Biz people

Carlyle Group hires Sarkozy

Carlyle Group, the Washington-based private-equity firm with $76 billion under management, hired UBS AG banker Olivier Sarkozy as co-head of financial-services investments, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

Sarkozy, the half-brother of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, has been at UBS since 2003 and two years ago was named joint global head of the Zurich-based bank's financial institutions group. He will continue to work in New York, said the person, who asked not to be identified.

Carlyle, headed by David Rubenstein, started a financial- services group last year and has brought in executives including Sandy Warner, former chairman of New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co, and David Moffett, ex-finance chief of US Bancorp in Minneapolis. Sarkozy will run the group with David Zwiener, former president of Hartford Financial Services Group Inc's property and casualty insurance unit.

Carlyle spokesman Chris Ullman and UBS spokesman Doug Morris declined to comment. Sarkozy didn't return a phone call seeking comment.

Sarkozy, 38, was at Credit Suisse Group prior to joining UBS. He worked on First Union Corp's 2001 purchase of Wachovia Corp, a transaction valued at $14.9 billion. He also advised ABN Amro Bank NV on its sale last year of LaSalle Bank to Bank of America Corp.

Carlyle's newly formed group has yet to complete a transaction.

Vivendi chief looks to Africa

Vivendi SA, owner of the world's largest music company, is willing to study potential acquisitions in Africa, La Tribune reported, citing Chief Executive Officer Jean-Bernard Levy.

Vivendi could make purchases through its Maroc Telecom unit or directly in the case of a larger-scale acquisition, the newspaper cited Levy as saying. He didn't specify any current targets.

Levy (above) said his company still wants to purchase the 44 percent stake Vivendi doesn't hold in mobile-phone unit SFR, La Tribune reported. Vodafone Group Plc has indicated that it doesn't currently wish to sell, Levy told La Tribune. He added that he hopes to conclude the purchase of the rest of Canal Plus France in the near future.

PM tells banks to stop growing

Iceland's Prime Minister Geir Haarde (right) said the country's banks should stop expanding to calm concerns about the quality of their assets after years of rapid growth, the Financial Times reported, citing an interview with Haarde.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded the financial strength ratings of Glitnir Bank hf, Kaupthing Bank hf and Landsbanki Islands hf last week over concerns that fast growth has reduced the quality of their assets, the FT said.

Icelandic banks may be too reliant on wholesale funding, the newspaper said. The banks have borrowed heavily to fund acquisitions, the FT said.

(China Daily 03/04/2008 page16)