Changes at Societe Generale in Asia

Societe Generale corporate and investment banking has appointed new co-heads of acquisition and leveraged finance for Asia-Pacific. Effective August 1, Marc Frenkenberg and Bruno Magnouat will replace Pierre-Louis Auzel and Thierry Magnan, who currently head this team.

Frenkenberg will be based in Japan, while Magnouat will be stationed in Hong Kong. Frenkenberg moved to Asia from SG's London offices in 2006. He was initially based in Hong Kong, then moved to Tokyo in 2008. In London, Frenkenberg worked with the leveraged finance group. He has also worked in SG's securitisation teams in the New York and Sydney offices.

Magnouat started his career at Calyon in New York where he focused on project finance for the energy and utilities sector. In 2001, he joined Societe Generale's strategic and acquisition finance division in Paris. Magnouat transferred to Hong Kong to join the Asia-Pacific team in 2007.

Auzel and Magnan will pursue new assignments within the Societe Generale group. An SG spokesperson said no further information on the two could be disclosed at this time.

Simultaneously, two new bankers -- Mickael Le-Gargasson and Vincent Lebrun -- will join the acquisition and leveraged finance group. Le-Gargasson was earlier with the Hong Kong infrastructure and asset-based finance team. Lebrun moves to Asia from the London media and telecom finance team. SG will thus continue to have a 10-strong team covering acquisition and leveraged finance.

Societe Generale created the acquisition and leveraged finance team in Asia-Pacific in July 2006, moving Auzel from Paris to head the product for Asia-Pacific. At the time, the team comprised four professionals, including Frenkenberg.

Auzel joined SG in 1996 as an industry consultant, assessing projects and companies for acquisition finance or leveraged buyouts. Prior to that, he worked from 1990 to 1994 as a consultant in Japan for European companies. Auzel's team was working closely with Magnan who was then head of the media and telecom finance business for Asia-Pacific, a group which had been set up a couple of years earlier. The Asia expansion into acquisition and leveraged finance followed an expansion in the same area in the US in 2004.

In early 2007, Magnan became co-head of the acquisition and leveraged finance team alongside Auzel as part of a plan aimed at consolidating business across products and client groups.

The promotion of Frenkenberg and Magnouat follows changes to SG's global M&A team. In May, SG created a global M&A management committee with the hire of three managing directors, Thierry d'Argent, Thomas Racky and Philippe de Vulpian. At the time, SG said it plans to expand M&A activity globally. In Asia the expansion will focus on helping Asian clients find the right targets in Europe.