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Private company

PAI Partners

Logo: AmelBarcaaa, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

French private equity firm

PAI Partners is a French private equity firm based in Paris. It is one of the oldest firms in the sector, with its origins dating back to Paribas Affaires Industrielles, historically the principal investment arm of Paribas, which started operations in 1872. PAI manages €25.4 billion of dedicated buyout funds.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1931Founded1
  • HeadquartersParis1
  • Websitewww.paipartners.com
  • Legal formsimplified joint-stock company1
  • LEI969500XOAAVI9Y0USC543
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusIssued and current3
  • Registered address23 RUE DE LA PAIX, 75002 Paris, France3
  • Registered withNational Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, 4438373313

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PAI Partners is a French private equity firm based in Paris. It is one of the oldest firms in the sector, with its origins dating back to Paribas Affaires Industrielles, historically the principal investment arm of Paribas, which started operations in 1872.2

Corporate structure

PAI Partners sits at the top of its group. 28 entities, 8 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Major holders of PAI Partners

  • Pai Partners Mmf Holding S.à R.l. Owns 10% to 25% of PAI Partners, since 01/2022 (Form ADV)
  • Stefano Nmn Drago Owns 75% or more of S.a.r.i.2. Holding S.à R.l., since 04/2021 (Form ADV)
  • Raffaele Robert Vitale Owns 75% or more of Elilani S.r.l. Holding S.à R.l., since 09/2002 (Form ADV)
  • mateo paniker Owns 75% or more of Unalivia 2017 Sl Holding S.à R.l., since 04/2021 (Form ADV)
  • PAI Partners Paris, France
    • FINANCIERE VERDI I Saint-Cloud, France
    • SILICA Courbevoie, France
    • Froneri Subsidiary · 50% · Northallerton, United Kingdom
    • Asmodee Subsidiary · Guyancourt, France
    • Squeaky Bean Subsidiary · Redhill
    • Veonet Subsidiary · Munich
    • Financiere Daunou 17 S.a r.l. (Financière Daunou 17 S.à r.l.) Subsidiary · Luxembourg, Luxembourg
    • Financiere Foret SARL Subsidiary · Luxembourg
    • PAI partners SARL Subsidiary · Luxembourg, Luxembourg
      • PAI Europe VII MasterTopco Sarl, SICAV-RAIF (PAI Europe VII MasterTopco S.à r.l. SICAV-RAIF) Fund · Luxembourg, Luxembourg
    • Pai Sas Subsidiary

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); owners and owned firms from Form ADV, the registration investment advisers file with the SEC. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

Investment adviser

PAI Partners is registered with the SEC as an investment adviser. This is what it reports on Form ADV, the registration every adviser files and keeps current.

Who owns it

Owners of 5% or more as the firm lists them (Schedule A), and the owners of those owners up the chain (Schedule B).

  • PAI PARTNERSowns 75% or more, since 02/2008
  • PAI PARTNERS MMF HOLDING S.À R.L.owns 10% to 25%, since 01/2022
  • Stefano Nmn Dragoowns 75% or more of S.A.R.I.2. HOLDING S.À R.L., since 04/2021
  • Raffaele Robert Vitaleowns 75% or more of ELILANI S.R.L. HOLDING S.À R.L., since 09/2002
  • Mateo Panikerowns 75% or more of UNALIVIA 2017 SL HOLDING S.À R.L., since 04/2021

What it owns

What PAI Partners reports owning in its annual reports to the SEC: buildings, land and equipment, real estate and locations, investments, intangible assets and inventory, at the end of its latest fiscal year and a year before.

Stakes and holdings (Wikidata)

Things Wikidata records the company as owning, with the share when stated.1

The story

PAI was formerly known as Paribas Affaires Industrielles, and was historically the principal investment arm of Paribas. PAI LBO Fund, established in 1998, was the first PAI investment vehicle managing third party capital. Prior to 1998, PAI invested exclusively on the balance sheet of BNP Paribas.

Paribas merged with Banque Nationale de Paris in 2000. In 1993, Amaury de Sèze joined Paribas Affaires Industrielles as chairman and chief executive officer. Under his leadership, PAI developed a strategy in private equity that capitalized on the team's familiarity with industrial sectors.

Paribas Affaires Industrielles led the €610 million buyout of Danone's pasta and condiment unit in 1997, at that time the largest leveraged buyout ever completed in France. The following year, the firm finalized fundraising for its first third party investment fund, raising €650 million of investor commitments. PAI completed a full spinout from BNP in 2000 and the following year raised a new €1.8 billion private equity fund.

In September 2009, Lionel Zinsou became CEO and chairman of the firm. In 2015, Michel Paris became CEO after Lionel Zinsou stepped down to become prime minister in Benin.

In March 2015, PAI raised its fifth LBO fund, PAI Europe VI, reaching €3.3 billion, above the initial target of €3 billion. In September 2017, PAI announced the raising of a seventh investment vehicle: PAI Europe VII. In March 2018, PAI closed their PAI Europe VII fund.

From Wikipedia’s article on PAI Partners, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Products and brands

  • private equity fund

Listed on Wikidata.1

Subsidiaries and ownership

Owners

Subsidiaries

Also owns

Also consolidated

From Wikidata.1 Ownership links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); each one cites its LEI record.

Timeline

  1. 1931Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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