It must then pass the hand and as soon as possible

The outgoing President of the French Association of capitalists who will put its mandate on 15 June, considers that the crisis is coming. While industry is negotiating a code of good conduct with banks for distressed LBO, Pierre de Fouquet said that all measures must converge to preserve operational companies, believing that "the crisis is not behind, but before us".

You are closing a mandate of crisis. Has the profession not reacted late

I do not share this criticism. Following the bankruptcy of Lehman, investors asked very quickly to their portfolio companies to take measures to deal with the crisis. End of 2008, the main actors of the LBO found that there were still many failures of "covenants", with the exception of a few sectors, but that the situation would deteriorate in 2009, some companies in the inability to stop a budget. The crisis is not behind but before us: there will be difficulties related to the slowdown of the upwelling of dividends and they will cover a large number of cases. So far, these difficulties should not jeopardize the companies themselves.

However, the LBO companies are more vulnerable than others...

Not necessarily. In some cases, the company can no longer generate enough of cash to repay its debt. This is the initial editing of LBO which poses problem and must be redesigned. In others, the company no longer has enough cash for its current operations and risk to put the key under the door. When your order book saves a 40 decline, everyone can understand that the problem is no longer the LBO debt, but the possible survival of the company.

In both cases, the funds are expected to support their businesses. The commitments made to the Ombudsman appear inconclusive as such...

Few records have been transmitted by the mediation and I remember that it is not primarily the LBO companies. We signed the agreement with the Ombudsman of the credit of the mobilization of the profession for the treatment of the difficulties of financing of SMEs, at least for those likely to allow investors to their capital. Finally, it is too early to draw a balance for our profession of the agreement signed a few weeks ago.

Funds do not tend to push the difficulties, renegotiating all the terms of the debt

It is a solution in itself. If only the holding company encounters difficulties related to the reimbursement of the debt of acquisition must be that, whatever disputes between investors and bankers, they find together a solution which pollutes not operational society. This type of situation leads in General to a rescheduling of the debt of acquisition adjusted cash flow levels. If, however, it is the operational company who is in need of capital, the Fund invested in the holding company must participate in the financing. But may it cannot or do not like it. It must then pass the hand and as soon as possible. These are basic principles of a code of conduct we offer banks to share.

These difficulties lowers your ability to raise new resources

Today it is the central issue for the venture capital and development capital, not to the LBO. Institutional collection is frozen since September and this wait is fatal. In the absence of prompt action, it may occur a drying of the resource equity for companies with no stock market and banking alternative funding channels. Need to find solutions for saving long, life insurance or retirement Vienna supply chain financing of SMEs, the incentive or the obligation.

The policies concerned rather to supervise the industry...

The crisis grows legitimately to build a new framework, but policy makers need rely on professionals to be economically efficient. The debate on Solvency II pointed out this structural weakness of the France where the non-coté has no real place in the allocation of institutional great. The draft European directive on hedge funds, also contains provisions impractical and likely to weaken Europe's response to Asian and North American competitors. It must make progress in the dialogue.

Can the profession to recover from the crisis

The investment is not in bankruptcy. If the Fund recorded a decrease in the valuation, their true performance is known only at the end of their life, when all entries will be assigned. On the contrary, the industry can and should contribute to the output of crisis by injecting capital into equity research companies.