Deutsche’s EMEA buyout chief Gaynor moves to RREEF

LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) – Nick Gaynor, Deutsche Bank’s top banker to private equity houses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), has moved to the bank’s alternative asset management unit to help boost its fledgling private equity business.

Gaynor, previously the bank’s EMEA head of financial sponsors coverage, has become a managing director at the private equity arm of Deutsche’s RREEF Alternative Investments, a spokeswoman for RREEF said on Tuesday.

RREEF Private Equity had €200m of assets under management at end-2008, a fraction of RREEF’s total €53.3bn of assets, which are mostly in real estate and infrastructure.

Gaynor will lead RREEF Private Equity’s entrance into making direct private equity investments and co-investments, the spokeswoman said. Gaynor will report to Chuck Leitner, global head of RREEF Alternative Investments

His old post will not immediately be filled.

Deutsche Bank has been one of the top European advisers to private equity firms, ranking 5th by dollar value for EMEA deals in 2006 and 2007. It ranked first last year, as overall acquisitions by private equity firms in the region plunged by more than 60 percent.

Gaynor joined Deutsche from Goldman Sachs in 2004. His recent deals include advising Charterhouse Capital Partners on the US$1.6bn sale of acrylic products maker Lucite International to Japan’s Mitsubishi Rayon Co (3404.T).

(Reporting by Quentin Webb; Editing by Andrew Macdonald)