But this risk is a sine qua non of the LBO

In a few years, manager took a prominent place in operations to leverage effect (LBO). All financial actors place recognize is, with his closest collaborators, human key to the process. Especially, if, as is increasingly the case, the leader has to his credit two or three LBO (see also page 11). Now knowing the music, it may, at least in part, impose its tempo and some of his wishes to the investors.

It is true that in short time, with the multiplication of money candidates to the LBO, especially in the segments of the operations of medium size (from 200 to 600 million euros) and larger transactions (over EUR 1 billion), the force evolved for managers. The latter are more only essential to the growth of the company, but they are also now partners in the process of output. What makes some of them sometimes to pursue their choice of the partner Fund in the case of a LBO bis.

Accompanied by various Councils, they can also dissect the different forms of engagement, "package management" in jargon, available to them. "The imbalance between supply and demand has led to some of the excesses," says Jérôme de Metz, founder and partner of Mbopartenaires, a small LBO fund size, less affected by this phenomenon. Result: prices soar and including the package (see page 6). A situation, still fairly recent, that the number of financial investors are struggling to accept.

Plethora of family SMEs

Who are the managers Many are large groups through assignments of non-strategic considered subsidiaries or needed to be get out of debt. Vivendi has been a great provider of LBO. Tomorrow, the new Suez-GDF may also be. The key men are often executives of these subsidiaries, too happy to finally be able to fly their own wings. But the largest battalions of these entrepreneurs of a new type of family SMEs. These companies remaining in numbers, the most frequent targets of the LBO specialists.

In either case, to get their patent of pilotage, they must invest significant amounts in the company. This can be problematic for managers of SMEs family little accustomed to wearing the hat of shareholders. But this risk is a sine qua non of the LBO. Playing a significant part of its heritage, the leader changes size. And his involvement in the success of the operation is of course that more great. "The manager of SMEs is attached to the quality of the shareholder and the fate of the company", observes Xavier Moreno, associate of the Astorg, actor of the "mid cap" Fund.

The success of the LBO is in any case the envy. "Patterns of divisions of large groups come see us to learn," he said again. But financiers must also argue with family SMEs, for many, unfamiliar type LBO montages. "" We to be imaginative and to propose a solution of interesting heritage diversification, says Jérôme de Metz. The idea may be to enter as a minority and to recruit all the successor of the founder. Discharged in part, the latter will have diversified its heritage and may, for example, launch an external growth operation. "Because a single leitmotif brings together actors of a LBO: the growth of the company. Only to ensure the financial success of the operation.