Emerging Europe: Macro Commentary From IFC, Darby, Siguler (Privcap video - free to watch)

July 9, 2012 - PRLog -- Eastern Shock

An outside observer might surmise that private equity in Emerging Europe (primarily Central & Eastern Europe) is tough-going right now. But long-term investors in these countries say that the economic picture is more nuanced.

To gain an expert perspective on the most important macroeconomic facts affecting Emerging Europe today, Privcap sat down with Baris Gen, Senior Investment Officer for Private Equity Funds - Europe, Middle East & North Africa at the IFC, Robert Graffam, Senior Managing Director of Darby Overseas Investments, and Ralph Jaeger, Managing Director, Siguler Guff & Company.

Topics discussed include why Emerging Europe has been “hit harder than other emerging markets,” the massive deleveraging of banks and the aftermath of rising consumer leverage, the Eastern exposure to Western European banks, how “good GPs” are responding to challenging times, where LPs are carrying fund valuations, how sponsors are playing tough with lenders in restructurings, how Emerging Europe competes with other markets for dollars, and why the GP landscape across the region is “by and large not a pretty picture.”

http://www.privcap.com/programs/129-eastern-shock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHQr1RoN0Ug



Ralph Jaeger
Managing Director
Siguler Guff

Ralph Jaeger is a Managing Director at Siguler Guff.  Jaeger is a senior member of the BRIC investment team and sits on the Investment Committees for the BRIC Opportunities Funds.  Leveraging his extensive experience in international private equity, Jaeger plays an active role in portfolio construction, sourcing, analysis and monitoring of the Firm's Emerging Markets investments.  
Prior to joining Siguler Guff in March 2012, Jaeger worked at Cambridge Associates LLC, an independent financial consulting firm, where he co-led the firm's international private equity and venture capital research efforts.  Jaeger focused specifically on Emerging Markets and had primary responsibility for analyzing market trends, identifying compelling investment opportunities, and performing in-depth due diligence.  During his tenure at Cambridge Associates, Jaeger also launched the inaugural benchmark for private equity in Africa in collaboration with the African Venture Capital Association and three major International Finance Institutions and was a regular guest speaker at leading international industry conferences.
Prior to joining Cambridge Associates in early 2008, Jaeger worked at von Braun & Schreiber Private Equity Partners GmbH in Munich, Germany, where he analyzed and executed primary and secondary distressed fund investments.  Previously, he held positions with PAI Partners and J.P. Morgan Partners, LLC, where he analyzed investment opportunities in the industrial and services sectors, and served on the boards of four European companies.  Jaeger began his career in private equity at Industri Kapital in 1999.
Jaeger holds a B.A. in European Business Administration with Honors from Middlesex University, a Diplom-Betriebswirt from ESB Business School der Hochschule Reutlingen, and a banking degree from the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce.  He is fluent in English, German, French and Spanish, and conversational in Turkish.

Robert Graffam
Senior Managing Director
Darby Overseas Investment

Robert D. Graffam is the Senior Managing Director of Europe at Darby Overseas Investment, Ltd. He joined the firm in 1997 as a Managing Director and is based in the Washington office. In 2006, Graffam was appointed as the Senior Managing Director of Europe and relocated to the firm's European headquarters in Vienna, Austria. In this new capacity, he is responsible for overseeing the firm's investment activities in Central and Eastern Europe across all product lines. He is also a Senior Managing Director of Europe at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson Emerging Europe Fund, L.P. Graffam has been instrumental in creating and managing Darby's Mezzanine Finance business, including the Darby Latin American Mezzanine Fund, Asia Infrastructure Mezzanine Capital Fund, and Darby Converging Europe Mezzanine Fund, L.P., where he is a Senior Managing Director of Europe. Prior to joining the firm, he worked at the World Bank Group from 1978 to 1997. During approximately half of his 19-year career at the World Bank Group, Graffam was an Investment Officer and subsequently the Deputy Director of the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) Capital Markets Department. The remainder of his career at the World Bank Group was spent in treasury functions. During the last six years of his tenure, he was IFC's Treasurer and Director of Loan Syndications and Financial Policy. Graffam continues to support Darby's mezzanine opportunities in Latin America and Asia as a Member of the Investment Committees of Darby Latin American Mezzanine Fund, Asia Infrastructure Mezzanine Capital Fund, and Darby Converging Europe Mezzanine Fund. In addition, he serves on several boards of investee companies. Graffam was a Professor of Finance at the Universidad de Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia. He holds an M.B.A. degree with concentration in Finance from Columbia University and a B.A. degree with double major in Economics and English from Fordham University.

Baris Gen
Senior Investment Office, Private Equity Funds
IFC (Europe, Middle East & North Africa)
Baris Gen covers IFC's investments in private equity funds in Europe, Middle East & North Africa from IFC's Istanbul Operations Center. He has worked on IFC's investments in Turkven, Eurasia Capital and ADM CEECAT Recovery Fund. He represents IFC on the supervisory committee of Eurasia Capital. He holds a BSc from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from London Business School, University of London.