Anil Hansjee (pictured), head of mergers and acquisitions including some minority investments for Europe Middle East and Africa at US-listed search engine Google, has left to join private equity (PE) firm EQT Partners.
Sweden-based EQT has just reportedly made a first close on its sixth leveraged buyout fund at €3.5bn ($5bn), according to news provider Financial Times.
Buyout firms have increasingly targeted the information technology and internet sector as the technology industry matures and generates more free cash to service debt. US-based buyout firm Silver Lake, for instance, led the majority acquisition of online phone operator Skype and was previously involved in the buyout of service provider SunGard.
Google had tested corporate venturing outside of the US before setting up Google Ventures in 2009 to initially only invest about $100m per year in America and Hansjee at a conference in October said Google Ventures’ roll out globally would likely be "slow".
Hansjee, then in a panel discussion hosted by the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association said: "Google has plenty of smart people with insights into big, disruptive technology and Google Ventures invests for a return on investment regardless of potential future involvement by the company.
"In fact Google Ventures steers clear of those for fear of being tainted. The same team cannot play with two hats [strategic and financial returns].
"The financial team [Google Ventures] are incentivised as a venture capital firm are with professional portfolio managers. The team are gelling in the US and its nine partners have done 10 deals this year but it is likely to be a slow roll out globally."
Hansjee was on the board of legacy European corporate venturing deals he made, such as Fon, Ubiquisys and DotMobi, struck before the group decided to set up its Google Ventures unit and concentrate on the US market. Although these deals had done well, he said Google Ventures was set up after "learning the hard way" that it had to be "a commercial deal with real hooks and people on the line to deliver not an investment that might have strategic ambitions".