3i

Infobox_Company
company_name = 3i plc
company_
company_type = Public company (lse|III)
foundation = 1945 (created by a syndicate of British banks)
location = flagicon|GBR London, England, United Kingdom
key_people = Baroness Hogg, Chairman
Philip Yea, CEO |, Jamie Paton, Head of North Asia
revenue = £1,041m (2008)
operating_income= profit £834m (2008)
net_income = profit £828m (2008)
homepage = [http://www.3i.com/ www.3i.com]
num_employees = 765 (2007)
industry = Venture capital and Private equity

3i Group PLC (lse|III) is a leading venture capital and private equity firm: it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

Today 3i Group is one of the largest publicly traded capital groups in the world, operating worldwide with €1.5bn of new investments made per annum.

History

The company was formed in 1945, as the Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation (ICFC), by the Bank of England and the major British banks to provide long term investment funding for small and medium-sized enterprises. Its foundation was inspired by the government, and resulted from the recognition in the 1930s, given new impetus in the postwar era, that smaller businesses faced a gap in available corporate finance: the banks were unwilling to provide long-term capital and the companies were too small to raise capital from the public markets.

During the 1950s and 1960s, particularly after 1959 when the shareholder banks allowed it to raise external funds, ICFC expanded to become the largest provider of venture capital for unquoted companies in the United Kingdom. In 1973 ICFC acquired Finance Corporation for Industry, a sister company also formed in 1945 which focused on finance for large companies, and was renamed Finance for Industry (FFI). In the 1980s FFI became a leading provider of finance for management buyouts, and expanded internationally. In 1983 the company was renamed Investors in Industry, commonly known as 3i.

3i Group was created in 1987 when the banks sold off their stakes to form a public limited company. In 1994 the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of £1.5 billion. [ [http://www.3i.com/about3i/history-of-3i.html 3i website: History] ] Until that time the company had only managed its own portfolio of investments, but in 1994 the company began managing funds for external investors. Since that time the company has continued its international expansion, making a number of acquisitions in Europe and more recently starting operations in Asia.

Operations

The company undertakes buyouts, growth capital investments, infrastructure investments and quoted private equity.

Notable current investments

Current investments include:

* NCP: this investment was acquired in July 2005 from from Cinven. 3i has since entered into a partial sale of that business. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/mar/14/privateequity.prebudgetreport2006 NCP partial sale nets £235m for 3i] ]

* Scandlines: on June 19 2007, Deutsche Bahn AG and the Danish transport ministry announced the sale of Scandlines for 1,560 million Euros to a consortium consisting of 3i, Allianz Capital Partners and Deutsche Seereederei (DSR) Rostock. DSR will hold 20%, 3i and Allianz both 40%. [ [http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=5505933 Business Week] ]

* Agent Provocateur: in November 2007 3i acquired the lingerie business. [ [http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/business/s/1024686_3i_buys_agent_provocateur 3i buys Agent Provocateur] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.3i.com/ Official site]
* [http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=III.L Yahoo profile]