouble today will find that tomorrow is too late.

Collapsed bridges, power outages and insatiable demand from emerging economies have rekindled the need for infrastructure investment. But despite a rush of new specialist funds, most continue to chase after the same old assets. Traditional private equity skill sets could unlock the sector’s real growth opportunities.

Investment banks and the big four are plummeting down the deal spectrum to keep busy. Independent advisers are preparing to take on the giants.

As conventional exit options dry up, direct secondaries transactions are beginning to hit GPs’ radars. Will the economic slowdown bring them into the mainstream?

After 20 years shaping one of the few successful captive buyout operations, the man who said “sod this” to an education is stepping down at Barclays Private Equity.

New players have entered the UK buyout market at an astonishing rate, and they are stealing market share.

It’s been seven years of hard labour since MTI last closed a fund – a stark indication of the state of Europe’s venture market. After a period of reflection and a change of approach, David Ward (left) and Ernie Richardson have bought MTI back into the early-stage venture business.

Single industry funds remain a rarity in Europe, unlike the more mature US. But as mainstream returns come under pressure, sector specialisation is gathering force.

BC Partners’ successful financing of the $3.25bn Migros deal is evidence that in Turkey, unlike the rest of the Western world, banks are still eager to do business. More deals are set to follow.

The large funding market is closed, syndications are stuck and secondary trading is gridlocked. It will get worse before it gets better.

Björn Savén, Chris Masek and Gustav Öhman on their latest fund, banking catastrophes and the benefits of racial stereotypes.

The might of the mega-fund has dominated the fundraising landscape in recent years.
But as credit woes threaten big buyout returns, LPs are fighting for a piece of the small deal pie.

Platina’s Thomas Rottner and Your Energy’s Richard Mardon deny that renewable energy is a bubble. In fact, the sector requires a whole ecosystem of businesses to support it. And private equity has a massive role to play.

Corporate venture investors are back in the market, but the best model for big companies backing new technologies remains a matter of fierce debate.

Corporate venture investors are back in the market, but the best model for big companies backing new technologies remains a matter of fierce debate.

Five years after rescuing aircraft engine parts manufacturer Firth Rixson following a prolonged share price nosedive, Carlyle nets “excellent” return.

Spain has been a hot spot for M&A and private equity, with high-profile deals and a raft of mid-market entrants. But as the market slows, a wall of money is fighting over ever fewer deals.

Starting life as a niche regional buyout house around 15 years ago, after a spin-out from Investor AB, EQT has long outgrown its native Scandinavia. In an exclusive interview with Real Deals, founding partner Conni Jonsson reveals that more expansion is on the agenda.

As the European buyout industry faces severe credit tightening, seven experts discuss whether asset-based lending could be a solution for mainstream private equity.

In just over ten years, Axa Private Equity has become one of the biggest global brands in the sector. Dominique Senequier, the driving force behind this growth, talks exclusively to Real Deals.

With €15bn of fire power, a five-year-old Greek bank has become one of the most powerful buyout groups in Europe. Its chief executive, Dennis Malamatinas, talks about the extraordinary rise of Marfin Investment Group.

Unknown in Europe just months ago, HIG has swept up €600m and a raft of top deal-doers to take on the Old World.

Who is the most powerful person in European private equity? We asked 250 of the industry’s biggest hitters – here’s their top 20.

An industry in crisis: four buyout chiefs may have struck a blow for private equity in the most recent Select Committee hearing, but the asset class remains at the top of the Treasury’s hit list.

To meet the needs of an increasingly diverse membership base, EVCA is undergoing a radical restructuring. Its success is vital to the health of European private equity firms, both great and small.

Ten years after WARBURG PINCUS completed its first deal in the Czech Republic, managing director Joseph Schull and principal Robert Feuer talk about the firm’s strategy for Central and Eastern Europe.

In anyone’s book, leaving a decade-old global network to form an international business starting with just three offices is brave. Livingstone is banking on its success.

The UK’s private equity industry faces a defining moment. In response to escalating criticism from all quarters, the BVCA has commissioned a working group, made up of ten industry leaders and led by Sir David Walker, former chairman of Morgan Stanley, to review the prevailing level of transparency and disclosure.

Bridgepoint has acquired one of Europe’s fastest-growing retailers, clothing brand Fat Face, from Advent International for £360m (€530m) in a deal which took just over 48 hours to complete.

“We look for ambitious, entrepreneurial charities that are eager and hungry to create an impact. We want the leaders of tomorrow.” Daniela Barone Soares, Impetus Trust

Six months after quietly closing its debut tech fund, Atlantic Bridge Ventures burst on to the big buyout scene with a £265m carve-out from LogicaCMG.

As billionaire playboys dominate the race to buy Aston Martin, buyout houses are increasingly being overtaken in their pursuit of trophy assets by private investors. Ignore these wealthy upstarts at your peril.