Question n°10
Michel Chabanel
Chairman of the French Association of Investors for Growth
Paris, France
CNP Assurances is one of the champions of the world of private equity, is this opportunism or a sustainable strategy?
Answer
In 2015, CNP Assurances entered the league table of the top 50 institutional investors in private equity funds worldwide(1).
An additional reason to be proud is that there are only 13 European companies in this table, and only two of them are French. This distinction is a tribute to the length of CNP Assurances’ commitment, which began in 1992, as much as to its impact, with nearly €6 billion invested in nearly 300 funds since the beginning.
Private equity is an essential driver of the real economy, which makes it possible to support companies in their development projects, in the long term, while avoiding the jolts and uncertainties of the financial markets. In this way, CNP Assurances contributes to the financing of hundreds of job-creating companies. In terms of the portfolios, private equity generates out-performance for a limited risk, due to the work done on the selection of projects.
(1) League table drawn up by PEI (Private Equity International), the unlisted investments industry’s reference media group.
Among the TOP 50 institutional investors in unlisted securities worldwide
Nearly €3 billion committed in the last five years in private equity
Hélène Falchier
Private Equity Investments Manager
The new programme of direct investments in start-ups, Open CNP, extends the tradition of supporting companies and illustrates the intention of CNP Assurances to increase the number of opportunities for innovation, in line with the challenges facing its businesses. The objective is to screen innovative and agile small businesses with which we will establish a partnership that will go well beyond mere financial investment. Open CNP is creating a framework in which it is in everyone’s interest to support the development of the other. We challenge them in their research and their tests with our questions and our expertise, and in return, we allow them to move faster by using our networks and knowledge of the markets. This very much meets their expectations. And it is a very effective approach to bring innovation and agility to the heart of our great institution.
Driver of the real economy
CNP Assurances is one of the first French institutional investors to become involved in the financing of companies using private equity. Every year, the Group invests between €500 million and €700 million in this asset class, in the form of between 25 and 30 operations selected by specialised funds or by way of co-investment, from among hundreds of applicant projects. These operations cover all the stages in the life of companies, from starting up, to growth and transfer.
The portfolio is 70% European, with a predominant share devoted to France. By way of example, for more than twenty years, CNP Assurances has invested in the health sector to finance the development of medicines or to support SMEs in their growth until they become international medium sized companies.
Together with other large insurers and Bpifrance, CNP Assurances is also a partner of France Investissement Assurances which supports SMEs. It is also the principal contributor to that body, with €248 million invested since 2012, nearly 40% of the programme’s total budget. The savings of insured people thus contribute to the financing of hundreds of companies creating jobs.
450 French SMES were supported by CNP assurances at the end of 2015
€900 million invested in private equity in 2015
Partner of the digital world
The digitisation of society is speeding up and CNP Assurances’ businesses are looking for answers.
How to contribute to the well-being of the elderly? How to manage the relationship with nomadic customers? What are the risks that arise from the new ways of living and working? Where is tomorrow’s distribution channel?
In order to immerse itself in the digital world, CNP Assurances launched its own corporate venture programme, Open CNP, at the end of 2015.
The idea is to establish partnerships with innovative start-ups to help them to grow, while opening itself up to alternative customs, alternative technologies and alternative models. Open CNP capitalises on the experience it has acquired with private equity funds and puts the start-ups that it supports in direct contact with the operational services of CNP Assurances, in order to invent new customer experiences.
Open CNP illustrates CNP Assurances’ ability to absorb new ideas from the world of agile, innovative start-ups, with no hang-ups. The programme has only been going for a few months, but a certain number of innovations have emerged very quickly. Thus, the e-health platform Lyfe is based on a start-up from Bordeaux which lists physicians. A win-win partnership which goes well beyond investment and financial performance, and is of benefit to a large number of people.