DLJ Europe To Split From CSFB

Caroline Maxwell, InvestorsOffshore.com

29 March 2001

The winds of change seem to be circling, tornado like, around Credit Suisse First Boston. First it was announced that the Swiss investment banking firm intended to buy back all outstanding tracking stock shares in its online brokerage subsidiary owned by members of the public, in order to be able to conduct strategy rethinks without public scrutiny. Now comes the news that DLJ European Private Equity, also acquired in last year's take-over of the Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette investment bank, is planning to buy itself out of the CSFB group for an undisclosed amount.

The split appears to be amicable, though, and is apparently the result of a European overlap between the two investment banks- CSFB already has a private equity presence there, with more than $750 million invested. The newly independent enterprise will operate under the name Phoenix Equity Partners, and will continue to manage several important funds, including the £50 million ($71,431,332) Phoenix Development Capital Fund, and the £133 million ($190,007,344) Phoenix Equity Partners II Fund.

In a touching display of chumminess, Phoenix will be based in CSFB offices, at least initially, and the two will continue to share some investments. Hugh Lenon, co-founder of Phoenix, is confident that the new business will succeed in Europe in its own right, and said recently that: Our pipeline of potential investments is strong, we have £250m of capital, and we are extremely positive about the prospects for UK mid-market private equity investing.'

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