GEAM and its predecessor organizations have been investing in private equity in the United States since 1978 and outside of the United States since the early 1990s.

The International Private Equity team at GEAM invests in companies domiciled and doing a substantial portion of their business outside of the United States.

The team focuses principally on corporate buyouts, and growth-equity investments, and also selectively considers later-stage venture capital investments. It considers investment opportunities across a broad range of industrial sectors and geographic areas and pursues potential investment opportunities in both developed and emerging markets.

The International Private Equity team (IPE) believes that private markets outside the United States have offered, and should continue to offer, attractive opportunities for leveraged acquisitions, growth equity and other types of investments. The following themes support our continued interest in international private equity:

• The renewed focus on maximizing shareholder value is fostering new initiatives for corporate restructuring and the divestiture of non-core assets;
  
  
• The common European currency has broadened debt and equity markets and should continue to do so as additional nations accede to the European Union;
  
  
• The growth of the middle class in certain Asian and Latin American markets has created rising demand for consumer goods and financial services.

The IPE team targets companies that have strong, well-incentivized management teams, the potential to be national or regional market leaders in their respective industries, stable cash flows, sustainable profit margins and defensible business models.

GEAM's IPE team, led by Jim Mara, is comprised of investment professionals with combined deal experience of more than 60 years and extensive relationships both within and outside GE.

Extending the team's expertise and experience, we leverage:

• Local Partner Network: Over the last 12 years, the IPE team has developed a global network of partners that provide knowledge, human capital, and expertise necessary to make private equity investments in their respective countries and regions. The IPE team utilizes this network to source transactions.
  
  
• Global Resource Network: As a result of its affiliation with GE, the IPE team has access to a huge wealth of current market knowledge and operational expertise that can be utilized to improve the underwriting, execution and realization of private equity transactions. As GE businesses span a wide array of industries, its executives collectively represent a breadth of expertise and often have direct and indirect insight into the potential of a prospective investment opportunity. This information can greatly benefit the IPE team and its partners in the due diligence process.
  
  
• Senior Operating Advisors: the IPE team relies on retired senior GE executives and retired executives of other companies during the due diligence process and in the oversight of portfolio companies. These executives possess market knowledge and operational skills, developed in many cases over a 30-year career running one or more GE businesses, that are very beneficial to the IPE team and its partners in their efforts to execute their respective strategies.

PLEASE NOTE: GE Asset Management Canada (GEAMC), GE Asset Management Incorporated (GEAMI), and GE Asset Management Limited (GEAML) function together as a team and are collectively known as GEAM. Except where indicated, information herein refers to the collective GEAM.