I do not think that the levers are worrying

Gonzague de Blignières will leave in a few hours his chair of President of the French Association of investors in capital (Afic) Patrick Sayer, the President of the Executive Board of Eurazeo. 212 Equity members of the employers ' organisation firms will also elect this morning their new Vice President, who will take the estate of Patrick Sayer in June 2007. It's Eddie Misrahi, fifty-one years, Director of Apax Partners France a partner. Gonzague de Blignières returns to statements of Henri Lachmann in an interview to the magazine "Challenges" on "excessive fortunes" that are created in the LBO "without real risk."

Finding should not generalize "minority" excesses, he unveils a proposal of the French Association of capitalists to public authorities to better share value between all the employees of a LBO ("leveraged buy out"). The Chairman of Barclays Private Equity, presiding at the same time the association for aid to the creation of companies undertake Paris, also called patterns of the CAC 40 companies to facilitate the development of all young companies and play the "business angels".

The President of the Supervisory Board of Schneider, Henri Lachmann, believes that the LBO are representative of a "slippage of capitalism". How you react to what he said

I believe that, in the light of recent events, the CAC 40 companies are not best placed to criticize skids compensation and corporate governance. Do not forget that the 1,600 French entrepreneurs who currently drive a LBO took personal risks. In many cases, they are indebted to invest in the capital of their case and the value is not necessarily at the end of the path. It is therefore quite normal that they participate in the sharing of wealth creation if the LBO went well. However, I do not think that the remuneration of the leaders of large corporations is exemplary for risk taking.

Many investment funds themselves criticize the increasing share of the capital gains accruing to LBO patterns...

We must be careful of generalizing some recent very minority examples of excess in the remuneration of leaders. The true subject is not that of the amount of added value but that its share between all the employees in the company. This is why the Afic comes to propose to the Government to create a business investment plan which would give the option to all staff to participate in a LBO.

But that would bring this investment plan from company to company savings plan (EEP) existing

Employees can invest up to 25 of their wages with a tax exemption on capital gains in the output. 25 Of the salary, the corresponding value would be subject to tax. This business investment plan (CIP) will strengthen the transparency of remuneration within the company, which may have as virtues.

Leverage operations experienced strong growth in very short time. Do you have the feeling that they are entered into the French customs

The LBO is funding projects such as another, that attracts more and entrepreneurs. Its growth will continue. Today, on the 1,600 businesses of more than 500 employees, 1,100 are non-cotées and 55 have their capital investment funds. This means that 10 of staff of the private sector, is 800,000 people, are used in growing companies. At the current rate, can hope to achieve the 20 mark in four or five years, which would be very good news for the country. But it is true that the LBO firms suffer from a disability of image and that they often lack a sense of belonging. From this point of view, the first crisis of the contract hiring (PBS), that the Afic argued alongside the CGPME and growth more, has been revealing and very poorly experienced by SMEs. Patterns have indeed felt to be only be willing to accept what was perceived as a "Kleenex contract" rejected by large companies. I find this culture of 40 ACC patterns which are very listened but whose interests lie in less dangerous in France and whose concerns are more remote from those patterns of SMEs. They can help entrepreneurs to register their first sales faster and behave themselves as a "business angels". We need them.

Rating agencies are concerned about the deterioration of the credit quality of the LBO. Do you think that operators play too much leverage

It is wrong to think that funds realize their return on investment with leverage. The remuneration of capital is actually for two-thirds on the growth of the results of the company. I do not think that the levers are worrying. On the other hand, which finances the debt worries me more today. "hedge funds" have become the cannabis market investment funds. They can do good but abusing them is dangerous.

What choice have funds

Firms must be more demanding as to the structure of the syndication of their debt if they want to avoid problems for reversal of the situation. We must also be vigilant in our relations in respect of "hedge funds", which may destabilize the image of the profession. Indeed, when funds buy Paris Saint-Germain, I wonder if it is not more to place themselves under the spotlight to play a role of prudent investor and I find it dangerous for the perception of our profession.