Western Europe and North America

Our GPE portfolio companies are generally standing up well against the challenges of the economic climate. With little debt available during 2009, opportunities for new investment remained scarce. However, with fewer competitors active and a strong pipeline, we are well-placed to pursue the most attractive options.

Central and Eastern Europe

Our ACEE portfolio has proved resilient in difficult markets. Having had the benefit of seeing the impact of the downturn in the US and Western Europe, we took early steps to prepare our portfolio companies, particularly in more exposed sectors. Investment conditions are becoming more predictable. The expansion of our team has enabled us to apply a more sector-focused approach to our activities and our Prague office led its first investment in 2009 with Devin.

Latin America

The impact of the recession has been less severe in Latin America than elsewhere and markets have been quick to recover. The environment for private equity investment is improving. In an active year for our Latin American program, we were involved in all of the major deals in Brazil worth over US$100m. We also fully or partially exited six investments in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Our remaining portfolio companies have mostly fared well despite the market volatility.

Asia Pacific

We expanded our physical footprint in the region by opening an office in India. The environment in Japan has been difficult but interesting opportunities are beginning to emerge. Having raised our first dedicated fund for direct investment in Japanese companies in 2008, our experienced local team is ready to take advantage as market confidence grows.

Operating highlights

We hired 21 investment professionals in 2009, taking our total number worldwide to over 150. We also strengthened the global infrastructure of our business with the addition of 17 managerial and administrative professionals. The size of our team and the proactive approach of our people are significant advantages in committing the time and effort required to bring deals to fruition in the current investment climate. Our investment professionals meet regularly – regionally and globally – to share their investment knowledge and ideas. The high level of retention within our team supports global teamwork and enhances our ability to build long-term relationships with target companies, intermediaries and vendors. The continuity of knowledge that this provides is also an important factor in driving incremental improvement at our portfolio companies.

Working together side by side, our most experienced investment professionals transfer their knowledge and skills to the next generation, contributing to their professional development and maintaining the unique culture and traditions of our firm. As an example, in Brazil half of our deal team have progressed from junior to senior level.

In 2009, we brought 20 new operating partners into our program to work on sourcing new deals and support management teams in different ways.