Private Equity
Aww: Steve Schwarzman loves romantic comedies. So much so that he hired a "seat saver" for him and his wife at the movies. (Dealbreaker) Why Should MBA Students Twitter? Here's one B-school-goers take. (B School Voyage) Thank Ayn Rand: Stumbled upon a blog called "The Mess That Greenspan Made," which today outlines how Bernanke is making the mess even worse. (The Mess That Greenspan Made) Corporate Pigs: The 15 most hated corporations in America include PE-backed Hertz at number 3. (24/7 Wall Street) Patriotism Test: Moody's has been mulling a fascinating question: should they introduce a formal rating of "social cohesion" into sovereign debt indices, when they judge whether a government is likely to default on its debt - or not? (FT) Earning Their Keep: M&A Bankers are worth the money. (Deal Journal)
1 min read · 08 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's Ratings Agency and Moody's Investors Service. This week is a big update coming off of the holiday, with five upgrades four downgrades and a withdrawal. Downgrades include companies owned by GTCR Golder Rauner, Kohlberg & Co., Genstar Capital, and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners. Company: Cellu Tissue Holdings Sponsor: Weston Presidio Action: Moody's upgraded the company’s probability of default rating and the senior secured notes rating of the company to ‘B1’ from ‘B2’. S&P raised its corporate credit rating on Alpharetta, Ga.-based Cellu Tissue Holdings Inc. to 'B+' from 'B'. Highlight: From Moody’s: The upgrade to B1 reflects steady margin expansion and earnings growth since the fiscal year ended February 28, 2007, resulting in EBITDA generation considerably higher than previously expected. From S&P: "The upgrade reflects the significant improvement in Cellu Tissue's EBITDA in the last three quarters, due to its acquisition of Atlantic Paper & Foil in mid-2008, benefits from capacity expansion initiatives to meet higher demand for its converted tissue products, and sales price increases," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Andy Sookram.
4 min read · 08 January 2010
Hubris Soars, Crisis Wasted: Bloomberg Op-ed on bonuses, reform-- The past year was filled with opportunities to fix the structural problems of the U.S. financial system-to little avail. Meanwhile, big banks are once again reaping extraordinary profits. (Bloomberg) Coller Capital Study: Return expectations, and enthusiasm for PE firms are down. (All About Alpha) Replacing Dodd: Tim Johnson of South Dakota is in line to become the chamber's Banking Committee chairman next year. (Bloomberg) Awwww: The Newark security breech from this weekend was caused by a man who slipped into a secure area to give a woman one last goodbye kiss. Hope that kiss made his ladyfriend happy because it pissed off a LOT of others. (Reuters) Merger Fail: Time Warner's merger with AOL may have been the worst merger of the century but there are plenty of contenders for that tile. (Telegraph) Have Funds, Will Travel: Is it possible to be a nomadic private equity pro? (Private Equiteer) Carried Interest: You knew it was only a matter of time. Well, that time is now. (WSJ)
2 min read · 07 January 2010
More than a year after its spin-off from AIG, the insurance giant’s investment management unit is nearing the close of its sale to Pacific Century Group, an Asia-based private investment group. Barring any issues winning regulatory approval in 32 countries and LP and client consent, the firm, called PineBridge Investments, hopes to close the deal at month’s end in January or February, CEO Win Neuger said. The firm has told me the name reflects "the company’s rich heritage and roots on Pine Street in New York’s financial district."* At that point, the firm’s private equity business will finally to hop back from the sidelines. “We went for a year when not many people wanted to talk to us,” said Neuger. But the AIG stigma has finally lifted. “The number of meetings and calls from people wanting to do business with us is back to historic levels,” he said.
3 min read · 07 January 2010
Former FCC chairman Kevin Martin is launching a private equity firm alongside Brian Bailey, who recently left his position at Carousel Partners, according to a source familiar with the situation. Based in Charlotte, N.C., Carmichael Partners will make equity investments in family-owned and closely-held private businesses. Bailey was previously a senior advisor at Carousel Capital alongside four managing partners who remain at the firm: Charles Grigg, Bill Hobbs, Jason Schmidly and Nelson Schwab. He previously had spent time at Forstmann Little & Co., The Carlyle Group and CSFB. In an email to colleagues, Bailey explained that Carmichael Partners will invest in a small number of companies in order to actively manage them. This would be attractive to families and founders wishing for an equity partner who can help grow the company while preserving its culture, he wrote.
1 min read · 07 January 2010
Why Corporations Provide Little Venture Capital: The corporate share of the venture capital pool has declined to less than 8% for every year since 2001. One problem: revolutionary change (BW) Don't Get Excited about 2010: Here's quick tour of gloomy pronouncements from some of the most bearish folks out there. (Paul Kedrosky) Laid Off? Planning Your Next Move? Whatever You Do, Don't Go To Graduate School. (Business Insider) Not Laid off? Really Busy? Here are some Online Dating Tips for Busy Executives. (Business Insider)
1 min read · 06 January 2010
Sometimes all you need is a little momentum. That's one way Riverside Partners pulled off one of the most successful fundraising drives of the year. When the Boston-based firm entered the market with its fourth fund in March (after some heavy pre-marketing), it was prepared for the worst. But with the help of placement agent Atlantic Pacific Capital, the firm yesterday closed at its hard cap of $400 million in just under eight months (add to that an extra $6 million of GP commitments for the total figure). I spoke with general partner David Belluck about how his firm went about raising a fully subscribed fund in the bleakest market of the decade. Get our Q&A after the jump...
4 min read · 06 January 2010
2 min read · 06 January 2010
1 min read · 06 January 2010
Brilliant PR Strategy: Clusterstock has (somewhat unfairly, in my opinion) twisted the words of a Goldman Director on banker pay, into "Bankers are like Movie Starts and Deserve to be Paid Like Them." The rest of the interview makes sense, but nothing like stoking the populist rage with an out-of-context headline. (Business Insider) Sweet Sweet M&A: Since the Kraft/Cadbury/Nestle drama now involves Warren Buffet, it kiiinda counts as private equity-related, right? Since we at peHUB haven't been following it closely up until this point (except for salivating over potential divestitures), we appreciated Reuters package of coverage from today. Here you can find analysis on all the angles of the deal. (Reuters) On that Note: Warren Buffet's giving Kraft a lesson in M&A 101. (Deal Journal) The Big Apple's Big Problem: Why NYC should be run more like Wal-Mart? (Newsweek)
2 min read · 05 January 2010
