Goldman hires European PE co-head

Global investment bank Goldman Sachs has hired Sanjay Patel as co-head of its European private equity division.

Patel, who joins the firm from alternative investment manager GSC Partners, will head the private equity team alongside Hughes Lepic.

Patel joins as managing director and will also become a member of the group’s investment committee. He will report to Richard Sharp, head of the principal investment area in Europe.

Sharp said in a statement: “Goldman Sachs expects to remain a very active participant in private equity and Sanjay Patel’s appointment reaffirms that.” 

Goldman Sachs is reportedly in the process of raising an $8 billion (€6 billion) private equity fund. The firm has recently been involved in two of the largest private equity transactions on both sides of the Atlantic.

Last week the firm was part of the seven-strong consortium of private equity houses that agreed to pay $11.3 billion for US financial software company SunGard. The following day, the firm also made a €3.8 billion bid along with Nordic firm EQT to acquire Danish facility services company ISS.

A number of investment banks have recently announced their withdrawal from the private equity sphere and closed their dedicated units including Deutsche Bank and UBS. In March, JP Morgan Chase announced its intention to spin off its private equity arm JP Morgan Partners.

Also in March, Credit Suisse First Boston reassessed its strategy for its private equity arm, DLJ Merchant Banking, following the departure of head Thompson Dean. The firm decided not to spin out the unit and will continue to raise a fourth vehicle for middle market buyouts and selective minority investments in larger buyout transactions.

The moves follow growing concerns from private equity houses worried about conflicts of interest from the private equity arms of banks to which they pay large amounts in investment banking fees.