(Bloomberg) -- Buyout firms need to work on improving performance of their portfolio companies rather than counting on lower interest rates to boost returns, said the co-chief executive officer of French asset manager Eurazeo SE.

Rate cuts from the European Central Bank would help the industry by improving the economic backdrop, Eurazeo’s Christophe Bavière said Wednesday in a Bloomberg Television interview with Dani Burger from the IPEM private markets conference in Cannes, France.

“But our industry needs also to concentrate on the old recipes to bring value, which is not only to bet on rate cuts, it’s definitely to also work a lot on your portfolio companies,” he said. “What needs to be done in our industry today is to go back to basics and not only to bet on significant leverage.”

Baviere, 59, said interest rates were in double digits when he started in the industry, and private equity firms were able to thrive then.

Buyout firms can help companies expand internationally, for example, he said. “This engine of the private equity industry, it’s not broken. There are plenty of opportunities today to help your companies to grow.”

Asked if Eurazeo is interested in buying competitors who might be struggling in the industry slowdown, Baviere said, “We are much more interested by joining forces with people that are looking to grow faster, to be stronger, to be more international, than to be the white knight of some competitors that need to be backed.”

He declined to comment on a news report last month that Eurazeo is considering a bid for French private equity firm Astorg.

“There are so many opportunities, so many ideas, and again, there is absolutely no hurry,” he said. The Paris-based firm in November announced its strategic plan through 2027, with a goal of being a leader in mid-market European alternative asset management.  

Read more: Eurazeo to Lift Shareholder Returns to Narrow Stock Discount

“We want to accelerate in this direction and obviously just after announcing a strategy, we are not in the process of finalizing anything,” he said when asked about a potential acquisition of a competitor.

Eurazeo last year raised €2.3 billion ($2.5 billion) for its sixth private credit fund, which will provide loans to small- and mid-sized European companies.

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