Inside Private Equity - Issue of September 24, 2025

In this back-to-school episode, Inside Private Equity explores access to private equity through life insurance and evergreen funds, with Frédéric Stolar. These vehicles allow investors to participate with smaller investment amounts and greater liquidity, though their performance may be lower than that of vintage funds, which remain more focused on the illiquidity premium and the long term.The success story features Balt, a French medtech company specializing in mini-implants for treating strokes and aneurysm ruptures. Its CEO, Pascal Girin, discusses the company’s transformation, its international expansion—particularly in the United States—and the role of private equity in its growth. Backed by Bridgepoint, Balt is posting strong growth, with over €300 million in revenue and more than 1,000 employees, and continues to invest in R&D to miniaturize its devices and expand neurovascular treatments. The program then turns to delisting transactions with Olivier de Vilmorin. He explains why many publicly traded companies are leaving the stock market to go private: regulatory constraints, market volatility, undervaluation, and the need for long-term transformation. Private equity thus emerges as a more suitable framework to support these companies, sometimes with a view to a future return to the stock market. Finally, Michael Levy shares the experience of his Family Office, established after the sale of the family business. He explains why private equity now accounts for nearly a quarter of family assets: international diversification, exposure to the real economy, access to high-quality managers, and long-term wealth building.