Permira investor urges disclosure, not publicity

By Jeffrey Goldfarb

LONDON (Reuters) - A veteran private equity investor is calling for greater disclosure from the secretive, multi-billion-dollar industry, but does not think buyout firm bigwigs need a more public face.

Nicholas Ferguson, chairman of SVG Capital (SVI.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the biggest investor in private equity firm Permira PERM.UL, on Wednesday urged a limited increase in transparency following the critical backlash led by unions and some politicians.

Buyout firms should twice a year review with all employees of their portfolio companies the financial performance of the business and discuss the challenges ahead, he said at the Reuters Hedge Fund and Private Equity Summit in London.

"I also think people should know something about the governance, who's on the board, and I think they should know what the basic balance sheet structure is," Ferguson said.

A public debate has erupted in Europe over disclosure by private equity firms and the industry has convened a working group to develop recommendations about what should be done.

"If people know what something is, they're less afraid of it," Ferguson said.

He nevertheless stopped short of recommending that private equity firm chiefs, some of whom are among the wealthiest people in the world, disclose more about themselves, as has been called for by some unions and newspapers.

"I'm not interested in information for journalists," Ferguson said. "I'm interested in what the sellers know, what the staff working at that firm know and I'm interested in what the owners of the equity know."  Continued...