3i

3i Group plc (LSE: III) is a multinational private equity and venture capital company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has offices in 13 countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas and had total assets under management of £12.7 billion as at 31 March 2011.^[3][4] It is organised into three investment divisions: Private Equity, Infrastructure and Debt Management.^[4]

3i Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange. It ceased to be a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index on 19 September 2011 and became a member of the FTSE 250 Index instead.^[5]

History

The company was formed in 1945, as the Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation (ICFC), by the Bank of England and the major British banks to provide long term investment funding for small and medium-sized enterprises. Its foundation was inspired by the government, and resulted from the recognition in the 1930s, given new impetus in the postwar era, that smaller businesses faced a gap in available corporate finance due to banks being unwilling to provide long-term capital and the companies being too small to raise capital from the public markets.

During the 1950s and 1960s, and particularly after 1959 when the shareholder banks allowed it to raise external funds, ICFC expanded to become the largest provider of growth capital for unquoted companies in the United Kingdom. In 1973 ICFC acquired Finance Corporation for Industry, a sister company also formed in 1945 which focused on finance for large companies, and was renamed Finance for Industry (FFI). In the 1980s FFI became a leading provider of finance for management buyouts, and expanded internationally. In 1983 the company was renamed Investors in Industry, commonly known as 3i.

3i Group was created in 1987 when the banks sold off their stakes to form a public limited company. In 1994 the company was floated on the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of £1.5 billion.^[6] Until that time the company had only managed its own portfolio of investments, but in 1994 the company began managing funds for external investors. Since that time the company has continued its international expansion, making a number of acquisitions in Europe, Asia and the US.

Operations

The company invests in mid-market buyouts, growth capital (minority) and infrastructure. Sectors invested in are Business & Financial services, Consumer, Industrials & Energy, Healthcare and TMT.

Current investments include:

• Agent Provocateur: in November 2007 3i acquired the lingerie business.^[7]
• Bestinvest: in July 2007 3i acquired the independent financial advisory and wealth management business.^[8]
• Fairline Boats: in June 2005 3i acquired a stake in the yacht builder.^[9]
• Foster and Partners: 3i acquired a minority (growth capital) stake in the architecture practice in May 2007.^[10]
• NCP: this investment was acquired in July 2005 from Cinven. 3i has since entered into a partial sale of that business.^[11]
• Scandlines: 3i and Allianz Capital Partners have shared ownership of Scandlines equally since November 2010.^[12]
• Stork Materials Testing: in November 2010, 3i announced the acquisition of the materials and testing group of Stork B.V.^[13]

References

External links

• Official site
• Yahoo profile