France’s state-owned finance house wants overseas sovereign wealth funds to become co-investors in a new vehicle created by Nicolas Sarkozy to stop French companies being snapped up by foreign predators.

Augustin de Romanet de Beaune, the head of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC), which will manage the new investment vehicle, said it would be open to outside investors, as long as they committed for the long term.