The story
PAI was formerly known as Paribas Affaires Industrielles, and was historically the principal investment arm of Paribas. PAI LBO Fund, established in 1998, was the first PAI investment vehicle managing third party capital. Prior to 1998, PAI invested exclusively on the balance sheet of BNP Paribas.
Paribas merged with Banque Nationale de Paris in 2000. In 1993, Amaury de Sèze joined Paribas Affaires Industrielles as chairman and chief executive officer. Under his leadership, PAI developed a strategy in private equity that capitalized on the team's familiarity with industrial sectors.
Paribas Affaires Industrielles led the €610 million buyout of Danone's pasta and condiment unit in 1997, at that time the largest leveraged buyout ever completed in France. The following year, the firm finalized fundraising for its first third party investment fund, raising €650 million of investor commitments. PAI completed a full spinout from BNP in 2000 and the following year raised a new €1.8 billion private equity fund.
In September 2009, Lionel Zinsou became CEO and chairman of the firm. In 2015, Michel Paris became CEO after Lionel Zinsou stepped down to become prime minister in Benin.
In March 2015, PAI raised its fifth LBO fund, PAI Europe VI, reaching €3.3 billion, above the initial target of €3 billion. In September 2017, PAI announced the raising of a seventh investment vehicle: PAI Europe VII. In March 2018, PAI closed their PAI Europe VII fund.
From Wikipedia’s article on PAI Partners, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5