GS PIA VS KKR,TPG,blackstone etc

Was wondering if some one could clarify the difference between GS PIA and the megafunds..

I checked on wikipedia, seems like GSCP (Goldman Sachs capital partners, fund under GS PIA) is the 2nd biggest fund in the world behind TPG, ahead of Carlyle and KKR etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_equity

So shouldnt GSCP also be considered a mega fund?

I have a summer analyst offer there, just want to understand what I am getting into if I start there full time. Any help would be great.

9 Comments
 
spacejam22GS PIA is considered back office and not as prestigious as GS IB. It's probably on par with Cowen or Jefferies M&A so it's solid though, especially with the GS name

This is definitely not true. If anything it is more prestigious as it's the buy side. Anyways screw prestige, I know people who worked at PIA, while the hours can be bad you will learn a ton

 

spacejam22 is a troll

PIA is the PE arm of GS within the merchant banking division. If you search the forums, you'll see that they are on par with megafund PE in most respects. I think the hours in London are supposed to be pretty good.

A caveat is that today's Journal was mentioning the possibility of banks being barred from having PE arms, in which PIA would probably be spun off, much like Bear and Lehman's PE divisions were.

 

It remains to be seen whether this particular policy will be put into place.

If PIA is spun off, the group could definitely suffer. The new entity would have a less direct pipeline to new talent (GS's IBD class) and more significantly lose the Goldman brand name (at least in the eyes of some LPs) which is arguable the most important factor in them having gained so many assets. Less sophisticated institutional investors might shun them for instance.

If there were a decline in exit opps, it would be because the spun-off entity shrunk until no longer being considered a megafund. But the opposite is entirely possible. Suppose the spun-off funds perform very well, and a new class of PE professionals could make a name for themselves, like Kravis after leaving Bear or Schwartzmann after leaving Lehman.

 
Best Response

They definitely take interns in London. From a former intern, I've heard that they don't go as deep into the operational side of a business as KKR/Blackstone/Carlyle. A large transaction they worked on was Xella, but compared to the megafunds, their deals tend to be smaller.

While I wouldn't say it's on par with the ones mentioned above, it's certainly an amazing position! A friend of mine made the switch from GS PIA SA to Blackstone FT, so you're on a great track to potentially land a gig with them. Blackstone definitely hires out of undergrad for their London office.

 

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