US investment bank JP Morgan Chase has named Stephen Welton as a new partner at JP Morgan Partners (JPMP), the bank's private equity division which last week closed the largest single private equity fund at $7.7bn.
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Welton will focus on buyouts as a partner in the European team at JPMP. Previously he was chairman of TV Travel, where he led a management buyout of the UK and German television distribution business from Barclays Private Equity in 1999. From 1995 to 1999 he was managing director UK of Barclays Private Equity.
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The appointment increases JPMP's team of European partners to five and the total number of professionals to 22. The team is led by European group head Jonathan Meggs.
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JP Morgan had originally hoped to raise $13bn for the JP Morgan Partners Global 2001, which it launched in late 2000. The target for third party commitments was revised downward from $5bn to $3bn after limited partners only committed $1bn in the first six months. JP Morgan's internal commitment was scaled back from the proposed $8bn to $6bn after the firm was forced to write down $1.2bn in bad private equity investments last year. JP Morgan posted $299m of private equity related losses in the third quarter of this year.
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Since its first close in November 2001, the fund has made 39 investments. JPMP is planning to commit around 20 per cent of its latest fund to European investments.
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JP Morgan Partners, formerly Chase Capital Partners, currently has approximately $29bn under management and has closed over 1,000 individual transactions since it was set up in 1984. The firm has more than 150 investment professionals in eight offices worldwide.