- PAI Partners
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PAI partners 
Type Private Ownership Industry Private Equity Founded 1998 Headquarters Paris, France Products Private equity funds Total assets €11 billion[1] Employees 50 Website www.paipartners.com PAI partners is a major European private equity house and is the leading private equity investor in the French market. It is one of the oldest and most experienced firms in the sector with its origins dating back to Paribas Affaires Industrielles, the historical principal investment activity of Paribas, which started operations in 1872. PAI manages and advises dedicated private equity funds with a total equity value of over €7 billion. Over the last decade, PAI has led 45 transactions in 8 European countries for a value of more than €30 billion.
PAI has a team of 50 highly experienced professionals with diverse backgrounds. With professionals from 9 European countries and teams in Paris, Copenhagen, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan and Munich, PAI has an in-depth knowledge of its target markets.
Contents
History
PAI's origins date back to Paribas Affaires Industrielles, the historical principal investment activity of Paribas, the pan-European merchant bank which merged with Banque Nationale de Paris in 1999. PAI was originally formed to manage the private equity investments of BNP Paribas. In 1993, Amaury de Seze joined Paribas Affaires Industrielles as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Under his leadership, PAI developed a strategy in private equity that capitalized on the team's familiarity with industrial sectors.
Paribas Affaires Industrielles led the €610 million buyout of Danone’s pasta and condiment unit in 1997, at that time the largest leveraged buyout ever completed in France. The following year, the firm finalized fundraising for its first third party investment fund, raising €650 million of investor commitments. PAI completed a full spinout from BNP in 2000 and the following year raised a new €1.8 billion private equity fund.
History of private equity
and venture capital
Early history
(Origins of modern private equity)
•
The 1980s
(LBO boom)
•
The 1990s
(LBO bust and the VC bubble)
•
The 2000s
(Dot-com bubble to the credit crunch)On May 6, 2008, PAI announced the final closing of its most recent private equity investment Fund, PAI Europe V, with €5.4 billion ($8.3 billion) of investor commitments.[2] [3][4] Prior to 1998, PAI invested exclusively on the balance sheet of BNP Paribas. PAI LBO Fund, established in 1998, was the first PAI investment vehicle managing third party capital.
In September 2009, PAI's CEO Dominique Megret was forced to step down in favor of Lionel Zinsou, who came from N.M. Rothschild. The move was described as a "coup d’etat" which has caused discord among both the firm's professionals and investors. In response, PAI has offered investors an opportunity to reduce the size of PAI Europe V, raised in 2007 and 2008, by almost 40%. [5]
Investment funds
Since 1998, PAI has raised four investment funds:
- PAI LBO Fund, 1998 - €650 million
- PAI Europe III, 2001 - €1.8 billion
- PAI Europe IV, 2005 - €2.7 billion
- PAI Europe V, 2008 - €2.7 billion
Investments
Historically, PAI managed Paribas' stakes in large food and consumer goods companies across Europe: Royal Canin (European leader in dry pet food), Diana Ingredients (natural food ingredients), Evialis (animal feed), Saupiquet (ready meals), LDC (premium poultry), Navidul (cured ham - Spain), SOS Arana (rice - Spain) and helped them consolidate their respective sector. PAI has completed a large number of leveraged buyouts of market leading European companies in recent years including several of the most significant in Europe. The most recent transactions in consumer goods and services, healthcare as well as general industrial companies are highlighted below:
- fr:Kiloutou: Equiment rental services
- Swissport: Ground and cargo handling services
- The Nuance Group: Travel retail and duty free industry
- Hunkemöller: Lingerie specialist retailer
- Cerba European Lab: Specialised biology laboratory
- Xella: Aircrete blocks
- Atos Origin: IT services providers
- Kaufman & Broad: Developer and builder of homes
- United Biscuits: Biscuits and snacks
- SPIE: Multitechnical services
- Perstorp: Added value ingredients for the coatings industry
- Global Closure Systems: Plastic closures
- Cortefiel: Cloting retailer
- Chr. Hansen: Cultures for the dairy industry
- FTE Automotive: Clutch actuation components and systems
External links
- PAI partners (company website)
- PAI partners BusinessWeek Profile
References
- ^ Funds raised since inception
- ^ Smiddy, Oliver "PAI falls short of target despite extension." Dow Jones Financial News, May 6, 2008
- ^ "PAI partners latest to close European fund." The Deal, May 6, 2008
- ^ "PAI partners closes private equity fund PAI Europe V at 5.4 billion euros." Thomson Financial, May 6, 2008
- ^ PAI’s ‘Coup d’Etat’ Shows LBO Firms’ Feuds Over Power, Strategy. Bloomberg, September 29, 2009
- "Builder To Sell Water Unit." New York Times, November 16, 2004
- Timmons, Heather "Private Equity Investors Are Reshaping the Landscape of European Business." New York Times, May 5, 2005
Private equity and venture capital investment firms Investment strategy 
History History of private equity and venture capital · Early history of private equity · Private equity in the 1980s · Private equity in the 1990s · Private equity in the 2000sInvestors Institutional Investors · Pension funds · Insurance companies · Endowments · Investment Banks · Merchant banks · Fund of funds · High net worth individuals · Angel investors · Family offices · Sovereign wealth fundsPrivate equity firms · Venture capital firms · Portfolio companies Categories:- Private equity firms
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