SGAM acquires Baring CEE portfolio

Société Générale Asset Management Alternative Investments (SGAM AI) Private
Equity, the private equity arm of French financial services group Société Générale, has acquired Baring Corilius Private Equity (BCPE).
 
The transaction involves the acquisition of BCPE, a private equity fund management team specialising in investments in Central and Eastern Europe. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
 

One of the appeals of this transaction for the two teams is that we’re both very focused on investing in the CEE mid-market, which is, we believe, a very interesting space right now. William Watson, CIO, SGAM

William Watson, formerly a partner at BCPE and now chief investment officer for private equity Eastern and Central Europe at SGAM, told PEO that the BCPE team is being merged with the existing Société Générale Central and Eastern European team with the exception of former managing partner Gyuri Karady, who has opted to step down from active involvement but will remain a member of the investment committee. Watson was unable to comment on Karady’s future.

The transaction will bring SGAM Private Equity’s team to 10 professionals, covering the Baltic countries, Central Europe and the Balkans. BCPE’s office in Warsaw, Poland will be maintained, and its office in Romania will be merged with SGAM’s Romanian office in Bucharest. SGAM AI Private Equity also operates out of SGAM headquarters in Paris.

Following completion, SGAM AI Private Equity will manage the vintage 1999 €86 million Baring Central European Fund. Watson said the fund is not fully invested but is currently “finishing up its investment activity”. Transactions that are already in progress will be completed under the new ownership.

Watson added that the deal would be complementary to SGAM Private Equity as it launches its €150 million fund investing in Central and Eastern Europe. SGAM Private Equity announced that it was in the process of launching the fund in November of last year. “One of the appeals of this transaction for the two teams is that we’re both very focused on investing in the CEE mid-market, which is, we believe, a very interesting space right now,” said Watson. “It’s one that is being vacated by a lot of players as they look to raise bigger and bigger funds. We’re excited about the opportunities that a fund of that size would give us as the target transactions are a little below the radar screens of a lot of our competitors.”
 

Watson: new fund below the radar screens of competitors

The move follows the sale of the management company of Baring Private Equity Partners to London-based specialist secondary investor Nova Capital earlier this month. As part of the deal, Nova acquired the Baring European Private Equity Fund and the Baring English Growth Fund.
 
Baring Private Equity International was not available for comment, but Watson said that “within the Barings family, there remain a number of strong and successful teams, including Baring Vostok Capital Partners, focused on Russia, as well as teams focused on Asia, India and Latin America.”