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Company History

ICG was established in London in 1989 with the objective of becoming Europe's leading specialist arranger and provider of mezzanine or intermediate capital. Our first investment was in the UK in that year.  This was followed by our first French investment in 1990 and our first investment in a German company a year later.

In 1994 we started to manage third party funds and also floated ICG on the stock market.

Date ICG Event World Event
  2007
  • ICG opens its first North American office
  • ICG closes €2.25bn European Mezzanine fund
  • CEE presence established
  • CDO funds under management reach €5bn milestone
  • Al Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize for global warming work
  • Live Earth concerts are held throughout 9 major cities around the world
  • The final epic novel in J.K. Rowling's bestselling series Harry Potter was released selling over 8 million copies in the first 24 hours
  • 162,000,000 Chinese have broadband internet access, though this is only 12.3% of the population
  2006
  • First Investment in Poland and New Zealand
  • Launched new corporate identity and website
  • Sydney and Tokyo offices establised  
  • Pluto stripped of planet status
  • Italy wins the World Cup
  2005
  • Frankfurt office opens
  • ICG Closes first Asian Pacific  mezzanine fund at $500m
  • 150 nations agree to talks on reduction of greenhouse gases
  • Pope John Paul succeeded by Benedict XVI
2004
  • ICG opens Stockholm and Madrid offices
  • Mars rovers find evidence of water in planet's past
  • Janet Jackson lets it all hang out at the Superbowl
2003
  • ICG launches €1.5bn mezzanine fund
  • England wins Rugby World Cup
  • Hans Blix reports no WMDs in Iraq
2002
  • ICG's first investment in Asia
  • WorldCom files for USA's biggest ever bankruptcy
  • Enron scandal breaks
2001
  • ICG raises its first senior loan fund, Promus I, at €450m.
  • ICG opens Hong Kong office
  • AOL and Time Warner merge
  • 911
  • Mad Cow Disease hits Europe
2000
  • ICG raises €475m mezzanine fund.
  • Impact of Y2K proves to be over-exaggerated
  • Concorde crashes in Paris
1999
  • ICG raises first European CDO, Eurocredit I
  • Euro is born
1998
  • ICG Group makes it's 100th investment
  • ICG sets up £150m underwriting club
  • World Cup. France 3, Brazil 0
  • Titanic wins 11 Oscars
1996
  • ICG European portfolio exceeds UK for the first time
  • Germany wins Euro '96
1995
  • ICG opens Paris office
  • Live Aid concert held for starving in Ethiopia
  • Bosnian crisis
1994
  • ICG manages first third party fund
  • ICG floats on Stock Market London
  • Brian Lara scores 375 runs, setting Test record
1992
  • ICG achieves its first capital gain
  • Company moves to Threadneedle Street
  • UK pulls out of ERM
  • Bill Clinton wins US presidency
1991
  • ICG's first German investment
  • First Gulf War commences
  • Robert Maxwell 'falls' off his yacht
1990
  • ICG's first French investment
  • Nelson Mandela freed after 26 years
  • Margaret Thatcher resigns
  • French and British tunnel engineers make ends meet under the Channel
1989
  • ICG founded
  • ICG makes first investment in UK
  • Sky TV launched with only 50,000 viewers
  • Nabisco in world's biggest ever buy-out