CVC Capital Partners has appointed Fred Watt as chief operating officer responsible for the private equity firm’s finance and operations and as a member of CVC’s group management committee
CVC Capital Partners has appointed Fred Watt as chief operating officer responsible for the private equity firm’s finance and operations and as a member of CVC’s group management committee and board.
Between September 2000 and February 2006, Watt was chief financial officer of Royal Bank of Scotland Group, and he has subsequently undertaken a number of advisory and project roles that included work with private equity groups.
He previously spent more than 20 years with various public and private companies including Wassall, where he spent more than a decade first as chief accountant and company secretary and then as finance director. During this period he managed pre-acquisition review processes including financial due diligence and post-acquisition review and integration.
‘We are pleased that Fred has agreed to join the senior management team at this important juncture in our development,’ says CVC Group Chairman Michael Smith. ‘Against the backdrop of rapid growth, the convergence of public and private equity markets and calls for greater transparency, we welcome the skills Fred brings and look forward to his engagement in helping us to manage a business whose operations and portfolio companies have come to span the globe.’
Says Watt: ‘CVC is an established global player in the rapidly growing private equity market. I have known a number of CVC executives for many years, have admired what they have achieved, and look forward to contributing my experience to the next phase of growth.’
CVC Capital Partners was founded in 1981 as the European private equity arm of Citigroup, but following a buyout in 1993 it is independently owned by its management and operates an integrated network of 18 advisory offices in Europe, Asia and the US with a team of more than 150 professionals.
Since 1996, CVC has raised and managed funds exceeding EUR19.5bn. In July 2005 it closed its EUR6bn CVC European Equity Partners IV, since supplemented by the EUR4bn CVC European Equity Partners Tandem Fund, which closed in January this year. CVC Asia Pacific is currently investing from its USD2bn CVC Asia Pacific Fund II.
CVC’s current portfolio comprises 46 companies and includes the Formula One motor sport commercial rights management business, Danish personal care retail chain Matas, Belgian Post, printing ink supplier Flint, gas, water and electric meter manufacturer Elster, Japanese food service company and family restaurant chain Skylark, Australian media group PBL Media and Australian healthcare company DCA.
