The big bad wolves of private equity are back in another political storm, this time in Austria. Just as the industry wakes up to the need for more transparency and regulation, the latest member of the political establishment to rescind his membership of the private equity fan club is Austrian chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, AFX News writes, citing local Austrian paper Die Kleine Zeitung [via Forbes].
Gusenbauer was giving his opinion on UK private equity group CVC, which has surely foregone reason by making a play for Austrian steel firm Böhler Uddeholm. The chancellor said that he was not against foreign ownership, just expressing concern that the company would become “a pawn in the financial markets”. The remarks will no doubt trigger approving noises across the border in Germany, where private equity is no stranger to playground taunts.
Böhler Uddeholm, with a market capitalisation of about €3.6bn, also confirmed on Monday that it had been approached by a financial investor planning to buy into the group. Signs emerged that CVC was in negotiations to purchase the near 21 per cent strategic holding owned by a pool of local investors, that had until now made BU takeover proof.