Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute

According to the Rio Tinto press release, “Rio Tinto has received a binding offer from funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management, L.P. (Apollo) and the Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement (FSI) to buy a 61 per cent stake in Alcan Engineered Products (AEP), excluding the Cable Division. The transaction follows the successful divestment last year of the Composites division of the Engineered Products business. The terms of the transaction are confidential.

Under the terms of the transaction, Apollo would become the majority and managing shareholder in AEP with a 51 per cent stake in a new holding company for AEP, with the FSI holding 10 per cent. Rio Tinto would hold a 39 per cent stake.  Rio Tinto will respond to this binding offer following consultation with the relevant employee representatives.

Guy Elliott, Chief Financial Officer, Rio Tinto, said: “This potential sale of a majority stake to Apollo and FSI is in line with our strategy of divesting non-core assets of Rio Tinto Alcan. When this transaction is completed, we will have exited all downstream businesses, except Alcan Cable. We look forward to participating in the upside potential of AEP, both as a minority shareholder and key supplier to the business.”"

Read more: Rio Tinto Press Release

According to the press release, “ArcelorMittal executive Jean-Yves Gilet has been chosen to head France’s state-backed FSI investment fund, the Economy Ministry and state bank Caisse des Depots said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

Gilet will take the reins in September and replace outgoing Chief Executive Gilles Michel, who announced in June he was leaving for minerals company Imerys, the statement said. The FSI, 49 percent owned by Caisse des Depots and 51 percent by the government, was created in 2008 to protect so-called “strategic” French companies from the economic crisis.

Since then, the fund has bought stakes in companies including video games maker Ubisoft, dairy group Danone, entertainment conglomerate Vivendi and catering company Sodexo”

Read more: Reuters

According to the press release, “Cerenis Therapeutics SA (Cerenis), a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the research and development of novel therapies based on the metabolism of HDL (the “good” cholesterol) to treat cardiovascular and other metabolic diseases, announced today it has raised €40 million in the first close of its series C financing.

In this round €20 million came from the Fund for Strategic Investment (FSI) with an additional €20 million coming from the existing investors: Sofinnova Partners, HealthCap, Alta Partners and TVM Capital, EDF Ventures, OrbiMed and DAIWA Corporate Investment. This third round of financing for Cerenis (Series C) will fund Phase II development of the lead Cerenis program, CER-001, an HDL-mimetic for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and to support the development of other new HDL therapies.

This round of financing brings the total capital raised to date by the company to €107 million. Jean-Louis Dasseux, co-founder and CEO of Cerenis said: “We welcome the FSI as a new investor and are very pleased to have such strong support from our current investors. This support recognizes the progress made to date in the development of Cerenis in the field of HDL, the promise of the pipeline of products, and the quality of Cerenis’ team.”"

Read more: Press Release

By Alexia Tye

Gilles Michel, the CEO of the FSI, will shortly step down to take up a new position in the private sector.   He looks back over what the FSI has accomplished in the short period since its creation in January 2009.

Defending what may seem to be a premature departure, he feels that since he set up the FSI under the orders of the President of the Republic – the fund was then literally himself and a mobile phone – the fund is solidly in place and has achieved much.  With a team of 30 (11 professionals plus mostly state-appointed senior management), 110 investments have been executed, and the FSI has found a firm footing in the French economic landscape.

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Alexia Tye is a Partner at AddVenture, a private equity advisory firm.

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According to BI-ME, “Kuwait and France on Thursday signed an initial agreement on nuclear cooperation that includes exchanging expertise on the field, the official news agency KUNA reported. The agreement encourages the peaceful use of atomic energy to bring in vital energy resources such as electricity, the report said, without providing any details of the cooperation. Earlier on Wednesday KUNA had reported that Kuwait may be interested in acquiring a stake in France’s nuclear giant Areva, citing unidentified industry sources.

‘Areva says it needs the capital injection to finance the expected rapid development in the nuclear market,’ Kuna said.

The news agency added that Anne Lauvergeon, the CEO of Areva, did not give details on ongoing contacts with potential investors, ‘but industry sources have said that Kuwait could be interested in taking a stake in Areva’.

