France's Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, the former government treasury body, has handed independence to one of its largest private equity businesses.

The management buyout of Fondinvest Capital, which runs assets of €1.2bn ($1.5bn) for both the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and third party investors, was led by Charles Soulignac, its chairman and chief executive officer.