Private Equity
Man Growing Vikings Superbowl Beard Since 1974. That's gotta be one disappointed guy. Or maybe disappointed wife? However, judging by the photo, I actually expected it to be longer. (Post-Bulletin) The Vlocker Effect: The PEC tallies what effect Vlocker's new rules could have on private equity funds. (FT Alphaville) Should Your CEO Blog? Conventional Wisdom says no. New Blogger Types say yes. Which naturally means there's a third round contrarian somewhere. (Maybe your CEO Shouldn't Blog, New Comm Biz)) Speaking of CEOs: How hiring one can kill your startup. (VC Mike) Plainfield Asset Management: The fall of a hedge-fund wunderkind (Fortune) This Should Be a Given, given the whole risk/return profile thing and all, no? FT reports that returns on PE funds could beat stock performance. (FT)
2 min read · 25 January 2010
The following six fundraising updates have been culled from SEC filings: vSpring Capital has raised $35 million for vSpring III from 3 investors. The venture firm invests up to $5 million in growth capital per deal. Weathergage Venture Capital Management, a VC-funds of funds manager formed by former Knightsbridge Advisors pros, has entered the market with its second fund. The firm seek $200 million for Weathergage Venture Capital II LP, with $50 million a parallel offshore fund. The firm's first fund had $250 million in commitments and closed in 2007. Cazenave & Co. is the firm's placement agent. EDG Partners, a growth and buyout oriented private equity investment firm based in Atlantia, Georgia, is raising $150 million for EDG Partners Fund II, L.P. The firm has gathered $10 million from five investors to date.
1 min read · 25 January 2010
Here's a look at the last week's worth of scoops, data, and analysis from the peHUB team. Catch up on what you missed before it goes behind our paywall... All First Reads | All Second Opinions Atlas Venture Reorganizes, Fred Destin Heads To U.S. Early 2010 - Calling A Turn In The Economy Is The Tug-of-War Between VC and M&A New? Or Even Real? M&A Monday (on a Tuesday) Malcolm Gladwell Must Be Stopped Which Kraft-Cadbury Divestitures Can PE Snack On? Is There a Tipping Point in VC? Polaris Venture Partners Scales Back for New Fund Vancouver Venture Firm Is In The Game with EA Brad Briner on Fundraising: "The Problem is Not the LPs, It's the GPs" Book Report: Green Metropolis Kleiner Does 14 Deals in December, Sign of A Turnaround? PEC (Bitterly) Calls "Leverage" On Kraft Reviews Are In: TTR Execs Are As Cool As the Other Side of the Pillow PE Barons Are No Longer Filthy Stinking Rich Venture Capitalist Running for Rhode Island Treasurer Charterhouse Sells Supplement Platform, Plots Next Fund What Obama's Proposal Could Mean for Private Equity Founder Spotlight: Brightroll's Tod Sacerdoti Venture Capital: Who (Not What) Is Broken
1 min read · 23 January 2010
Pulling the Plug: Goldman Sachs has moved to wind down its Global Equity Opportunities Fund - once the flagship of its prestigious set of in-house hedge funds. (FT) Interpretations: Bloomberg reports that the new banking rules may force the banks to sell their buyout units, WSJ concurs. (Bloomberg, WSJ) Dissenters: Tim Geithner does not like Obama's financial reform plan. (Dealbreaker) Rolfe Winkler: Warren Buffet has let the public down again. (Reuters) 100 Best Companies to Work For: Robert W. Baird & Co. has a "No asshole" rule. (Forbes) B-School Feuds: Apparently Wharton students plan an annual ski trip, and the Dean of Students isn't too happy about that. A student fired back a defense, and Wall Street Oasis has the email exchange. (WSO)
1 min read · 22 January 2010
Following this week's report that private equity compensation is sputtering to a standstill, it's no surprise an annual informal survey from PE advisory Semaphore would concur. Semaphore runs an informal survey to cover rarely asked questions like: How confident are you in your competitors, and Do I expect to make more, less, or the same amount of money in 2009? Last year, just over half of survey respondents said they expected their compensation to rise in 2009. But this year's survey shows that that was delusional thinking-only 12% of survey respondents actually saw their salaries increase in 2009. Ouch.
2 min read · 22 January 2010
As usual, we have a week’s worth of ratings actions on the debt of LBO-backed companies from ratings agencies Standard & Poor Ratings Services and Moody’s Investors Service. I also wanted to say that I love the formalities of the ratings agencies, particularly when it comes to bankrupt companies. I know it’s all very serious and important and part of procedure, but it seems so obvious and silly the way that, once a company defaults, Moody’s downgrades a its “Probability of Default” rating to “Default.” Something about the redundancy of it is amusing to me. Less amusing, unfortunately, is the company I’m referring to. Building materials manufacturer Atrium Cos. filed for bankruptcy yesterday; the company was backed by golden boys Golden Gate Capital and a firm called Kenner & Co.
2 min read · 22 January 2010
The Problem With Corporate Boards: I tend to agree with Footnoted.org and the authors of a new book called "Money for Nothing," that boards of directors often seem to take up time and space and provide little value to shareholders, even as they collect hefty salaries for what can charitably be called a part-time job. (Footnoted) Art Imitates Life: Speakeasy, a blog run by WSJ, has a great story on the actor who plays David Wallace, the CFO of Dunder Mifflin, in The Office. Turns out he's a real life investment banker at a wealth management advisory firm in L.A. This interview on his double life is pretty great. (Speakeasy) 50-1!: Berkshire Hathaway received approval for a giant stock split. (Dealbook) But there's also another stock split Buffet doesn't want to talk about. (24/7 Wall Street) Big Story: Today was the Obama financial reform package. Mean Street has a nice linkbait-y post titled "Obama is Killing America by Killing Wall Street." Melodramatic, but I'll bite. (Deal Journal) One MBA Candidate's Agenda. Apparently he isn't going to business school just for a job. I'm confused. (BusinessWeek)
2 min read · 21 January 2010
It's taken more than a year, but Solamere Capital is finally closing its debut fund. According to a source familiar with the situation, the firm will hold a final close later this month on a bit more than its $200 million target. Tagg Romney, the son of Bain Capital founder and once/future presidential candidate Mitt Romney, formed Solamere with a varied crew of co-founders. They include: Spencer Zwick, the director of finance on Mitt Romney's campaign; John Miller, the former CEO of National Beef Packing Co; and Eric Scheuerman, formerly of Jupiter Partners. The firm also hired Allan Dowds, the former CFO of J.W. Childs Associates.
1 min read · 21 January 2010
3 min read · 21 January 2010
Glocap and Thomson Reuters released their private equity compensation report this week, but unlike last year, they're not sharing even a tiny bit of detailed information beyond the press release. A bit frustrating since peHUB is also published by Thomson Reuters, but here's the most interesting tidbits we can report: -Growth in private equity salaries has officially stopped. Abruptly even. You may remember last year that, despite market turmoil and massive layoffs in the finance sector, buyout firms still managed to give themselves raises. That's no longer the case, Glocap has found. "While some funds are keeping compensation flat, the net result is that compensation across all segments of the market is trending down," the report states. That includes venture firms, buyout shops, growth investors, and funds of funds.
1 min read · 21 January 2010
