John Coyle joins Permira

Permira, the European buyout firm, has underlined its ambitions for its North American business with the appointment of John Coyle, the former global head of the financial sponsor group at JP Morgan Securities

John Coyle: from banking to buyouts

Coyle, a 20-year veteran of the bank will become partner and co-head of Permira’s New York office. He will be responsible for running all operations of the New York office alongside Tom Lister, the co-managing partner of Permira.

He told PEO: “I’ve known Permira for 10 years, all the partners, right back when they were a €1 billion fund in 1997. I have had an opportunity not many have had to see them grow and flourish.”

In his previous role at JPMorgan Coyle was responsible for originating and executing transactions for private equity firms in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. He was also a member of JPMorgan’s investment bank management committee and its private equity principal investments committee.

“I had the choice of spending the rest of my career at a tremendous firm or to take an opportunity to try something new. It is an evolution of what I have been doing. I have seen as many deals as anyone in private equity. I have a pretty good idea of what to look for and I am up for the challenge.”

Coyle joined JPMorgan in 1988 and held a variety of investment banking positions during his tenure. In 1998, Coyle moved to London to found JPMorgan’s sponsor coverage effort and ultimately build the franchise in Europe. He returned to New York in 2005 to head the global group.

Coyle said JPMorgan, the firm he is leaving, is well positioned for when markets recover and he thinks the market slowdown will allow him time to get to grips with Permira’s model.

“Permira has a great opporunity in the US, when the buyout market re-emerges. And I have time now while business is slower to assess the opportunity. There is no debate as to whether [the market] will come back, we just don’t know whether it will be a year or 18 months,” Coyle said

The European firm will be pursuing more deals in the US, but Coyle said Europe would remain central to its success.

Lister said in a statement: “[His] leadership, experience, and global contacts will help to bring our North American activities to the next level. We believe John’s unique knowledge and proven track record in the industry will be extremely important for Permira as we continue to build our North American and international private equity business.”

Last month the firm hired Daniel Healy, a former North Fork Bancorporation chief financial officer and executive vice president, as senior advisor to the firm. Healy will advise on investment opportunities across a variety of sectors with a focus on financial services

BC Partners, a European rival, is also set to expand its North American activities. It has recruited James Rubin and Daniel Selmonosky from JP Morgan-backed rival firm One Equity Partners as senior partners in its New York office.

Senior partners Raymond Svider and Justin Bateman are also relocating from the firm’s London office to New York in the second quarter of this year.

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