Last word

The EVCA, BVCA and France’s Association Francaise des Investisseurs en Capital have issued joint guidelines for private equity firms. They said the guidelines were open for endorsement by private equity firms worldwide. The guidelines provide a view as to what is fair value across internal funding rounds, bridge financing, mezzanine and rolled up loan interest. Interested parties can access them at www.privateequityvaluation.com. A similar strategy was developed in the US in 2003 by PEIGG due to lack of standards in portfolio valuation.

• Natexis Banques Populaires has been mandated to underwrite and arrange the debt backing the secondary LBO of Financiere Courtepaille. ING Parcom is sponsor. Debt will consist of senior and mezzanine elements. Calyon has already joined the senior loan as mandated arranger. A junior mezzanine facility and PIK bond are being provided by Euromezzanine. The facility also refinances the existing debt of Financiere Courtepaille and operating company Serare, and provides working capital and capex facilities for Serare’s future use. The deal should close in April, with syndication due to launch in May. Barclays Private Equity acquired Courtepaille from Accor Group in 2000.
• Tilney, the asset management company focused on high net worth private clients, has been acquired by Bridgepoint. Tilney, which manages US$5bn in assets, is the fourth largest independent provider of wealth management services in the UK. Its primary offering is an asset management service using multiple asset classes including equity, fixed interest, commercial property and hedge funds. It is a market leader in the application of its service in the Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) market. Tilney was a division of Charterhouse from 1986. It was bought out in 1993 through a £5.5m management buyout, although no equity sponsor was involved.