Lauvergeon reportedly said Wednesday that the talks taking place with potential partners are at a government-to-government level and that a number of partners were involved. In March, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Sheikh Jaber Moubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said Kuwait will cooperate with France in the field of nuclear power, hinting it could take a stake in the nuclear group Areva. The Financial Times also said in March that the French government was considering opening the share capital of Areva to Middle Eastern investment funds with a view to reinforcing its political influence and the nuclear group’s prospects in the region. Exploratory talks had been held about the possibility of sovereign wealth funds buying minority stakes of 1%-5% in Areva, which is majority owned by the French government, the FT said, citing people close to the matter.”

read more: Business Intelligence Middle East

Wall Street Journal reports, “Areva SA is poised to raise some €1 billion ($1.44 billion) by selling its stake in a French nickel-mining firm, people familiar with the matter said, in what would be the latest move by the French nuclear-power group to raise money for a vast nuclear plant renewal plan and expansion into alternative energies. The state-owned Areva plans to sell its 25.78% stake in Eramet to France’s Fonds Strategique d’Investissement — a sovereign fund created last year by the French government to help strategically important companies — by the end of the first quarter, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. Spokespeople for Areva and Eramet declined to comment.”

read more: Wall Street Journal

According to Reuters, “France’s FSI strategic investment fund will take part in a 17 million euros ($25 million) capital raising for web video share site Dailymotion, the Gallic rival of Google Inc’s YouTube. The money raised will be used to accelerate Dailymotion’s expansion, notably abroad, the FSI said in a statement on Thursday.

‘We are one of the rare French players that can participate in the future (sector) consolidation,’ Dailymotion Chief Executive Cedric Tournay told Reuters.

The FSI will invest 7.5 million euros in the transaction, alongside Dailymotion’s existing shareholders Advent Venture Partners, AGF Private Equity, Atlas Venture et Partech International. Dailymotion, which says it has 60 million unique visitors worldwide, also aimed to post a profit next year, having reached breakeven, Tournay said. The company had no plans to seek a stock market listing in the short term. “We will consider it within two to three years,” said Tournay.”

read more: Reuters

read more: Official French Press Release

Bloomberg reports that, “France’s sovereign wealth fund may spend 900 million euros ($1.3 billion) before the end of the year and increase aid to the auto industry in 2010, as the recession batters companies’ finances. The 20 billion-euro investment pool, set up last year by President Nicolas Sarkozy, may provide capital to suppliers of Airbus SAS and Safran SA and open a fund for smaller companies, said Gilles Michel, managing director of the fund.

‘The effect of the crisis on companies is worsening,’ Michel said in an interview in Paris late yesterday. ‘Many companies are facing financial pressure.’

The fund, created last year to protect companies the government considered strategic from “foreign predators,” has spent almost 600 million euros so far this year, meaning total investment may reach 1.5 billion euros in 2009. French gross domestic product may shrink 3 percent this year, the most since 1949, the national statistics agency estimates.”

read more: Bloomberg

Bru Direct reports that the “Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) has acquired a prime property next to the BIA controlled Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris to expand the capacity of the famous landmark, French Ambassador to Brunei Louis Le Vert yesterday said during the reception for the French National Day. The envoy said that such investment has been “welcomed warmly” by the French government as it shows BIA’s confidence in the city of Paris as a travel destination. He didn’t give other details.”

read more: Bru Direct

Khaleej Times reports that, “Mubadala Development Company, an investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government, on Tuesday signed a deal to explore joint investment opportunities in French companies. The memorandum of understanding between Mubadala and France’s Fonds Strategique d’Investissement, or FSI, aims to set up a framework for investing in sectors that are of mutual interest to both the companies. Potential areas for investment in listed or private French companies include technology, health sciences, bio-technology and renewable energy. The MoU was signed during a visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to the UAE capital.

‘This partnership fits into our strategy to work with leading international organisations across a range of industries to develop and operate businesses that not only generate outstanding financial returns but also contribute to the economic diversification of Abu Dhabi and bring real and lasting benefits to its people,’ said Mubadala CEO and Managing Director Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak.”

read more: Khaleej Times

France’s sovereign wealth fund on Wednesday announced it had taken a stake in French auto parts group Valeo, a firm that has been targeted by a New York investment group pushing for a merger. The FSI said it’s taken an 8.3% stake in Valeo and has 10.55% of the voting rights. New York-based Pardus Capital Management, Valeo’s top shareholder, has suggested the French firm merge with Visteon a rival auto parts maker in which Pardus also is the leading shareholder.

read more: MarketWatch

“Paris, 20 November 2008 – The President of the French Republic announced this morning in Montrichard the creation of a Strategic Investment Fund (SIF), which is intended to boost the equity and to stabilise the capital of French businesses. He has decided to entrust the management of this fund to Caisse des Dépôts.

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