AIG to spend US$700m in CEE

AIG Capital Partners, a member company of the US$20bn AIGGIG group, closed its New Europe Fund II with more that US$700m in capital commitments. The firm raised about US$260m for its first European buyout fund in 1998. With investment staff in Warsaw, Bucharest and Budapest, NEF II will focus on the CEE region, which is currently benefiting from increased domestic consumer demand and a shift in the manufacturing base from Western Europe.

“CEE is primed for private equity investing, with enhanced deal flow and consolidation opportunities stemming from European Union accession. Our team constantly reviews new promising opportunities with attractive valuations and the right expansion strategies to be successful. In addition, there is tremendous value investing in a region with relatively few experienced private equity competitors,” said Pierre Mellinger, managing director, AIG Capital Partners and CEO of NEF II. “This local network optimises deal sourcing, facilitates the execution of investments, and greatly supports the value creation in those companies,” said David Yeung,president and CEO of AIG Capital Partners. “As with many of our private equity funds, our investment teams are culturally connected and speak the languages of the local companies in which we invest.”