Mid-market private equity firm 3i has agreed to sponsor a professorship at German university Johann Wolfgang Goethe to further research and education in the private equity field.
“We have a particular interest in advancing education and research in the area of private equity and in improving the understanding of the contribution this form of finance makes to society,” said 3i partner Stephan Kruemmer.
3i will provide the chair €200,000 ($317,000) in funding per year for six years with a review following the third year. No candidate for the position has yet been named. The university is seeking individuals with both domestic and international teaching and research experience.
The gift follows the example of others including Dallas, Texas-based private equity firm HM Capital, previously Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst. The firm’s partners donated $6 million to the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business in 2000 to form one of the US’s first centres for the study of private equity.
Johann Wolfgang Goethe University is a privately funded university founded in 1914 in Frankfurt, Germany.
3i has maintained offices in Germany for 25 years. The firm’s German office earlier this year added to its team growth capital head Klaus Weber.
The firm’s current portfolio includes such German companies as power generation company DEUTZ Power Systems, ferry company Scandlines and connecting technology company NORMA Group.