The head of Axa Private Equity is calling for a voluntary code of conduct on how the profits are divvied up by European buyout shops after a series of lucrative exits caused an uproar in France.
Axa's CEO Dominique Senequier
told the Financial Times that:
Europe's private equity groups should draw up a voluntary
code of conduct on how profits made from deals should be split among
investors, managers and staff. ... The call comes after several deals in
France triggered public uproar about multi-million euro payouts to the
managers of companies sold by private equity.
At the center of the storm was the €2 billion ($3.2 billion) secondary buyout of
Converteam by LBO France. The sale by Barclays Private Equity included
a €700 million payout to the company's top eight managers. The deal
sparked fears within other European private equity firms of a
legislative backlash. Sovereign wealth funds have already
started
working on their own code of conduct to head off the potential devising
of legislation to regulate their activities.
- George White
See FT story
See Dealscape post on sovereign wealth funds
