Deal Talk: Interviews with Private Equity Leaders – Détails, épisodes et analyse

The seasoned private equity dealmaker joined Steffen Pauls, Moonfare’s Founder and CEO, in another edition of the Deal Talk interviews.

Christian Sinding is the CEO and Managing Partner of EQT, one of the largest private equity firms globally. With over 25 years of experience, Sinding has been instrumental in driving EQT's growth and expansion, focusing on sustainability and long-term value creation.

Today, the Swedish private markets heavyweight manages companies and assets worth more than €230 billion. It generated over €2 billion in revenue last year and employs almost 1,900 people across the world.

In a conversation with Steffen Pauls, Moonfare’s Founder and CEO, Sinding discusses a wide range of topics — from the opportunities in artificial intelligence to EQT’s culture and future plans.

Here’s a couple of highlights from their conversation:

Scandinavian curiosity and American mindset

“We Scandinavians like to think of ourselves as having big ears and a small mouth. We're pretty good at engaging with people and listening. You need to do that coming from a small country to engage with the world because your whole market is too small. And for me personally, I think that kind of curiosity that comes with that approach has helped me a lot. And then I think I’ve also brought with me the forward motion that the Americans have. So I am kind of a product of both worlds.”

Making businesses better

“We've never been financial engineers. We've never been the ones that have used the most leverage either in our portfolio companies or in the funds. We think you can generate consistent long-term returns by making companies better, stronger, faster, bigger, more international, more innovative and more sustainable.”

The big opportunities

“We are excited about the digitalisation of society which is now massively accelerating again with artificial intelligence. These opportunities include data centres, fibre broadband and everything else related to digitalisation. The energy transition is also huge — the energy systems as well as transportation. We own the largest ferry network in the world, which started in Norway. But it's not really about owning ferries, it's about decarbonising the entire ferry fleet, turning it into an electrical bridge that's quiet and environmentally neutral.”

The ‘why not’ attitude

“I've always been the ‘why not’ person. You get some kind of challenge or opportunity and you're not sure whether you want to do it or not? Just go for it. Could I have told you when I was in college that I was going to be the CEO of a big private equity firm? Of course not, not even close.”

Important notice: This content is for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed by the interviewee are their own. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Moonfare. Moonfare does not provide investment advice. You should not construe any information or other material provided as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. If you are unsure about anything, you should seek financial advice from an authorised advisor. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. Private equity is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Subject to eligibility. Please see https://www.moonfare.com/disclaimers.

The iconic private equity leader was the guest of our first Deal Talk in 2024, hosted by Steffen Pauls, Moonfare’s co-CEO and Founder.
David Rubenstein is the Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Carlyle, one of the world’s largest and most successful private investment firms. Established in 1987, Carlyle now manages $382 billion from 28 offices around the world.
Rubenstein's career spans law, government service and finance. Before co-founding Carlyle, he practised law in New York and served as a domestic policy advisor to President Jimmy Carter.
In a conversation with Steffen Pauls, the iconic investor shared his thoughts on a wide range of topics, from private equity’s outlook to evergreen investing principles and leadership traits. Here are some of the highlights:
Private equity in today’s economy. “It’s harder to get loans than it used to be because of the interest rates. It’s also harder for buyers and sellers to agree on a price — there’s been a mismatch of 10 to 20% in terms of valuations. But I think buyers and sellers will come closer this year as interest rates come down. I also think you’ll see more deal activity.”
The future of the asset class. “As a general rule of thumb, if you go with good private equity people, you are likely to outperform public equity. This trend will likely continue. There’s also going to be more private equity in the emerging markets such as Latin America, Middle East, Africa and Asia. You’ll see more private equity there over the next 10 years and therefore more opportunities for people to make private equity returns.”
Democratisation of private equity. “You're going to see people invest a certain amount of money in private equity through 401(k)s, IRA or equivalent retirement accounts in Europe and elsewhere. These won’t be large amounts and likely won’t do poorly. In the next 10 years, almost everyone will have the ability to invest in private equity if they want to. But democratisation is not easy to achieve and it takes time.”
Key investing principles. “Most important principles are diversification and having realistic expectations about rates of returns — don’t believe they will be as high as someone might tell you. If you expect a 50% internal rate of return, it’s more likely to get a zero rate of return. Also, rely on good money managers. These managers have reasonable fees, are transparent, have a track record, reputation for integrity and are able to retain good people. Examine the people you’re investing with but give money to good ones to manage.”
Skills for success. “Specialisation is very important. If you really want to make a mark in private equity, take a small area and make it your own, become an expert in it. In addition, treat your investors with respect through good and bad times, don’t be arrogant with them when you’re doing well. Be humble and make sure to give them information all the time.”
‍Powerful leadership traits. “Persistence is everything. If you fail, pick yourself up and get back in the game. You typically need to have communication skills — to talk well, write well or to lead by example. Great leaders also know how to get things done. And they persist, persist, persist.”Important notice: This content is for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed by the interviewee are their own. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Moonfare. Moonfare does not provide investment advice. You should not construe any information or other material provided as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. If you are unsure about anything, you should seek financial advice from an authorised advisor. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. Private equity is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Subject to eligibility. Please see https://www.moonfare.com/disclaimers.

Why does the Co-Founder of General Catalyst think his firm’s scale will help it during the tough VC market? And why is sticking with companies for longer vital when it comes to value creation? This episode was recorded on 29 September 2022.

Subject to eligibility, capital at risk.

