* Michael Smith stepping down in January, 2013
* Three co-chairmen taking the reins
* First job to raise 10 bln euros from investors
By Douwe Miedema and Sarah White
LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) – CVC Capital Partners veteran
Michael Smith will step down as chairman in January 2013 and
hand the reins to a trio of dealmakers whose first job will be
to raise 10 billion ($12.93 billion) euros from investors.
Smith, who has spent 30 years at CVC from its origins as
Citicorp Venture Capital – a subsidiary of Citigroup –
will be succeeded by Donald Mackenzie, Rolly van Rappard and
Steve Koltes as co-chairmen.
“CVC has always been run as a partnership, making important
decisions by consensus,” Mackenzie said in a press release, in a
sign that the succession was unlikely to spark a big shift in
the buy-out house’s strategy.
CVC this year sold a 10 percent stake to three sovereign
wealth funds: the Kuwait Investment Authority, the Government of
Singapore Investment Corporation, and the Hong Kong Monetary
Authority, a person familiar with the matter has said.
Such powerful backers are using their clout to negotiate
better deals and breaks on fees from the private equity firms
they invest in. They can also get the right of first refusal on
investments, and earn a slice of bonuses.
CVC is targeting to raise about 10 billion euros for deals
at the beginning of next year, people familiar with the
situation have previously said, which would make it one of the
largest funds since the financial crisis.
The three men have worked together at CVC – which has
investments in Formula One and theme parks group Merlin
Entertainment – for more than 20 years.
Koltes will assume Smith’s responsibilities for investor
relations while Mackenzie will chair the group board meetings
and continue as chairman of the investment and portfolio
committees, CVC said in the statement.
Van Rappard will continue to chair the two private equity
boards in Europe and North America and in the Asia-Pacific
region that are responsible for day-to-day management of the
private equity business, the company said.
