* Matthew Stewart: The value of an MBA has collapsed, and it's not re-inflating anytime soon. If ever. * Blogging for Dollars: CEO of online health info company Trusera writes on company blog: "Unless we can raise additional funds for the company by the end of April, we will close Trusera to the public on April 30. * Morning Call: U.S. futures point higher, London rises in early trading, European shares turn negative, the Nikkei hits a 10-week high and Hong Kong jumps 3.6 percent. * The most novel Twitter app so far: "Researchers at New York University's interactive telecommunications program have come up with a device that allows plants to tell owners when they need water or if they've had too much via the social network blogging service Twitter." * Jonathan Weil: "You can’t have a price-earnings ratio without earnings. And by one important financial benchmark, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index doesn’t have any."
1 min read · 26 March 2009
The Carlyle Group and Riverstone LLC have quietly closed on around $6 billion for their fourth Global Power & Energy Fund, peHUB has learned. The commitment period has been extended for a few more months, although I'm not sure how much more cash the firms are hoping to get (probably not much, since $6b was the original target). By the way, it's worth noting that the official name of this fund is Riverstone/Carlyle Global Power & Energy IV. That is a reversal from the earlier vehicles, which were named Carlyle/Riverstone blah blah. Same flip for the groups' second Renewable Energy Fund.
1 min read · 25 March 2009
* TARP for Dummies * Private equity firms continue to scale back in Asia. * Morning Call: U.S. futures point higher, European shares rise on buoyant oil, the Nikkei dips slightly and Hong Kong closes down 2.1 percent. * William Greider: Obama's New Monopoly Set. * Dear AIG, I quit. * The Geithner Put: Part I and Part II * Corporate venture vs. corporate innovation strategy. * Vikrant Raina of Boston Ventures: "The private equity industry will shrink dramatically in the next five years."
1 min read · 25 March 2009
The Quadrangle Group has temporarily suspended efforts to raise its third private equity fund, according to comments made today by firm co-president Josh Steiner, during the Reuters Private Equity & Hedge Fund Summit. Quadrangle had been seeking $2 billion, but got derailed by both the difficult fundraising environment and the departure of firm co-founder/frontman Steve Rattner (he's now a counselor to Tim Geithner). "We're not raising the fund at this moment, but we will at some point," said Steiner, adding that all of Quadrangle's investors had been apprised of the situation. ""Steve's great, any firm in the investment banking business would rather have him part of the firm than not have him... most financial institutions go through a transition and we were determined when we founded this not to make any individual indispensible."
3 min read · 24 March 2009
"Buyouts moved from speculative finance to Ponzi finance." - Howard Newman, president and CEO of Pine Brook Road Partners, during the Reuters Private Equity & Hedge Fund Summit. He is the former vice chairman of Warburg Pincus.
1 min read · 24 March 2009
T Sec Timmy today asked Congress for authority to take over troubled nonbank financial institutions, so as to preclude future bailout debacles like AIG. As my Reuters colleagues explain: He said new legislative authority, which requires Congressional approval, was needed to allow the government to make loans to a troubled institution, buy its obligations, take over its liabilities or possibly take an ownership stake in it while it regains its footing. The government would be able to act as a receiver and, in that capacity, gain sweeping powers like the right to sell or transfer assets of non-bank financial institutions that get in trouble, renegotiate contracts including with employees and stop contracts from being terminated if necessary. What I'm wondering (aloud) is if private equity firms would fall under the rubrik of such a program? And, if so, would they be required to help pay for its upkeep? After all, Geithner is essentially asking for a nonbank-version of the FDIC, a program that is funded by banks themselves.
2 min read · 24 March 2009
Some assorted items related to the New York "pay to play" scandal: Item I: Most of the tainted fund commitments come out of NY Common’s general fund. Several of them, however, come out of pools managed by outsourced managers like Aldus Equity and Hamilton Lane. I spoke to someone familiar with the set-up, who said that such pools are only quasi-discretionary. Aldus, Hamilton Lane and others do initial due diligence and make recommendations to NY Common, but do not have sole discretion. Moreover, the deal-flow can reverse, with NY Common asking the managers to research certain fund managers. Item II: Aldus and GKM (another outsourced manager) are all over the SEC complaint. Hamilton Lane – which also happens to be NY Common’s primary PE consultant – isn’t mentioned once.
2 min read · 24 March 2009
*John Hellemann: Inside Obama's economic brain trust. * Brad Feld: Arrogance is a venture capitalist's greatest -- and most common -- flaw. * Morning Call: U.S. futures dip after rally, European shares driven down by commodities and both the Nikkei and Hong Kong hit 10-month closing highs. * Should the USA still be AAA? * Joe Weisenthal argues that the Geithner plan is price-setting, via where it set its leverage ratios. A counter could be that Treasury simply listened to where prospective buyers told them leverage would need to be in order to participate. In other words, the market price. * James Surowieki on the new bailout-inspired ad campaign from (PE-backed) Domino's Pizza: "It’s striking to see corporate America trying to make money off of people’s anger at corporate America, but it’s not exactly surprising. What was it Lenin said about capitalists being willing to sell you the rope you’d use to hang them?"
1 min read · 24 March 2009
Sequoia Capital is "pushing ahead" with its its outsourced investment management platform for college endowments (a.k.a. Heritage Fund), despite the apparent departure of team leader Eric Upin. That's the word from Dan Feder, who joined Sequoia last year after having run venture capital and private equity for the Princeton Investment Management Co. I reached Dan on his Sequoia line earlier this morning, probably because the receptionist wasn't in yet to screen me out. He declined to get into specifics (per Sequoia's MO), but did say that he had no plans to leave the Silicon Valley-based firm.
1 min read · 23 March 2009
It's taken a bit longer than (the markets) expected, but Tim Geithner this morning released details of how the public-private partnership would work. For the uninitiated, this is the program whereby private equity and hedge funds would buy toxic assets from bank balance sheets, in partnership with the U.S. government. You can get all the details here, and we've posted the basic fact sheet after the jump. Much more on this later today, after we've had a chance to read and digest...
1 min read · 23 March 2009
