European private equity firm Cinven has hired Thilo Sautter as a partner.
Sautter will join Cinven in 2011 from Investcorp, where he worked for over 13 years.
Prior to leaving the firm, he was the partner responsible for private equity investing in German speaking markets, a member of the investment committee and headed the business services sector team.
At Cinven, Sautter will jointly lead the team covering German speaking markets with Cinven partner Bruno Schick, who is head of the Frankfurt office.
During his time with Investcorp Sautter led a number of high profile investments including the acquisition of Asiakastieto, a credit bureau and business information provider headquartered in Finland; the acquisition and subsequent exit of Apcoa, a car park operator headquartered in Germany; and the acquisition and subsequent exit of Minimax, a provider of fire prevention and extinguishing systems headquartered in Germany.
Prior to joining Investcorp in 1997, Sautter worked at Morgan Stanley in the investment banking division.
Sautter says: “I am delighted to be joining one of Europe’s leading buyout firms. Cinven’s pan-European focus is very much in line with my own experience and view of current market opportunities. Cinven has a cohesive, experienced investment team, an attractive sector and country focus and a great reputation. I very much look forward to working with the firm not only in the UK and Germany but across Cinven’s European platform.”
Hugh Langmuir, Cinven’s managing partner, says: “We welcome Thilo to Cinven. His extensive experience in the private equity sector will be very valuable to us as we look forward to the next stage of our investment strategy. Europe is the largest economy in the world. We have a 30 year investment track record in this region and there remains significant potential to generate value for investors. Thilo will be a great asset to the team, and his appointment further enhances Cinven’s market leading expertise in dealing with the localised and culturally specific aspects of European acquisitions.”