Why is the Khosla Ventures founder unphased by taking on a larger probability of failure with some of his investments? And what are the ‘unfair advantages’ he seeks out in potential portfolio companies? This episode was recorded on 15 September 2021.

Subject to eligibility, capital at risk.

Why does Permira’s managing partner think private markets investors need to shift from risk-aversion behaviour to an upside-optionality mindset? And how does the private company governance model hold the edge over public ones when it comes to value creation? This episode was recorded on 18 May 2021.

Subject to eligibility, capital at risk.

How does the Founders Fund partner and COO think that the firm’s agnostic approach has helped its success? And how does concentrating capital into specific investments such as SpaceX and Stripe feed into that? This episode was recorded on April 22, 2021.

Subject to elibility, capital at risk.

Why does the EQT Partner and CO-Head of EQT Group Private Equity Advisory team count listening to a diverse range of opinions as a key for success? And how does he manage investing across different economic cycles? This episode was recorded on 25 March 2021.

Subject to eligibility, capital at risk.

Why does KKR’s Head of EMEA think private markets can outperform its peers in the event of market dislocation? And what is the implication of the huge amount of dry power investors have to deploy? This episode was recorded on 25 February 2021.

Subject to eligibility, capital at risk.

In conversation with Moonfare, General David Petraeus, the former Director of the CIA and decorated US Army leader (Ret.), spoke about current geopolitical frictions, economic uncertainty, the implications of artificial intelligence and more.

Now serving as a Partner at KKR and Chairman of the KKR Global Institute, General Petraeus recently joined us for a macro-themed episode of our Deal Talk series, hosted by Steffen Pauls, the Founder and co-CEO of Moonfare.

The pair discussed current geopolitical developments, their broader context and the impact these have on economic stability and private markets. The main highlights of this fascinating conversation include: 

The success of Europe in easing economic woes. “In the case of war in Ukraine, there were worries of significant [economic] ramifications — in Germany, in particular, given its dependence on natural gas pipelines from Russia. The country had to go through a considerable effort to reduce this dependency. And has done that very impressively, cushioning the blow of higher costs of electricity for citizens and sought to do the same for major manufacturers. (...) By and large, Europe has done quite an impressive job responding to the sudden change to Russian energy exports.”

Making NATO great again. “Truth is that Putin set out to make Russia great again. But he made NATO great again by pushing historically neutral countries into seeking NATO membership, one already in Finland, the other one [Sweden] on the threshold of that membership.” 

On the US relationship with China. “We continue to compete where we have to and strive to deter. Deterrence is the function of two elements — the potential adversary’s assessment of your capabilities on the one hand, and your willingness to employ them on the other. We have to ensure there is no question of that in the minds of decision-makers in Beijing. Not that we’re looking for a fight, we want to avoid a fight or conflict.” 

The transformative nature of AI. “By and large, artificial intelligence (AI) will be transformative. We’ve gone through various exercises at KKR where we looked at every sector in which we invest. [...] AI will have transformative effects in many of these. It will dramatically improve productivity and efficiency and literally how we do everything, not just in our work but also in our daily lives. But it's going to take time, it will be uneven and it’s not always as predictable as one might think.” 

The importance of information for investors. “We’re in an era that can be described as renewed great power rivalries. Barriers are going back up. There are great economic concerns and geopolitical risks. Globalisation has become “slowbalisation” and regionalisation. In this world, you have to have a very informed view of different trends and how they affect investment opportunities.”  

Important notice: This content is for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed by the interviewee are their own. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Moonfare. Moonfare does not provide investment advice. You should not construe any information or other material provided as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. If you are unsure about anything, you should seek financial advice from an authorised advisor. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. Private equity is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. Subject to eligibility. Please see https://www.moonfare.com/disclaimers.

Søren Vestergaard-Poulsen was the guest of our 12th edition of the Deal Talk series, in which Moonfare’s CEO and founder, Steffen Pauls, talks to some of the world’s most prominent names in private equity dealmaking.

Søren, who joined CVC in 1998, is a managing partner and co-chairs CVC's private equity board and oversees private equity activities in Greece and the Nordics. He plays a pivotal role in managing a firm with 25 local offices and €161 billion of assets under management.

In their conversation, Steffen and Søren discussed a wide range of topics, from CVC’s approach to sustainability to its distinct organisational culture. Here are some of the highlights:

CVC’s investment playbook
“We’re trying to find investments that are robust and where we have a clear value creation program to make these businesses better. If we can do that, we’re more than likely to make a good investment.”

The superiority of the PE ownership model
“The alignment of interest with management, the long-term approach to value creation, and the drive from the board level to create value are much better in private equity than in any other ownership model. Compared to when I joined, not much has changed either. It continues to be a superior ownership model and will stay that way in the years to come.”

Immediate outlook
“I think we’ll see a pick-up in 2024. We are already seeing the divergence in price expectations between buyers and sellers narrowing. And in terms of financing, banks are coming back to the market. We’re starting to see improvements.”

What you need for success in private equity
“It comes down to whether managers making investments know what they’re doing. If you are a sector fund, you need deep expertise in the sector. If you are a generalist fund, you need to be able to source the right deals and generate the value creation plan again and again.”

Important Notice: This content is for informational purposes only. Moonfare does not provide investment advice. You should not construe any information or other material provided as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. If you are unsure about anything, you should seek financial advice from an authorised advisor. Opinions in this interview are not Moonfare's and Moonfare do not take responsibility for this. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns. Your capital is at risk.