June 18 (Reuters) - British buyout firm 3i Group Plc, which is carrying out a major restructuring, confirmedon Tuesday that the head of its UK private equity operation hasleft and that his counterpart in the Nordic region plans toleave soon.
The Financial Times reported earlier on Tuesday that DavidWhileman, partner and managing director of 3i's UK privateequity operations, had resigned last week. It also reported thatTomas Ekman, head of its private equity operations in the Nordicregion, will leave the company in the next few weeks.
A spokeswoman for 3i confirmed both moves and said thatEkman's exit was part of the company's restructuring plan. Shesaid Whileman was joining a smaller UK fund, which is focused onminority investing.
3i has announced job cuts and is pruning its portfolio aspart of the restructuring under Chief Executive Simon Borrows.
The company's woes stem from heavy investments during thepeak of the buyout market in recent years in companies in matureor declining markets such as Britain and Spain.
3i Group (III)