Credit Lyonnais restructures private equity

French bank Crédit Lyonnais has merged its private equity businesses into a single unit, Crédit Lyonnais Private Equity. The new division will combine Clam Private Equity, a manager of third party funds, and Crédit Lyonnais’ in-house private equity funds, set up for the bank’s own investments. The restructuring is part of a realignment of the group’s human and financial resources in the private equity division. The new group is a 60-strong team with 35 investment professionals and €482 million funds under management.

The division is being headed by Stéphane Monmousseau, CEO of Clam Private Equity since May 2000. He will report to Alain Papiasse, a member of Crédit Lyonnais’ executive committee. The management teams will focus on four sectors of investment – venture capital, expansion capital, LBO and mezzanine.

There are already three new plans in the pipeline. Lion Capital Investment has been launched for private investors wanting exposure to broad range of private equity investments. The fund has a target of €40 million to €80 million and is due to close by the end of March. The second offering is a mezzanine fund hoping to reach a target of €200 million by mid-year. The third fund will be targeting the growing secondaries market and is planned to launch in the second half of the year with a target of between €25 million and €75 million.