3i reputation
Hi,
How is 3i's reputation nowadays? Are they still doing well? Does an internship at 3i open many doors in the London/NY IB scene?
Any information would be more than welcome.
Kind regards
I basically need to decide whether I want to prolongue my internship at my coutries' most important PE firm (about 2bn AUM) or join 3i for an internship (not the London office). What would you do and why?
PS: It's pretty urgent :)
whats ur Country
Belgium
Hi,
I work with 3i directly and can say that they are very professional and everyone I met from the team was very smart and genuinely like-able. In my job, I also get a lot of feedback from investors and whenever their name pops up,the feedback is very positive.
Switch to 3i.. you can probably change the Office at a certain Point of time. In Addition you enlarge your Network significantly.
Thanks for the advice. Any idea how important deal experience is for young analysts? I figure the odds of getting some deal experience are bigger where I currently am than at 3i.
3i has been going through a major restructuring since Simon Burrows took charge (make sure you read their reports). This included significant head-count reductions, including a lot of PE investment professionals. I would be careful before joining 3i as they are focused on working out their existing portfolio at the moment and not actively investing on the PE side as far as I'm aware (i.e. need to return more cash to their investors and then raise a new fund). Be careful and make sure they do not already have large headcount in the office you'd be joining and also check to make sure you would not spend 100% of your time on portfolio companies.
That's exactly what I'm afraid off actually. So would you rather choose to be in a less famous PE firm that has more chances of doing a deal than a famous PE firm that probably won't?
I interviewed with 3i and I can confirm that the headcounts are being reduced and that they are more focused on investments outside of the traditional PE. I still think that the experience if you can join them would be very favorable and I would assume that you can learn a lot there, too.
Another important aspect for you is that you are looking at an internship here, which means you will probably apply to other places, and having 3i on your CV will definitely be a plus, especially if your current firm is rather unknown (in London for example).
Agree - having a big brand on your CV will be most helpful at the beginning of your career, even if the experience is not as good as with another (smaller) fund which is actually investing on the PE side. Simon has done a lot to improve 3i's reputation so the brand in the market is still good (even if employee morale might be low still).
Thanks, both of you. Do you know whether 3i still has funds available to invest in new companies?
From what I hear their flagship fund (Eurofund V, 2006) is now post its investment period and they have to go off their balance sheet until they raise a new fund - but that's just based on rumours. They have been extremely active trying to sell some of their key holdings to improve the return profile of their fund and return some cash to shareholders. Not sure where they're at currently with a new PE fund.
I know that they are also currently in the process of raising a debt fund.
Stay at Gilde. 3i is a sinking ship.
I dont think 3i is a sinking ship, taking into account the reorganization. Additionally, I dont think this is very relevant for an intern, assuming a sufficient deal exposure
3i - How highly regarded are they? (Originally Posted: 01/18/2008)
Does anyone have any information on how highly regarded they are and can shed some details on the recruitment process. Also any information on their pay scale would be great
I worked on a deal with them, they seemed fine, pretty sharp, nothing greater or less than other sponsors. I've been told their strategy is to "scatter seeds" namely, buy loads of companies early in development and bank on a fact that a number will be successful. However, don't know this for a fact, was told it by a senior guy at my place. Seen as a good shop though in the market.
Molestiae ut omnis rerum id nesciunt. Praesentium nemo rerum et in sed. Ut qui et quis quo cupiditate et cumque. Qui nostrum saepe totam et aliquam et cum.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...