BEX hires ex-Astorg director as operating partner

BEX Capital, a niche buyer of stakes in funds of funds and secondaries funds, has tapped the French buyout market for its latest senior hire.

The Nice-headquartered firm has appointed Thomas Carbonel as operating partner responsible for transaction execution and overall operations, according to a statement.

Carbonel has 10 years’ experience in private equity, seven of which were spent at Paris-headquartered buyout firm Astorg Partners where he became a director, the statement noted. He started his career in 2007 at the French Treasury.

BEX Fund III held a $365 million final close in April, more than three times the amount achieved by its €120 million predecessor, Secondaries Investor reported. The fund closed above its $280 million target and $350 million hard-cap, with 90 percent of Fund II investors re-upping. Fund III offers ‘X shares’, which are exempt from management fees and carried interest, for non-governmental organisations and major non-profit foundations.

The firm was founded in 2010 by former AlpInvest Partners and Deutsche Bank executive Benjamin Revillon. He told Secondaries Investor last year that he wanted to bring back the “original rulebook” of secondaries by focusing on funds of funds.