GE’s Gary Wendt Looks To Enter Buyout Arena –

Gary Wendt, the former chief executive officer of GE Capital Services Corp., is planning to join the big leagues of the buyout world with a fund focusing on Europe and Japan that may target as much as $3 billion.

In a statement, Mr. Wendt said details of the fund had yet to be determined, including the size of its target. The fund will not focus on distressed companies and will stress “operating management” in addition to “financial acumen,” according to the statement.

The statement also said investments will not be highly levereraged.

Mr. Wendt, through a spokesperson, declined to comment further.

Paul Street and Peter Keenoy, also former GE Capital executives, will join Mr. Wendt in the venture, according to a source. The group reportedly will begin marketing the fund in August and will split its investment strategy between Europe and Japan.

Mr. Wendt left GE Capital late last year after 12 years at the helm, during which the division’s profits rose to $4 billion annually from $300 million annually.

If the group raises $3 billion, it will make the fund one of the largest buyout vehicles in the world focusing on international investing. Currently, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. is raising a European fund with a cap of $3 billion, and U.K. firm CVC Capital Partners closed last year on a $3 billion fund.